Kilden the Summer Run

Nearly 3,000 runners will line up at the starting line, and Kilden around twenty staff members ready to help set a new participation record at the running festival.

“It’s incredibly fun to be able to participate in an event that’s so positive for both the city and public health,” says Kilden organizer, Hilde Lunde Garby, a horn player with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

Two years ago, Hilde made a major lifestyle change. After lacing up her running shoes for the first time and pushing through six months of training purely out of sheer determination, she was hooked. Now she updates her Strava running app almost daily, but she isn’t focused on short-term changes—her goal is more long-term.
– I want to live to be 100, that’s why I run. I want to be both healthy and old.
Even though the long-term goal is set, it’s not all joy in the lead-up to race day.

Selected tracks from Hilde's playlist:

A Terrible Experience

– “I took part in the summer run for the first time last year, and it was absolutely terrible: a total lack of a sense of accomplishment and no positive experience at all,” Hilde says with a smile. “It was way too hot!”
But even though it was a strange experience, Hilde kept running. While the interview is underway in the cafeteria, two colleagues from the orchestra sit down nearby and mention that the enthusiasm for running has spread to the rest of the orchestra. This is confirmed when you see that 75% of the registered participants from Kilden affiliated with the orchestra, largely thanks to Hilde.

From zero to a hundred
For many, the infamous first step is what stands in the way of exercise and fitness, so how do you actually get started? It makes sense to ask Hilde, who has gone from no training to five or six sessions a week.

– The most important thing is just to get started. Start by walking, then run a little, and increase the intensity when you feel your body is on board, says Hilde.

– In my field, it’s important to be a bit of a nerd, and I’ve brought that nerdiness along with me into my running. If I listen to music while running, it’s only at a tempo of 180 beats per minute, so I maintain an optimal stride frequency,” Hilde continues enthusiastically.

Find a workout buddy
– The sense of community is also important; we’re a group from the orchestra who train together every Monday. Plus, I have an involuntary personal trainer in the orchestra whom I convinced to create a training program for me, says Hilde.
Trym, whom Hilde refers to, plays the trumpet in the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and is the man behind Hilde’s training program.
“I call him my very own Martin Sundy,” laughs Hilde. “Everyone should have someone like that in their life.”

Upcoming Races
The Summer Run is one of the summer’s highlights for Hilde and the runners from Kilden, but there are other races that are also tempting. Hilde mentions a race in North Korea as a possible destination, even though her husband Lars Lunde, also a musician in the orchestra, thinks it might not be an ideal travel destination for a quick-witted horn player.
– But the Mørketidsløpet in Tromsø looks fantastic, and they have by far the nicest medal, Hilde smiles.
It turns out that Hilde has a fascination with medals and eagerly shows screenshots of medals from races she plans to participate in.

The Summer Run reports that nearly 3,000 people have registered for this year’s running festival; a yellow weather warning has been issued, with strong winds and heavy rain expected. Hilde is just happy about it.
– “I love rain,Kilden she concludes.

Kilden with 21 runners as Kilden , abbreviated KilBil, and will be running in bright yellow T-shirts inspired by the movie with (almost) the same name, Kill Bill.