Shortly after getting home from running in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco in 2024, I found out about a new Iceland Challenge – an Ultra marathon covering 56 miles over two days in a volcanically active country I’d never been to.At least I knew that high daytime temperatures weren’t going to be a problem this time, as they had been in a Saharan challenge I’d done in 2022. As people had been so generous last year when I raised over £7000 for Maggie’s in Cheltenham on the back of the Atlas Mountains run, I decided not to fundraise this time, but to do this for me, and save the next fundraising run for another year (which there will be!)

Scroll forward to 10 July 2025. I arrive at Reykjavik airport as a solo traveller, but knowing there were others on the flight who would join me. It was a case of looking out for other slightly nervous but sporty folk with the look of a big few days ahead of them. Flights arrived from different corners of the UK during the day, assembling the 30 participants, 2 UK event managers, and 2 amazing medics. Not to mention the Icelandic team, who fixed everything “in country”.

We headed out from Reykjavik for about 2 hours to our camp in the Western Highlands near the beautiful lakeside village of Ulfljotsvatnskirkja, where our tents awaited us. My heart sank when we were all issued with midge-resistant head nets as soon as we got off the minibus! More on that later………

The organisers “Action Challenge” create an event that attracts runners, joggers, and walkers of all abilities. Our group was typical of the international events I’d done before in that we had an ex Olympic canoeist, an ultra-runner on his 29th Ultra, a small handful of joggers (including me) and then some amazing long distance endurance walkers through to those walkers who had not done anything like this before in the UK, let alone Iceland.

Before we tucked into our tents, we had the pre-event safety briefing, which was sobering. It became evident very quickly that we weren’t in an easy environment. We all went to bed a little nervous about the 26 miles we had to cover the next day, with the added bonus of having to be up at 5 am the next morning, along with the body clock confusion of it not getting dark at the that time of year.

Hengil Marathon – height gain 1525m

26 miles looping round the southern slopes of Hengill, an active volcano, which legend says is home to trolls! The entire landscape is made up of ancient, solidified lava (with moss/lichen growing on it) or less frequent patches of ash, which have broken down over time to create thin soil where some grasses grow.Needless to say, there were very few grazing animals– only the odd sheep and Icelandic horse, but there was an abundance of birdlife, including snipe and curlew, providing a constant soundtrack to our efforts.

The terrain meant we ran the downhill and flat bits, and “power” walked up the hills. Whatever we did, it was hard going. We were, however, rewarded by a real-life “physical geography lesson”. We ran past roaring steam vents coming out of the ground, yellow sulphur deposits spewing down valley sides with nothing able to grow on them, bubbling pits of boiling watery mud, hot streams, and barren rocky moonscapes amongst vast expanses of neon green mosses and lichen. What a place! We had 4 seasons in one day - cold, hot, wet, dry, windy, still……the lot. The fragility of the landscape we were in hit home when we had to change the second half of our route as the mountain path had been largely washed away and was deemed unsafe. That meant a less hilly section for the afternoon, which wasn’t such a disappointment (in the end) given we had another 26 miles to do the next day!

Pingvellir Marathon – Height gain 605m

We left our camp and travelled by minibus around Pingvellir, which is the largest lake in Iceland, and where Iceland’s first national Parliament was founded in 930AD!Our run started at the Hrafnagja Canyon, which marks the only place in the world on dry land that the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet and pull further apart every year.Aided by a lovely sunny morning, it was one of the most moving and special places I’ve been to in terms of ancient geological and human history. You can see what the Vikings saw in the place.

Our run today didn’t involve any volcanic activity and was flatter. Nevertheless, it was still a stunning landscape, but easier on the legs. That said, it was unseasonaly hot, which created a big midge problem that we were high enough to avoid the day before, especially with the windier and wetter weather. Today was different. After about 10 miles, the midges descended. The good news was they were big compared to what we are used to at home, and quite dopey. The bad news was that there were thousands of them and relentless in wanting to get into our mouths, nostrils, and ears! Just what you need on a long run. Out of necessity, we therefore had many miles of running with nets on our heads. Not great, to say the least, but the alternative would have driven us insane.

Despite a lot of miles under our belt, stunning volcanic activity, and unwelcome insects, it never ceases to amaze me the resolve of the human spirit from all who took part. Some went round with (relative) ease, and others had lacerated feet with blisters the size of golf balls and were in great pain. The courage, support, and camaraderie among all was humbling, and the sense of achievement shared between us was something very special to be part of. This is why I do this sort of stuff. Something you simply can’t get from the day job.

Flying home, I looked down to see lava flows and volcanic vents that had been created only a few months before our run. Two days after we left, there were news reports of another eruption just outside Reykjavik. A stark reminder that we had been visiting a constantly active volcanic island. Makes you feel very small, which I rather like.

The big question now of course is what’s next?! So far, I’m being lazy and “over summering” too well! Nothing has been planned; however, I have just received a WhatsApp inviting me to join a UK team of 10 to take part in a 5-day 100-mile event in the Himalaya next year! Daunting, but very tempting!! If it happens, then I reckon that’s a good excuse to raise some serious money for charity! If it doesn’t work out, then there will be another silly event somewhere that will capture my imagination, I have no doubt. After all, you’ve got to embrace these wonderful opportunities whilst you can!