The 19 amazing trail races arranged in August make it hard to choose which to attend. Here’s a short intro on each of them, and remember; if you get excited and choose to do many (or why not even all of them) it’s totally ok to take it easy and just enjoy the beautiful scenery!
The August races kick off on the 6th with two demanding events, both of which also feature ultra distances. In the Laipanmaa wilderness area in Pälkäne it is time for the Sappee Trail Run. The event offers races between 18 and 55 km on beautiful, but demanding trails. The first ever Terva Trail Run is the other race you can lace your shoes up for on the 6th, choosing either 32, 60 or 100 km to run. The routes run through relatively flat terrain along the Oulunjoki river, so even the ultra is quite approachable.
Scenery from Kultakero on Pyhätunturi from the Tunturimaraton.. Joonas Kortelainen caught on camera by Jaakko Posti
Brannin Trail runs through cliffs and rocky terrain in between the Kymijoki river and Lake Kukuljärvi.
Saturday 13.8. is truly a superday of trail races, as it offers five different events to choose from. Superman might do them all, but a regular trail runner has the hard task of choosing. If you are after scoring Buff Trail Tour points or hear the call of the Finnish fjells, you should choose Tunturimaraton. There’s still room in the races, you can choose from 10, 21 or 42 km distances.
If, on the other hand, you happen to be in Southern Finland, you can choose between the Brannin Trail, running through the picturesque Kukuljärvi scenery in Loviisa (10 and 21 km distances) and the Loppi Extreme in Loppi, offering 7,5 ja 21,5km distances.
On the same day runners will also compete in the only trail run in Ahvenanmaa, Bomarsund Trail Run, as well as in Pyssymäki Extreme, one of the races in the Pohjanmaa Polkujuoksu Cup.
Espoo Trail Run will be run as an evening race on Wednesday the 17th in the Espoo central park and on Saturday 20.8. it is time for Vuokatti Trail Challenge in Kainuu. All the routes (23, 42 and 100 km) run over the demanding seven hills in Vuokatti. On the same day in Central Finland runners will head out on the trails of Jämsänkoski in the Saunalenkki race, after which the runners can have a relaxing sauna on the lake and maybe even dip in!
Maarian polku takes runners through open cliffs along the Aurajoki river.
On 21.8. runners can choose from three great races: the first ever Maarian Polku (10,5 and 21 km) in Turku, Jaama Run (10 and 22 km) in Kontiolahti or Seitsemisen Polkujuoksu (6, 10 and 20 km) in the Seitsemisen national park in Ikaalinen.
Saturday 27.8. doesn’t make it any easier to choose where to run, as there are five races to pick from: Hamina Valli Trail (7 and 14 km) in Kymenlaakso, Joensuu Trail Run (10 ans 20 km) on the demanding trails of Utranharju, NiceTRAIL (7 km) a ladies only -race in the forests of Kauppi, Inov-8 Trail Running (10 and 21 km) in Seinäjoki and last but not least, Pirunpolku (3, 11 and 22 km) in Sastamala running up the Ellinvuori hills.
If you still have energy after Saturday, on Sunday you should head to Salpalinja Trail Run in Lappeenranta and get to know an important piece of Finnish history on the 1-17 km routes.
Though there are such amazing races to choose from in August, be sure to reserve some energy for the challenges that September brings! On of the top picks is Sporzz Trail Run Meiko , organized for the first time on 11.9 in Kirkkonummi. This race is run through one of the finest wilderness areas in South-Western Finland, and hopefully it will get runners excited!
The Kirkkonummi municipality has done restoration work on the Meikko trails and put up new markings, which will be tested for the first time in the Sporzz Trail Run Meik. All the participation fees from the race will be used for further work on the trails.