Photo by Benedikt Aron with original images taken from authors Pjt56 , Hedwig Storch , Luc Van Braekel , Bjørn Giesenbauer and Napoleon tnt via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Iceland › Reykjavik › Races
Reykjavík Marathon
Marathon, Half marathon, 10K in Reykjavik, normally held in August. A mixed marathon course — Held on Culture Night; coastal paths and a very exposed second half.
The Reykjavík Marathon at a glance
| Distances | Marathon, Half marathon, 10K |
|---|---|
| Main distance | 42.2 km (marathon) |
| Usually held | August |
| Course | Mixed |
| City | Reykjavik, Iceland |
| Typical conditions | 13°C high / 8.3°C low, rain on ~45% of days |
Held on Culture Night; coastal paths and a very exposed second half.
Entering the Reykjavík Marathon
Entry fees, closing dates and start times are set by the organiser and change every year, so they are not reproduced here — a stale deadline is worse than none. The organiser’s own site and its social channels are the authoritative source for the current year, and are where entry opens.
What is stable, and what this page covers: the month the race is held, what the course is like, the conditions you should expect, and how long a build-up the distance needs.
Weather at previous Reykjavík Marathon races
Across the last ten years, Reykjavik in August has averaged a daily high of 13°C and a low of 8.3°C, with at least a millimetre of rain on about 45% of days.
These are recorded observations for the race month averaged over ten years, not a forecast and not a single past race day — race dates move, so one day’s figures would mislead. Source: Open-Meteo historical archive.
How to prepare for the Reykjavík Marathon
How long to train
Build for 16 to 20 weeks from a base you already hold rather than from nothing. For marathon the block should peak at a longest run of 30–32 km, reached at least two weeks before race day so there is time to taper. Three weeks of taper is standard: cut volume by roughly a third each week while keeping some race-pace work so the legs stay sharp.
Training for this course
The course mixes surfaces and gradients, so build a training block that does the same rather than repeating one flat loop. Vary where you run week to week so nothing on race day is unfamiliar.
Conditions in August
Conditions are usually good for racing: highs average 13°C and lows 8.3°C in August, which is close to ideal for marathon running. Dress for the temperature about ten degrees warmer than it actually is, since you will warm up within two kilometres. Rain is common — around 45% of days that month see at least a millimetre — so do some training runs wet and know which kit does not chafe.
Fuelling
Over 42 km you will need 30–60 g of carbohydrate an hour from early on, not once you feel empty. Rehearse the exact products in training — the gut trains like anything else — and check in advance which brand is handed out on course, because switching to an unfamiliar one mid-race is a common and avoidable mistake.
Race week
Sleep matters most two nights before, not the night before, so protect that one. Keep eating normally with a modest tilt toward carbohydrate, lay out kit the night before, and do nothing new: no new shoes, no new breakfast, no new socks. Plan to arrive at the start with time to spare — marathon fields move slowly through bag drop and security.
Distances and where the race is run
- Marathon — 42.2 km
- Half marathon — 21.1 km
- 10K — 10 km
The pin marks Reykjavik city centre, the area the Reykjavík Marathon starts and finishes in. This is not the course line: the route is set by the organiser and changes between editions, so the official course map for the current year is theirs to publish. The routes below are for training on the same roads.
Train on these roads: 10K routes in Reykjavik · long runs in Reykjavik · GPS art routes
Other races in Reykjavik
- Midnight Sun Run — 10K, 5K, June