Daniel Gardarsson, a native of Reykjavik, Iceland, runs in his first season with the Hawkeyes.

By Adam Hensley
[email protected]

Around 3,090 miles. That is the distance between Reykjavik, Iceland, and Iowa City. Compared with his fellow Hawkeyes, Daniel Gardarsson lives the farthest from home.

2015 marks the first year Hawkeye cross-country fans can watch Gardarsson suit up. He redshirted in 2014 for cross-country, but participated in track and field.

In track, Gardarsson ran his best mile indoors at the ISU Classic with a time of 4:14.72. Outdoors, he competed in the 1,500 meters. His best time was at the Beach Invitational, at 3:53.74.

“I was amazed, honestly,” he said. “My thought process going into it was, ‘If I can make a couple of second improvements, I can stay on the team. I ended up making a seven second personal record right off the bat.”

Gardarsoon redshirted his freshman year of cross-country because his body was not up to speed with the other runners.

“To be honest, I was not quite ready for an 8K,” he said. “My summer training did not quite go as planned. I decided late in the summer that I would join [the team]. I could focus on training and not have to worry about being ready for races.”

This summer, however, was a different story. Toward the end, Gardarsson was up to 80 miles a week, the most he has ever done.

“I had a really strong summer,” he said. “That’s what I didn’t have last year. I’m one step ahead of where I was last year. I bumped up my mileage.”

In Iowa City for the Early Bird Invitational, Gardarsson placed 26th with a time of 19:43.2. At the Illinois State Invitational, he placed 52nd in the 8K at 26:17.2.

“Daniel works hard but works intelligently,” head coach Layne Anderson said. “He’s a blue-collar, hard-working guy.”

Gardarsson does not destroy his body while running; he knows when to back off.

“He has the physical ability, the drive, and desire,” Anderson said. “All indicators are that he will be successful.”

This stellar work ethic spreads to his teammates, as noted by fellow Hawkeye Brook Price.

“Everyone on the team has a much better work ethic than previous years, and Daniel is a big part of that,” Price said. “When you see a guy working hard, it makes you want to work that much harder yourself, and I always see Daniel giving it his all.”

Before deciding to go to Iowa, Gardarsson, an Iowa City West High standout, thought about going to school in Europe, until Iowa’s previous coach, Larry Wieczorek, contacted him about running for the Hawkeyes.

In high school, Gardarsson finished second at the 2014 state meet in the 1,600 meters and sixth in the 3,000 meters. He also holds the West High record in the 1,600.

“I get one shot at being a collegiate athlete,” he said. “The Hawkeyes [were] asking me, I couldn’t say no.”

Wieczorek left the program shortly after, and Anderson took over. Gardarsson said he had no second thoughts about his decision after the coaching change.

“He’s a great guy,” Gardarsson said of Anderson. “His style works well, I’ve been making great improvements this year.”

Follow @A_Hens83 on Twitter for news, updates, and analysis of the Iowa cross-country team.