Midnight Sun Marathon: 42km Through a Night Without Sunset

Tromsø, Norway

1A marathon in Tromsø, Norway, 350km above the Arctic Circle

Tromsø lies about 350 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. The Midnight Sun Marathon bills itself as the world's northernmost marathon and has been held around the summer solstice since its foundation staged the first race in 1990. It's a member of AIMS (the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races), and every course is officially measured.

In 2024, Runner's World named it one of the world's 10 must-run marathons. The program includes a marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K, and children's race. All five start from the same line in the same city on the same evening.

According to the Northern Norway Tourist Board, the midnight sun lasts from May 18 to July 25. The race falls in the middle of that window, on a weekend around the summer solstice.

Midnight Sun MarathonSat, June 19, 2027 · D-258 · Tromsø, NorwaySee race details

Tromsø, Norway

2Start at 8:30 p.m., finish after midnight

In 2026, the children's race started at 5 p.m., followed by the 5K at 6 p.

m., the 10K at 7 p.m.

, the marathon at 8:30 p.m., and the half marathon at 9 p.

m. Every race started from Prostneset, on the harbor. Start times for 2027 haven't been announced.

The marathon cutoff is five and a half hours; the half marathon cutoff is three and a half hours. The finish line closes at 2 a.m.

The runner behind the YouTube channel Film My Run finished the 2026 race in 3:53; the runner behind the YouTube channel Dom Rosenberg finished the 2025 race in 4:18. The 2025 runner, filming midrace, noted that by 10:30 p.m.

, "I'm usually 1 hour already sleeping." Does the midnight sun mean warm weather? Four minutes before the start, warming up, the same runner said, "It's quite cold even though the sun will be up the whole … race.

It's still like 9° I would say by feeling." The average June temperature is 8.7°C (about 48°F). The 2026 runner got caught in rain at around 11:30 p.

m. and said that even with clouds covering the sun, the sky never got dark.

Tromsø, Norway

3Over the bridge twice, along the coast for the first 25K

The course starts on the island at the heart of the city. It crosses the Tromsø Bridge, follows the mainland coast south to a turnaround, then recrosses the bridge to the island. After a second turnaround on the island's west side, runners head back downtown to the finish.

Total elevation gain is 239 meters (784 feet). That looks modest, but the bridge sits about 40 meters (130 feet) above sea level and delivers two real climbs, near 1.5K and again around 31K. There's a marker every kilometer, and the first one reads 42—they count down the distance remaining.

The 2026 runner saved the warmest praise for the opening stretch: "Stunning out on the coastal road going out and coming back in the first 25 K. Really, really beautiful." Sea to the right, mountains to the left.

At 12K, the 2025 runner was surprised to find people cheering along the road even out in the middle of nowhere. The character changes once the course returns downtown. As it heads back out to the island's west side through residential streets, the 2026 runner found it "a bit dull and a bit miserable."

Most of the scenery comes early.

Tromsø, Norway

4A cutoff 10K from the finish: clear it by 12:45 a.m.

The marathon has one intermediate cutoff. Runners who don't pass Stortorget, 10K from the finish, by 12:45 a.m.

are pulled from the race and recorded as DNF. With an 8:30 p.m.

start, that means covering roughly 32 kilometers (about 20 miles) in 4 hours, 15 minutes—about 7:55 per kilometer (12:44 per mile), a pace you can hit even with some walking. The danger is the bridge, not the clock. The 2025 runner cramped up in the hamstrings on the bridge and called the stretch from 31K to 39K the "worst feeling I ever felt when it comes to running."

The runner still finished in 4:18. The 2026 runner's hamstrings also gave out on the return climb over the bridge. From 33K or 34K on, it was walk, run, repeat.

Even in a first marathon, the cutoff shouldn't be the worry. The variable is the bridge climb around 31K.

Tromsø, Norway

5The marathon costs 1,200 kroner through March 31, 2027

Registration runs through the EQTiming page linked from the race's official website. Fees rise in three stages. The marathon costs 1,200 kroner from September 1, 2026, 1,300 kroner from April 1, 2027, and 1,400 kroner from June 1.

The half marathon goes 830, 950, and 1,050 kroner; the 10K 725, 750, and 850 kroner; and the 5K 500, 500, and 600 kroner. The children's race is free. The registration page doesn't list cancellation or transfer rules.

If you need them, contact the organizing foundation, Stiftelsen Midnight Sun Marathon, directly. There's only one reason to register early: April 1.

Tromsø, Norway

6Bib pickup and gear check at the harbor terminal; no cups from spectators

The race expo, where you pick up your bib, sets up in the harbor terminal. In 2026, it ran from 10 a.m.

to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 19, and from 10 a.

m. to 9 p.m.

on Saturday, June 20. The 2027 schedule hasn't been released. Gear check for half marathon and marathon runners is in the same terminal from 7:30 p.

m. to 2:30 a.m.

, one tag per bag. Showers and changing rooms are at Gyllenborg Hall from 6 p.m.

to 2:30 a.m. Aid stations with toilets come roughly every 5K, and there's a Red Cross medical station every 5K too.

The warmup for every distance begins 15 minutes before the start. The official race information is firm: no food, drinks, or any other help from spectators. That includes cups held out from the roadside.

The 2025 runner said the toilet line alone took 20 minutes before the start.

Tromsø, Norway

7One more day in Tromsø after the finish

After a race that ends past midnight, the next morning starts late. The 2025 runner spent the day on coffee and snacks: "just chilling, drinking coffee… something I've been missing for months without even knowing it." Home base was an ordinary Norwegian house 3 to 4 kilometers (about 2 to 2.5 miles) from the city center.

The day before the race, the bus into town and back passed Tromsø Cathedral, and wherever the runner looked, a big mountain stood in the background. The 2026 runner left the city and booked a room in the island village of Sommarøy: white-sand beaches, a sauna right outside, and cold sea to plunge into straight from the sauna. During the stay, a 200- to 300-meter climb on foot gave a view down over the islands.

The race itself didn't win the runner over, but the verdict was clear: "It's really nice," with the first 25K of coastal road the highlight, and "a real adventure as well to come out here."