On Thursday June 9^th, Oslo’s Bislett Stadium will host the world’s greatest track and field athletes on the fifth stop of the Samsung Diamond League tour.  Usain Bolt will be this year’s marquee attraction.  But last Sunday afternoon the legendary athletics and ice-skating arena, tucked neatly into the heart of the Norwegian capital – call it the Fenway Park or Wrigley Field of T & F – hosted the Holmenkollen Relay, the largest relay footrace in the world.  If you ever wanted to experience the entirety of the Oslo running community in one place, this would be your event.

Begun in 1928, the Holmenkollen Relay boasts over 2200 teams, each consisting of 15 runners taking on distances ranging from 300 meters to two miles.  The entire course from Bislett up to near the famed Holmenkollen Ski Jump and back covers less than 12 miles.  But with so many teams, divisions, and categories, it takes hours and hours to run. Continue reading →