Laugavegur Ultra Marathon 2013/Iceland

On the morning of July 13th 2013 the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon was held for 17th time. The race has been held annually since 1997. The Laugavegur trail is 55 km and located in the southern highlands of Iceland. It connects the nature reserves Landmannalaugar and Thorsmork. Due to its location, Laugavegur is serviced for only a few weeks a year.

For many runners the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon is the most enjoyable race in Iceland. The course takes runners through areas of outstanding natural beauty at the same time as being a challenging course. Hikers normally cover this distance in four days. The course is multi-terrain; sand, gravel, grass, snow, ice, rivers and streams.

294 runners set off from Landmannalaugar to run the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon 2013. In Þórsmörk, 55 km from Landmannalaugar, 272 runners crossed the finish line. The 22 runners who did not make it to the finish line were either not prepared to go further or did not make it to the check points within the set time frame.

The weather was cold on race day this year, rain poured down as well as the course was somewhat snowy. Runners were therefore wet when they reached the finish line where the race staff welcomed them with warm drinks and blankets. Running the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon is a huge achievement and everybody who finishes is a winner.

The winner of the 2013 Laugavegur Ultra Marathon was Örvar Steingrímsson (ISL) participating in his third Laugavegur Ultra Marathon. His time was 4:48:08 which is a 14 minutes improvement for him. Second came Örvar’s working and training partner, Guðni Páll Pálsson (ISL), in 4:52:25 participating in his first Laugavegur Ultra Marathon. Ryan Paavola (USA) came third in his first Laugavegur Ultra Marathon and finished in 5:14:24. Örvar’s time is the eighth best in the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon history and Guðni’s time is the twelfth best.

Gina Lucrezi from USA was the winner in the women’s section and her time was 5:28:05. This was the first time Gina participated in the race. Second was Elísabet Margeirsdóttir (ISL) crossing the finish line in 5:47:33. Elísabet was participating in her fifth Laugavegur Ultra Marathon and this is her personal best, a one minute improvement since 2012.

Hafdís Guðrún Hilmarsdóttir (ISL) came third in 6:16:26 in her first Laugavegur Ultra Marathon. Gina’s time is the women’s third best time in the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon since the first race in 1997 and Elísabet’s time is the fourteenth best.

Close to one hundred people worked on making the 2013 Laugavegur Ultra Marathon possible. Volunteers from a rescue team and a running club in the area monitored the course. These good people brought food and drink to the runners, assisted them when crossing streams and provided transportation for those who could not finish the race.

When crossing the finish line all runners entered a tent were there was food and drink for them and a doctor and nurses gave nursing care to those who needed it.

The organization of the 2013 Laugavegur Ultra Marathon went smoothly thanks to all the people who were willing to work hard to ensure that everything went the best way possible.

The 18th Laugavegur Ultra Marathon will take place on Saturday July 12th 2014.

Registration starts in January at the race website www.marathon.is/ultramarathon.

Anna Lilja Sigurðardóttir
Reykjavik Sports Union &
Reykjavik Marathon
www.ibr.is / www.marathon.is

Laugavegur Ultra Maratho