Off to Iceland

Strokkur is a stop on the popular tourist route of the "Golden Circle".

The hiking trail LAUGAVEGUR is described on the NAT website. The total distance is 55 K, with an additional leg to Skogar on the South Coast which takes another full day. I will travel to Landmannalaugar - the start point - on Monday and start the walk on Tuesday morning.

I just discovered that this most popular trekking path also can be done as a RUN. It takes place in July and this year's winner took less than 5 hours to finish. I am planning to do it in 4 days!
Laugavegur Ultra Marathon

The most visited waterfall of Iceland is Gullfoss.

As last year I am the amateur guide for a group of marathon runners. Reykjavik Marathon takes place on Saturday, Aug 23. Last year's photo shows Stefano Baldini, Olympic Champion 2004, on the right.

Personal Olympics

training stats: unscheduled daily workouts

My training sessions are somewhat unstructured these days. I do go out almost daily and depending on the weather I enter my race bike, do easy runs or visit the gym. There is no close target I am aiming for. So I am not motivated to set up a schedule. I am happy that my knee allows moderate running, and biking in the sunshine is what I enjoy most. This is what I call my own Olympics. So far I haven't noticed much of the competitions in Beijing. One reason is that I don't like to switch on the TV in the morning. Another reason is that TV reporters prefer news like "how did you feel while winning?" And really annoying is that German TV only seems to know German athletes and Michael Phelps. Medals are counted every day and those who don't get through to the final are regarded as failures.

My next highlight what I hopefully will be able to report is a week of trekking on Iceland. The most famous and most trodden long distance path crosses the highlands from Landmannalaugar to Pörsmörk and on to Skogar, from hot pots on the hills along vast glaciers to the South coast the walk takes 5 days, good conditions given. One has to carry all provisions along the route. I have booked accommodation at the huts but they only offer space for your own sleeping bag and a rough kitchen to use.

Long Distance Path Landmannalaugar