I’ve heard it before. That tone of disbelief and wonder and mild horror when someone finds an unrecognizable “science project” in a forgotten corner of the refrigerator. “What is this?” I heard the same disbelief and wonder when people asked, “You went all the way to Norway just to compete in a trail race?”  Don’t worry – I wasn’t offended! The short answer is “No!” No, we did not travel half-way around the world just to run around on some mountains.  It just sounded like the perfect opportunity to have some”stupid fun.” (“Stupid Fun” See definition here.)

The real story is that when our decision to travel to Norway was finalized and the dates were set, Sharon and I began exploring all that Norway had to offer. The thought occurred that it might be fun join some locals for a trail run. The Hornindal Rundt was the only trail race that took place during our visit, and also happened to be in an area we wanted to visit. So it was that many months later Sharon and I passed through “The Gate of No Return“.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The Hornindal Rundt (Round) bills itself as “Norway’s Toughest Mountain Race.” The pictures and videos of the event all featured lean, smiling Norwegians effortlessly trotting around the beautiful mountains and lakes of the Hornindal region. And, there was a trail. How hard could it really be? Not having done any other Norwegian mountain races, I’m not qualified to judge the veracity of the “toughest” claim, but it does boast some rather impressive statistics.  The long course is 75 kilometers (46 miles) and involves 16,000′ feet of climbing and descending…10,000′ of that comes during the first 38k (23 miles) aka the “short” course.

I had decided to attempt the 75k distance. My rationale was that it was only slightly longer than a Canyon rim to rim to rim, with a bit more climbing. It seemed like it would be a stretch for me, but I was looking for a challenge. Sharon opted for the 38k fjelløp, also a challenge.  While the race was not meant to be the main focus of our trip, we did spend a great deal of time preparing. We reckoned that any training would benefit us for all the other activities we had planned during our visit.

The race begins and ends in Grodås. Five minutes from the center of this pleasing little village, we found a convenient cabin where we planned to spend several days.

We arrived on Friday with plenty of time to relax. We spent the day fueling up, sorting gear, hydrating properly, getting registered, taking in the english version of the pre-race briefing and just generally enjoying the ambiance of the event.

Sorting gear was tough. We had required gear and only one aid station at the 38k finish (1/2 way for long course)

Race briefing

Hornindal competitors

Two of the four Americans entered.

We were both going into the race with some uncertainty. We’d done a fair amount of hiking during our first week in country and generally felt great. Now on the day before before the race, after two rest days, Sharon’s legs felt heavy and tired. I felt rested and strong…yet completely unprepared. Even though I’d done something comparable before, and had trained hard,  for some reason this race was getting into my head and I was filled with doubt. We both went to bed unsure of what the next day held in store.

In spite of our misgivings, we both slept well. We were somewhat less pleased with the sound of steady rain on the roof. We shouldn’t have been surprised. This was Norway and we’d been warned. Still, we’d had such good weather to this point, and there hadn’t been rain in the forecast! One could hope! We had the appropriate gear, but rain and cold had the potential to make a long day really long!

Our Norwegian warm up leader…highly entertaining

And we’re off!

Sharon and I started out together jogging slowly along the shore of Hornindalvatnet (Hornindal Lake) before heading up into the woods to begin our first climb. Fairly early on it became apparent that Sharon was not having a good day. Heavy legs and lungs made climbing a chore. This was tough mentally. It is hard not to 2nd guess and get down on yourself for the amount of hiking and resting we’d done. This was tough physically. Feeling good it was going to be a challenge to complete this course. On a bad day it had the potential to be misery. So like any loving husband, I abandoned Sharon and left her to suffer alone. Actually…she threatened unspeakable harm if I didn’t leave.  That is a credible threat. Also, we’ve done a number of endurance things together, and we had talked ahead of time. Regardless of how we were doing, we had agreed we would each run our own race. Still, it was hard leaving, knowing that she was going to have a hard go of it.

For me, the Hornindal Rundt was everything I’d hoped for – and more. The scenery was stunning. The weather cleared and was perfect…even a bit warm.  My favorite memories from the race, however, came from my interactions and conversations with the other participants.

“Bill Murray” look alike

“Bill Murray” and Evalina

The Amazing Adventure Moms. Carolina, Marit and Jeanette

Siv.

Michael dealing with stomach issues

Because the trail at one point didn’t cross the actual summit, “Bill Murray” added 1/2 mile to the run so he could tag a high point.  After talking to Evalina for a bit and sharing that I wasn’t fast, but generally had pretty good endurance, she offered a memorable quote. “Yes – we are like diesel engine – slow but we run forever!” I met the three Amazing Swedish Adventure Moms. We recognized each other as neighbors at the Knausen Hytte. Every year Carolina, Jeanette and Marit participate together in one or two endurance events and were having way too much fun every time we passed each other. Siv and I ended up running/hiking together for several hours. Siv is a local and apparently either knew or was related to every person gathered along the course to cheer us on. I believe her family owned one of the farms we ran through as we came off one mountain and made our way up another. She was kind enough to fill me in on some of the history and life in this region. We ran together until she dropped me on an insanely steep climb, where I met Michael from Gothenburg, Sweden. We both stopped at a convenient stream to refill our water and regroup before finishing the death climb. We both helped each during some tough times coming in the 38k aid station.

Nice warm up mile along the lake.

Sharon on our first climb

A view back toward Grodas and the Hornindal valley stretch away behind.

Still smiling! Hornindal Lake in the background.

Typical “primitive” trail. Much of the course looked like this. Rough and vertical.

On the way to Gulkoppen, the high point of the course.

South from Gulkoppen overlooking the Innvikfjord

Local hikers enjoying a day on Gulkoppen.

Siv setting the pace

The last high point before 38K aid

Hornindalrokke “Hornindal Rock”

Returning to the valley. The cows were unimpressed.

As I said earlier, I’m not qualified to comment on the “toughest” label – but it certainly was tough. I was doing quite well until the last, steep, hot climb up Muldsvorhornet at around 20 miles. I rallied on the run down, but by the time I arrived at the 38K mark, I had decided to call it a day. The entire run had been a magical, amazing experience. It had also taken just under nine hours and had been very, very hard. The thought of heading out and doing it all over again on the 2nd half of the course was rather soul crushing. Physically I probably could have done it – but I felt like it would have just been a suffer-fest.  Michael and the race director both did their best to encourage me to continue – and I did some serious soul searching. Ultimately I decided to stop while my memories of the race were positive. Fortunately, the race allows competitors to switch from the long course and get credit as a finisher in the short course. I’ll take it!  Sharon arrived a bit later, gassed, a bit frustrated, but also happy to have stuck it out. In spite of stomach problems, Michael continued on and finished in just under 22 hours. Siv added another finish to her resume with a time of 19:40. Remarkable achievements!

At Hornindalbru, trying to decide whether or not to continue, one of the big considerations was, “Will I regret this decision later?” Now, almost three months later, I have no regrets. It was a great day, with great people, in a great place, that left me with great memories. Congrats to all competitors and all finishers. And thanks to the organizers for putting on a wonderful event. Of course, one does wonder, what if in 2019…???