Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.
The Ólavsøka Run took place as usual on 27 July. Some 200 runners, children and adults, took part in the race at Skálatrøð. The weather could hardly have been better on this fine evening, and it had also drawn plenty of spectators to the race. Like the Flag Day Run, the Ólavsøka Run has a special status, and the strongest runners almost always turn out for these races.
This year we got unexpected winners. Usually, when we look at the start lists, we can fairly quickly and with reasonable certainty say who is going to win the race. Rebekka Fuglø was therefore probably the favourite to win the women’s race. But at Ólavsøka there are often unfamiliar names on the start lists, and some unexpected foreign runner can suddenly turn out to be the best. And so it proved at Ólavsøka this year. A woman in a Sparta kit set off hard, well up among the men. And it soon became clear that this woman had real ability. She later turned out to be the Faroese runner Marna Egholm, who lives and runs in Denmark.
Early in the race she was already well ahead of her biggest rival, Rebekka Fuglø. Her victory was never in danger, and Marna crossed the line in a cracking time of 18.54 min. That puts Marna among the best female runners overall. Marna says that she otherwise trains almost exclusively for the marathon and half-marathon races. It is very pleasing to see that the Faroese now have yet another top long-distance runner! Hopefully we will hear a lot more about 33-year-old Marna in the future.
Marna Egholm in her Sparta kit, here ahead of Jan Elmar Sørensen, Carl Eli Nolsøe Samuelsen and Jóhan M. Jacobsen. (photo: Hvirlan)
As mentioned, Rebekka finished second in 19.32 min, which is a strong time for her. Borgarhjørt Holm also ran well and took a fairly comfortable bronze in 20.11 min, a little ahead of Duruta á Lofti and Rigmor N. Arge.
A little less than a day before the race, news came that the big favourite in the men’s race, Marnar Djurhuus, would not be running because of injury. That made Sam Vang the favourite, and he lived up to it well and truly: he pushed the pace from the very start, and his victory was never in danger. His time was 17.02 min, putting him a good half minute ahead of the 53-year-old Ólavsøka legend Bent Povlsen, 17.35 min. The battle for third place ended in an exciting sprint finish between Einar Vang and Marnar Pattinson, where Einar was the quicker and won bronze in 17.42 min – 1 second ahead of Marnar. After that the runners were closely packed. As many as 15 ran under 19 minutes!
Sam Vang won comfortably at Ólavsøka and, at 44, is the oldest winner of the Ólavsøka Run to date. (photo: Hvirlan)
Afterwards there was a children’s race, in which some 70 children ran in the usual groups. Here we saw several of our strong national team runners win fine victories, but here too a few unfamiliar names popped up and won a race or two.
The children’s race went well. A great many boys took part in the youngest group, and the pace was high
The results for the adults can be found at this link: https://app.lap.io/event/2014-olavsoekurenning-vaksin/results
The results from the children’s race can be found at this link: http://www.bragdid.fo/?p=4886
