GRIT
Running across Iceland
“That was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
In the summer of 2022, three amateur trail runners set out to run across Iceland, covering 340 kilometers from the north to the south of the country in eight days.
Crossing lava fields, rhyolite ‘rainbow’ mountains, rivers and countless kilometers, traversing Iceland is as brutal as it is breathtaking.
Spanning the entire country, the famed route from Akureyri to Vik demands several weeks for advanced hikers. Last year, Scotswoman Julie Hewison, Frenchwoman Marie Gamen and American Carol Passarelli each answered the call for adventurous trail runners looking for the next tenacious challenge. Drawn together solely by their love of the sport, the trio plotted a plan to complete the trail in just eight days.
The runners
Julie Hewison
Ski instructor, Switzerland
Marie Gamen
Refuge caretaker, France
Carol Passarelli
Consultant/Doctor of Physical Therapy, USA
Strangers at the outset, GRIT follows the three women as they band together, interweaving individual battles and motivations with one common goal.
“It’s an intense moment the three of us are experiencing, and I think it’s important to share that with someone.”
To associate success with the distance covered, however, would be entirely missing the point. Grappling with the extreme physical and mental demands that ultra distances entail, each runner must inevitably face the question: what is pushing the limits, and what is going too far?
The answer may vary, but one thing is clear for all: the greatest performance has nothing to do with the finish line.