I have done many marathons and there are some that I have done more than once. One of the marathons in the column of “I would do it again and again” is what the fantastic Reykjavik Marathon in Iceland.
2015 Reykjavik Marathon
Experience beautiful Iceland for yourself!
If you have been to Iceland, then you can understand how beautiful it is to see it all from the ground – 26.2 miles worth of it. If you have not been to Iceland, you are missing out on one of the most beautiful countries to visit. I only spent a couple of days there and wish I had more time to spend. It is at the top of my list of places to take the family for a vacation sometime.
Reasons To Run It!
Registration for this fantastic race opened up this month for this year’s race. When I registered for 2013, it was not until July, so no worry of a sellout. But, it would be great to get your registration in and start planning your trip there. Here are some of my favorite things about the Reykjavik Marathon:
- Fantastic course with beautiful sights
- Slightly rolling elevation profile (does not climb higher than 25 feet above sea level and spends much of the time at sea level)
- Beautiful weather
- Flight time from New York is the same as to Los Angeles from JFK – 5 1/2 hours
- Cheap fares (WOW Air has great fares)
- Great stop enroute to Europe (Icelandair allows you a free stopover in Reykjavik enroute to Europe)
- A “unique” destination – it is not a place that many of your friends have been to!
- Great start time – no worry about getting up too early!
- Website
Details:
- Race Date: August 22, 2015
- Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
- Time: 8:40AM
- Races Offered: Marathon, Half marathon, 10K, 3K fun run
- Entry Fee – 62 euro through March 15 (currently $70)
Miles and Points
Iceland is a fantastic place to use miles and points for. Hotels can be expensive, so it is a prime time/place to get maximum value from your miles and points. If you are already in Europe, it is only 10,000 AA miles (one way) to get to Iceland from anywhere in Europe!
As for hotels, Hilton and Club Carlson both offer places to use your points. Club Carlson has 2 properties in Reykjavik (the Park Inn I stayed at is no longer available). If you go with Club Carlson, don’t forget the last night free on award stays that you get as a perk for being a card holder!
Here are some of my posts about Iceland and the race that may help in your decision making.
What I saw and did in 24 hours in Iceland – 24 Hours In Iceland
My planning and booking process for Iceland – Reykjavik Marathon: Trip Planning
My race review – 2013 Reykjavik Marathon Review
WOW Air has the cheapest prices to Iceland – Flights From US To Iceland From $99
Sounds great! I wish I could but I have barely any extra vaca days left! I’ll be in Sweden/Norway in early August and no, I won’t be running a marathon, but will certainly be exploring/hiking the area.
I love marathon courses that are run partially on trails. This one looks like it’s s small-midsize marathon (less than 10,000 runners) and I definitely prefer that versus any of the mega marathons with over 40,000 registrants!!! 😉
Good luck in August!
This is one of those misplaced word titles – I should have phrased it differently as I don’t think I will be running it this year. I may be able to sneak over in July for their 55KM trail race but not sure yet. I really want to do the Helsinki one this summer but I need to be able to get out of there earlier on Saturday and it does not start until 3PM or so.
Have fun in Sweden/Norway! Right now, I am entered in a half marathon in Sweden in May (biggest in the world!) but I will have to see when our little guy decides to be born. 🙂