Blog from a 2017 participant
Cat Sutherland's Glacier 360 experience...
"Never say that in a race. Never say that even if you’re sure you know the profile and your watch enticingly tells you the final few kilometres are in sight. Never say that when the force of gravity is superseded by the mighty force of the wind through a cosmic landscape with nowhere to hide.
We’re racing in Iceland. A place of magical, Narnia-like proportions where more common than fellow man is the hiss of hot geysers and the vastness of glacial plains. Marking its second year, Glacier 360 is Iceland’s first and only mountain bike stage race. Covering near to 300 kilometres of volcanic terrain, it circumnavigates the second largest glacier, Langjökull. Against forceful winds, the route traces unforgiving rock, sand and river beds. Enlisting a fellow hardy Scot for the task, I was joined for the adventure by Naomi Freireich, a proven competitor in the world of endurance mountain bike racing. Whilst not really knowing each other prior, she echoed a tough and resilient figure who’d be game for this most northerly of long distance endeavours..."