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Date : 11th September, 2019
Time : 1h 0’ 54”
Number of runners (total to date) : 25 (6318)
Run map and details : https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4053241563
https://www.facebook.com/bragdid/
My taxi driver back to the airport turned to me and asked, “So, were you here on business or as a tourist?”
“I’m actually doing a 10 km run in every country in the world.”
“Ah, yes, I heard about you on the radio yesterday morning.”
My almost namesake, Ann Thomsen, had obviously done a good job in her radio interview. She’d also done a good job organising the run.
25 of us met at the Torsbreyt running track and, after introductions, set off for a circuit of the track.
As we turned into the home straight, I realised why weather forecasts in the Faroe Islands include the wind speed.
Not that it was particularly windy by local standards – only about 10 metres/second – but it was enough to make that bit of the run a good full body work out. (The Saturday after our run the wind speed apparently got up to 70 m/s!)
The direction of the wind prompted the run leaders to decide that we should run a clockwise loop from the track and we were soon running through some delightful countryside
down to the coastline for a chance for everyone to reassemble and take a group photo with a ‘it may not come out in the photo’ stunning view out to the sea and outlying islands.
From there we ran along the coastline to Tórshavn , capital of the Faroe Islands. Where we regrouped again before running through the old town with its traditional houses with grass roofs (for insulation)
and past the Prime Minister’s delightfully modest offices.
Through the centre of Tórshavn and up along the Havnara and past the national football stadium before returning to the track for a couple of final laps, goodbyes and the now ‘traditional’ plank.
It just remains for me to say an enormous thank you to Ann, Bjørg, the Bragdiðm running club and all my fellow runners for a great run and a little local fame! The Faroes are dramatically beautiful and, dear reader, you should visit if you get the chance – perhaps for the annual Tórshavn marathon (which has 5 and 10km options)!
Finally, to everyone I met in the Faroes, I’d love to see you in London on 4th July 2020 for the UK, and final, leg of Run the World!
If you’d like to help fight cancer then I and, far more importantly, cancer sufferers around the world, would be immensely grateful for any donations to Cancer Research : https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Dan-Thompson11
Please like / follow Run the World on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter because it would be great to stay in touch and because, however silly it may sound, it makes all the travel and running that little bit easier if you think people care!
Facts & Stats
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.
The Faroe Islands is a North Atlantic archipelago located 320 kilometres (200 mi) north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway between Norway and Iceland. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The islands have a total area of about 1,400 square kilometres (540 sq mi) with a population of 51,783 as of June 2019.
The terrain is rugged; the climate is subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc)—windy, wet, cloudy, and cool. Temperatures average above freezing throughout the year because of the Gulf Stream. As a result of the moderation and the northerly latitude, summers normally hover around 12 °C (54 °F). The northerly latitude also results in perpetual civil twilight during summer nights and very short winter days.
Between 1035 and 1814 the Faroes were part of the Hereditary Kingdom of Norway, which was in a personal union with Denmark from 1450. In 1814 the Treaty of Kiel transferred Norway to the king of Sweden, on the winning side of the Napoleonic wars, whereas the king of Denmark, on the losing side, retained the Faroes, along with the two other historical Norwegian island possessions in the North Atlantic: Greenland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing part the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948.
The Faroese control most of their domestic affairs. Those that remain the responsibility of Denmark include military defence, policing and the justice department, currency, and foreign affairs. However, as they are not part of the same customs area as Denmark, the Faroe Islands have an independent trade policy and can establish trade agreements with other states. The islands also have representation in the Nordic Council as members of the Danish delegation. The Faroe Islands have their own national teams competing in certain sports.
The Faroe Islands don’t have a National Olympic Committee and don’t enter a separate team in the Olympics. However, they do have a National Paralympics Committee and do enter a separate team in the Paralympics. Accordingly, while, strictly speaking, they are not one of the 206 countries that Run the World has to visit per its criteria (i.e. being part of the Olympic movement), it felt right to visit, and run in, the Faroes.
World Bank Data
Here’s the latest World Bank data for the Faroe Island – with the year 2000 as a comparison.
| GDP | $2.69 bn | 2016 | $1.06 bn | 2000 |
| Population | 48 497 | 2018 | 46 735 | 2000 |
| Primary school enrolment* | NA | NA | ||
| CO2 Emissions** | 12.5 | 2014 | 14.8 | 2000 |
| % below poverty line*** | NA | NA | ||
| Life expectancy at birth | 82.4 yrs | 2017 | 78.4 yrs | 2000 |
| GNI per capita | NA | NA |
*Percentage can exceed 100% due to the inclusion of over and under aged students
** Metric tons per capita
***The World Bank notes that the methodology can vary between countries and over time within a given country. (While much of the World Bank data generally follows understandable trends, this number often oscillates wildly suggesting that different methodologies are frequently used over time within a given country.)
Greatest Sporting Nation Data
Finally, here’s the data from Greatest Sporting Nation on how the Faroe Islands performed in the global sporting arena in 2018:
Global Cup – NA
Per Capita Cup – NA
The Global Cup aggregates results from over 1000 events across 80 sports to produce the definitive annual ranking of international sporting success. The Per Capita Cup uses the same data to produce an annual per capita ranking.
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