Reykjavíkur Maraþon - Marathon in Reykjavik

WORK/PROJECT: The City of Reykjavík* will be our host again for the fourth year in-a-row during this sports event, which is the largest one in the country. We will be working in a very practical, sometimes repetitive way, preparing for the marathon as well as working during the marathon run itself. Before the events, SEEDS volunteers will be engaged in preparing the packages for the local and international runners, those packages are delivered at registration and contain among others the shirts and numbers for each participant, detailed information about the marathon and the city. Volunteers will prepare the sports hall were registrations are taken and help during the registration itself. On the run day, diverse tasks in different locations along the circuit will be performed.

As volunteers will work during the weekend the marathon takes place, they will have two days off during the regular working/business days (Monday to Friday). The Reykjavík Marathon (Reykjavíkur Maraþon) will take place on August 22nd. The working load will be heavier in the last days prior to the weekend and during the weekend itself. Volunteers will work before, during and after the marathon (one day), helping in the many different activities related to the preparation and execution as re-arranging all again, once the marathon is over.

ACCOMMODATION: Volunteers will be lodged in a building located in the centre of Reykjavík, sharing a large room and sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Volunteers are expected to cook their own meals, ingredients will be provided and the common tasks will be shared fairly.

LOCATION: Reykjavík*, the Icelandic capital, has been called Europe’s hottest capital. Slick advertising campaigns have championed the city’s famed nightlife. But there is more to Reykjavik than pubs and clubs. Reykjavík held the prestigious title European City of Culture in the year 2000; a welcome recognition of the energetic and colourful cultural life of the capital.

The world’s northernmost capital bridges the Atlantic, between Europe and North America, is framed by the majestic Mt. Esja and the blue waters of Faxaflói Bay. The population of the city is about 120,000 (40% of Iceland’s population) in the metropolitan area and 200,000 (60% of Iceland’s inhabitants) including its suburbs. It is growing steadily and 45% is younger than 30 years old. Reykjavík is a dynamic, modern city in harmony with beautiful nature, using renewable energy sources, geothermal power and glacial rivers. It is an International city with a lively Cosmopolitan cultural scene.

Visitors experience easily the pure energy at the heart of Iceland's capital- whether from the boiling thermal energy underground, the natural green energy within the city and around it, or the lively culture and fun-filled nightlife. Reykjavik is spread across a peninsula with a panoramic view of the mountains and the Atlantic on almost all sides. In the summer, one can sit by the harbour at midnight and watch the sun dip slightly below the horizon before it makes its way up again.

LANGUAGE: English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

STUDY THEME: Environmental messenger in the project. S/he will be in charge of delivering ecological and global education messages to both, International volunteers and local hosts through organised activities. We intend to raise awareness and to encourage the participants to undertake simple but easy-to-implement actions which will affect the way we deal with the environment and the world we live in.

TERMINAL: Closest International Airport: Keflavík (Reykjavík), KEF. Closest bus terminal in Reykjavík.

EXTRAS: Participation fee EUR 150,- (Euros). Excursions and free time activities in the area will be arranged for the volunteers. Passes to access free of charge the city’s seven geothermal swimming pools and beach and the chance to live the northernmost capital city in the world and one of the smallest!

* The name Reykjavík means “smoky bay”: Given by the first settlers that arrived to the area due to the high geothermal activity and the constant rise of steam out of the hot springs around.