Photos From the 2009 Reykjavik Marathon

I have photographed a few races now, and I must say that Iceland had the most supportive and noisy cheering section that I have ever seen...lots of cheers, whistles and cowbells..big smiles...lots of celebration.
There was a much larger crowd at the race than I would have expected for this part of the world. What I didn't realize...is what a popular "trophy" race this is...meaning that "running in Iceland" looks great on your athletic resume.
The weather for the race was chilly, windy mixed in with some intermittent rain. The slog along the seashore, pushing into a cold headwind was tough on everybody.
There were shorter distances to sign up for...so running a full marathon is not a requirement if you want go to this event. There was quite a large contingent of younger kids running at all different levels...probably the highest concentration of younger people at this race, than I have seen before.
Here are a few of the 1000 or so images from race day in Iceland. I'll add more later

I greatly reduced the image file size to make for easier loading to Youtube..This results in a grainy look....High resolution/crystal clear photos are available.

To get a larger screen...click on the Youtube symbol 

Trip to Iceland ...Part Three..The Sights Seen

The wonderful couple that we stayed with in Rekjavik made our stay very pleasant and comfortable. We had full use of the fantastically situated home when they made a quick trip to Britain on family business. Other friends of theirs, pitched in to make us feel welcome. We had guided tours of the city's attractions and several delicious lunches at various homes and restaurants.

Truly, without the kindness of these people....that we had not previously known...the trip for me would have been  a lot less interesting.
Why? you ask. Well...the general bleakness of the terrain. The chilly/rude reception from some shop keepers. The impossible language. And ....seriously... the hot water in the pipes. With Icelands huge geothermal resources, they heat the houses with piped in hot water...but...they also use this water in the showers and baths.
IT STINKS. Showers are not supposed to smell like rotten eggs. All the Irish Spring soap in the world isn't going to cover up the fact the hot water reeks of sulphur. I just never got over that part. Sorry Iceland....hell of a place...but your shower water stinks.

I'll tell you a few stories in another post. Let's go for a tour.

The closest thing that I could find to "Derelict Texture" in Reykjavik...old fishing shacks close to the harbour...and surrounded by new developments.

A picturesque farm....note the partially underground structure in the back

Looking across the bay at downtown

In future photos of the marathon race....the race begins over behind the light brown building with the red roof....and goes by the gray building on the way out of the city center

The modern metal sculpture of a Viking ship in the harbour

One of the observation decks at a geothermal generating station....part of a guided bus tour

Wanna study geological activity in the raw?...Iceland is for you....it's made of relatively young volcanic rock...filled with steam vents and deep fissures....not to mention...real live volcanoes

Iceland has some epic sized waterfalls...this is Gullfoss. I would recommend that you Google this to get the history and modern story. It was bizarre to see the lack of guard rails to keep tourists back from the edge. Look at the outcropping in the middle-left of the pic...no fence or railings. No forgiveness if you go over.

It takes a while for the landscape to register...it's so unlike anything I have seen before

I'm thinking that there is some kind of reasoning on why there is no fence or railing here. Maybe the local court system doesn't allow people who take the risk..to sue for injuries if they get hurt...I don't know...do you know?

This kind of spectacular desolation must have inspired a science fiction tale or two

The trail down to the rock outcropping by the falls

A stop on the bus tour at a collection of geothermal geysers. Factoid..."Geyser" is the name of one of the boiling water steam gushers here...and is one of the only Icelandic words in common use in the rest of the world 

Thar she blows!...oooh that was original...I should make a note of that one

Pingvellir....( all Icelandic words look like one big spelling mistake to me ) The North American tectonic plate on the left...and the Eurasian tectonic plate on the right. A truly continental divide. Also home to Iceland's 1000 year old parliament. I would Google that also. I couldn't for the life of me think of why they didn't build a huge stone building here...if they were going to hold meetings here for that long. Apparently it was always tents and temporary shelters

The view from the great divide

Walking between tectonic plates

Remember what I said...Iceland should have been called Greenland

More tourists at the edge

Cruise ships in Reykjavik harbour

Great European look to the city

On the Icelandic highway system during our bus tour

One of the many steam vents in Iceland...if one of these showed up in your town...I'm sure that the more than a few people would go right off their rocker

The divide between continental plates...shot from the bus

...."Hey Mom and Dad, I'm taking my inheritance from Uncle John ...and I'm going to buy a farm in Iceland"

WTF...a 4x4 Ford Econoline van driving in downtown Reykjavik

Hmmm...I like coffee

Interesting combination of building styles

 Video here...click the link      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqpYtwDc-bk

Sitting on the dock of the bay...looking back at downtown