Finland is not only worth a trip thanks to the Northern Lights and the thousands of lakes.
You shouldn't miss out on one or two running events in the safest country in the world. After all, you have the choice of beautiful countryside runs, but also atmospheric city marathons.
The land of running legends
Along with ice hockey and cross-country skiing, track and field is one of the most important popular sports in Finland. Paavo Nurmi and Lasse Virén, for example, are absolute running legends. Paavo Nurmi was considered almost unbeatable after the First World War. He won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp. However, he was to provide historic moments in 1924, when he ran to five Olympic victories at the Olympic Games in Paris. He achieved these five Olympic victories in just four days. On one day, he even achieved Olympic victories in the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters within two hours. He was not even nominated for the 10,000-meter race at the time because the federation feared Nurmi would tire. Over this distance, however, he set a world record of 30:06.2 minutes just a few weeks after the Olympic Games. But it was only one of many. Because in the course of his career he achieved numerous other world records.
Lasse Virén's great era was to follow a few decades later. In 1972 and 1976, he achieved something that only Mo Farah managed afterwards. Lasse Virén won the gold medals in the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters at two consecutive Olympic Games. This feat was achieved before only Emil Zatopek (1948 and 1952) and after that only Mo Farah (2012 and 2016).
Traditional running events in Finland are held mainly in the capital Helsinki.
The biggest running events in Finland
Helsinki hosts the Helsinki City Marathon in the spring. The running event has been held annually since 1981. In Turku, on the other hand, a marathon in honor of Paavo Nurmi is held in the summer. The event is called the Paavo Nurmi Marathon.
The date of the IRONMAN 70.3 Lahti is much sought after by triathletes. Unusually for races of the IRONMAN series, the competition there will only start in the afternoon, so that many participants will reach the finish under the midnight sun. Definitely an extraordinary event.
The Nuuksio Classic Trail in Espoo is also extraordinary. On this ultra trail you discover the most beautiful sides of Finland on a 70 kilometer long route. Much shorter, but at least as strenuous, is the Red Bull 400 in Lahti, a 400-meter mountain run up the ski jump in Lahti. The Red Bull 400 series is held in many countries around the world, including Finland.
All Running Races in Finland (sorted by date) can be found in the following overview:
Running competitions 2026 in Finland
Go to the running calendar Finland
More sports in Finland:
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