runningyana

I would definitely describe myself as an adventure seeker, so running a half marathon on a completely frozen lake in Norway is exactly what my eyes bring to sparkle. The ice-cold adventure takes place on the lake Tisleifjorden in Norway, which is located 819 meters above sea level. The ice covering the lake is about 80 cm thick and carries about 30 tons (so no worries about breaking in). Here is my recap from the race weekend in 2022:

25th of March 2022 – Travel Day & Night Run

It was about a four hour travel to the official race hotel (Oset Høyfjellshotel) from Oslo – first by train and then with a hotel shuttle. After checking-in it was time to pick up the bib in the hotel lobby and get ready for the night run to officially start the race weekend – woohoo!

18:30 p.m – Equipped with a headlamp, warm running clothes, and spikes for the running shoes we got onto a bus who drove us to the official running route, which was about 10 minute away from the hotel. Torches, candles, campfires and music welcomed us at the start of this 5k night-fun-run. There was no timing or competition, just a nice get-together of all the national and international participants of the race. For me, it was a good opportunity to test my equipment and get familiar with the feeling of the ice under my feet. First impression: it was freaking wet, with lots of water and slush on the ice due to warmer temperatures the last couple of days! But hey, I was looking for an adventure 😉

After coming back to the hotel there was a pasta-party-buffet and some live music to end the evening. I went to bed early to get ready for race day!

26th of March 2022 – Race Day

After breakfast, it was time to get ready. There was again a shuttle bus who drove back and forth every 30 minutes from the hotel to the race start. At 10 a.m I got into one of the buses. The race area was small but there was everything you need – toilets, bag drop, food & drinks, first aid, and some tents of the official sponsors of the race. I placed myself at a free spot and started my pre race warm-up routine with dynamic stretches and some running drills.

11 a.m – gun time! I started almost in the front, strictly speaking in the third position of the ladies, tying to keep this position without getting passed by another woman.

I managed to run behind the second place, chasing her for the first seven kilometers. Then, she couldn’t hold the pace and I finally passed her. Now I was the one being chased, but I stayed consistent with my pace and told myself to stay relaxed and focused. My plan went off, and the third position dropped more and more behind me – I took a deep breath and finally started to enjoy the view and environment a bit.

With the first position always in sight but still too far away to pass, I really got into the running flow…

The conditions weren’t the best for the ice – the sun was shining, and the temperatures were around 9°C, so the top layer of the ice was melting like ice cream! There were sections with ice-cold water up to the calves (my shoes were soaking wet from the beginning on) as well as lots of ice-water-slush, and uneven underground, that made it pretty slippery and hard to keep the pace as constant as I wished (felt like a OCR-Race at some places).

At Kilometer 10 to 11 it was time to shine! I managed to reach the women on the first position – time to play the game “catch me if you can”. I used her as my pacer for the next couple of minutes. Told myself to keep relaxed, fuel, breathe and just stick to the pace. Her pace dropped, then I was beside her, and we even had a little chat about the race. She couldn’t keep up, I increased my speed, and then she was behind me. At this moment, I wasn’t 100 % sure or couldn’t really believe that I was now in FIRST PLACE!! My first thought was, “oh no, now I have to keep up this pace for another 11 kilometers”. It was a fight. My right hip flexor started to hurt immensely because I slipped sideways a few times. My hunger and thirst was gone – it felt more like I have to throw up anytime soon…

I tried some mental tricks like visualization and counting to keep my mind distracted. I turned around a few times to see how close she was, but it seemed like she was at a safe distance away from me.

At kilometer 19 I could finally see the finish line on the horizon. A big smile came up on my face. “Soon done” I told myself. Runners on the other side started to cheer and clap, which gave me an extra boost for the last hundred meters.

What a feeling, finally crossing the finish line!!! The race director called the bib numbers of the first three ladies and checked if we took all the correct turns and calculated the net time of us.

This was the first win of a race for me – I feel very grateful and honored! Thank you Frozen Lake Run for this amazing start into the 2022 running season.

26th of March 2022 – Travel back to Oslo

After breakfast we checked-out and got a hotel shuttle back to the train station in Gol. Time to rest and recover 🙂

Summarized it was a great experience and a race I can definitely recommend. If you are planning to run the race, be quick because it is limited to 500 participants and sold out quite fast. This is definitely not not a cheap adventure! Registration fees are around 1200 NOK (120 €) for the half marathon and 1500 NOK (150 €) for the full Marathon. With a stay at the official race hotel, cots can sum up to 400€ per person for two nights. Plus the tickets for the train as well as food and/or other personal expenses may come on top. There are other options like renting a car and staying in a cabin with self supply that might be a bit cheaper. Just keep in mind to plan your trip in advance.