Last night we stayed at Gangane’s summerhouse in Kimi (about 120 km from Reykjavík) and were treated to a spectacular nighttime natural phenomena known as the ‘Northern Lights’- Aurora borealis.

These are solar winds that hit the earth’s magnetic field and create streaks and waves of green lights that move continuously and change shapes. It is really magnificent to behold this fluid dance of the northern lights. You can enjoy it at Ondrej's pictures.

It is the first time that any of us has seen this natural phenomena and it is quite rare to see it so early in the autumn (the Icelandic guys tell us that summer has finished), and you need ideal clear conditions and the right kind of atmospheric conditions.

We stayed up for hours in awe watching the stars and the lights. Iceland has so far lived up to all and exceeded our expectations. Last night we all slept very peacefully and soundly.

We continued our Icelandic run beginning from Brú. Jóhann from Reykjavík came with his ‘monster truck’ to escort us over the extreme terrain up the mountain tracks. The tyres on this monster are huge but for Iceland they are considered quite small. Icelandic people know how to drive off road, as this is the only way to access some of the most beautiful and stunning sites in Iceland; and most of the roads are not exactly driveable for any ‘normal’ car.

Along our journey to Brú we passed spectacular scenery of lava fields and extinct volcanoes dominating the landscape, with the ever-present windy conditions making it feel very barren.

As soon as we got out of the vehicle to start running we were hit by the blast of the cold wind. Pedja took up the challenge and was our first runner. We took a few moments trying to find the correct dirt road, but the truck is equipped with the state of the art GPS (Geographic Positioning System) so in no time we found our route. The weather began to close in as the cloud descended and the wind whistled around our ears. However, the running in the mountainous environment was a joy as we passed waterfalls and forded streams and ran through small rivers. Most times we could jump from boulder to boulder to get over the rivers and pass the torch onto a runner waiting on the other side.

But once there was no way across other than to run through which Mark bravely did getting thoroughly soaked. Earlier the truck had driven through the rivers at high speed spraying water everywhere so Mark tried to do the same. He hesitated at first, and then just went for it. We all laughed.

As we dropped down from the mountain the weather began to clear as we descended through the cloud. The strong winds still persisted. We ran through the valley with the steep mountain slopes rising steeply on either side and the lake along the road.

We had left the rough dirt tracks behind us and we were back to civilisation. By the road we visited a traditional peat covered house.

The running to Stykkishólmur was truly wonderful as we ran on roads close to the coast and along the fjords with the many small islands dotted nearby.

In the distance we could see the white choppy waves being whipped up by the strong wind, and the sun gleaming through the clouds casting magnificent golden rays on the landscape. It was truly wonderful and special light.

Everything seems so crisp and clear here. The landscape and conditions are very similar to the Scottish Highlands.

Later in the afternoon we said farewell to our Jóhann and his monster truck.

We gladly welcomed Upajukta and Davíð from Reykjavík to help us run the final 40 km of the day. The last 10 km to Stykkishólmur some children from the town's Sport Association joined us. They were well wrapped up for the windy conditions and the young boy set a good pace. The young girls joined him after a few kilometres.

We passed through spectacular mountain scenery and the horses stopped and stared as the runners approached, and then galloped away over the hill.

When we reached the town’s sport complex we had a group photograph. Despite running over 20 km each we still had the energy to play football on the astro turf 5-a-side pitch. Two boys joined us and we had a brilliant international competitive game of football.

As we drove back to the summerhouse the sun shone brightly casting wonderful light on the slopes of the mountains and the sea.

It had been a truly memorable day as we lay in the hot tub looking up at the twilight clear sky with the faint wisp of the ‘Northern Lights’ just emerging, with the sun dipping down below the horizon.

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Distance: 109km

Team Members:
Mark Collinson (England), Marton Fekete (Hungary), Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), Pierre Lantuas Monfouga (France), Predrag Knezevic (Serbia).

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You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

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