Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.
Rúni Simonsen and Henrik Kølleskov have known each other for many years. Henrik has been running for many years, and only a very few years ago Rúni also took up running. A year and a half ago the two of them started doing different kinds of runs. This has snowballed recently, and gradually it is mostly off-road running and mountain running that is on the programme for the pair of them.
This then gave Henrik the idea of trying something completely different: the Polar Circle Marathon, a marathon race in Kangerlussuaq in Greenland. Here you can choose between a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday. But there is also a third option: the Polar Beach Marathon, which covers both races. And this was the race the two of them chose.
Henrik Kølleskov and Rúni Simonsen, three medals each
It was cold on both days. On the first day, when the half marathon was on the programme, it was minus 7 degrees, and the day after, when they ran the marathon, it was minus 10 degrees! Even so, it was not the cold but rather the surface that was the toughest opponent on these days. There was little wind, and with good clothing the cold was no problem. The surface was worse, as it was snow and ice for almost the entire course. The Salomon shoes with steel spikes coped with most of it, but towards the end sand and snow were all one slushy mess, and then it was very hard to run. On top of that there were many long hills.
For a trip like this you need the right equipment
This event in Kangerlussuaq attracted a lot of people. 170 people from 27 different countries had gathered at this remote spot. There were runners who had come all the way from China, Australia and Brunei. In sporting terms, things went well for our men. In the half marathon Rúni finished 12th of 62 men and Henrik was 13th. The times, which of course do not say very much, were 2:13:44 and 2:14:03.
On the marathon course Rúni finished 23rd in 4:27:30 and Henrik 41st in 4:46:16. 92 runners took part in this race. Rúni’s combined time was 6:41:33, which was good enough for 10th place, while Henrik, with 6:59:59, finished 17th overall of the 44 men who ran both distances.
Henrik Kølleskov in his element
Ice and snow as far as the eye can see
The website and the results from the Polar Bear Challenge can be found at this link: http://polar-circle-marathon.com/
