There are many great reasons to run in Finland: Clean air, exceptionally long summer days, beautiful natural surroundings and high-quality running events. Finland offers wonderful challenges for runners with various interests: road races, marathons, trail runs, ultra-distance events, fun runs – you name it.
Finland has an extensive tradition in long-distance running, and a wide range of high-quality running events exists. Long-distance running is a popular hobby, and the biggest running events in Finland draw well over 10,000 participants. Thousands of foreign runners participate annually in Finnish running events, and interest from abroad continues to grow. Once they’ve been here, they tend to keep coming back, year after year.
For people who love to run, Helsinki and the surrounding areas offer high-quality events. Helsinki is within easy reach, with good travel connections from all over the world. International running events are held in the capital region from April to October.
One of the largest, Helsinki City Running Day, takes place in May and has been known to attract about 15,000 participants. It offers an array of events, including marathon, half-marathon, marathon relay and 5K – or “challenge yourself,” as the organisers say, and run a double: the marathon and the half-marathon on the same day. For the kids, there’s a one-kilometre minimarathon fun run.
Another event, Kainuu Trail Run, takes place in Hossa National Park. Founded in 2017 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Finland’s independence, Hossa is famous for ancient rock paintings and a lake flanked by spectacular cliffs.
Set your sights on a suitable event, take a few of your friends with you, and experience what it’s like to run in Finland.
