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.

GRIT Journal Mammut
Watch the film: GRIT

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. 

Grit Journal Map

The runners

  • Julie Hewison

    Ski instructor, Switzerland

    TR Journal
  • Marie Gamen

    Refuge caretaker, France

    TR Journal Mammut
  • Carol Passarelli

    Consultant/Doctor of Physical Therapy, USA

    TR Journal

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.”

TR Journal
TR Journal
  • TR Journal Mammut
  • TR Journal Mammut
  • TR Journal Mammut
  • TR Journal Mammut
  • TR Journal Mammut
  • TR Journal Mammut
  • TR Journal Mammut

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.

“I
do
hope
that,
if
anything,
this
can
redefine
what
grit
and
tenacity
looks
like.”

TR Journal Mammut

Meet the new trail running collection