Helsinki City Marathon
The Helsinki City Marathon is an annual marathon held in Helsinki, Finland. It has been held since 1981 and is the largest marathon event in the country. It is approved by the World Athletics federation as a standard long distance race. While earlier it was held in August, it has been moved to May since 2018 to be conducted on the "Helsinki City Running Day". The event was held in October in 2020 and 2021 as an exception due to COVID-19 pandemic.
History
The first edition of the Helsinki City Marathon was held on 26 July 1981 and was won by Sinikka Toropainen and Günther Mielke. The largest marathon event in the country, it was held in August every year. It is approved by the World Athletics federation as a standard long distance race. The half marathon Helsinki City Run has been held since 1994. Since 2018, the event has been conducted in May annually on the day called "Helsinki City Running Day". In 2020, the race was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was held on 3rd October on the same year. Similarly, the same happened in 2021, when the event was held on the 2nd of October.Events and course
Apart from the main marathon event, other events include half marathon, relay, 5K run and miniathon. The relay event consists of four legs 12.8 km, 8.8 km, 12.3 km and 8.3 km respectively with transition areas Meilahti, Opera House, and again in Meilahti and is run by a team of four runners.The events usually start near the statue of Paavo Nurmi located in the Mäntymäentie street. The course runs through the appropriate distance various parks along the route, traverses along the Baltic Sea coastline, before reaching the city centre. The races usually end at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, which also hosts the refreshment areas. The marathon route usually traverses at sea level with a highest altitude of and an average altitude of. Only about 1.1% of the route has a steep uphill gradient along the course. The temperature ranges from during the race.
Participation and prizes
The racers are allowed to participate in different age categories apart from the open category. A participation fee is charged based on the event concerned. About 15,000 participants raced in the event in 2023. Participants are allowed to participate in multiple events including the double of marathon and half-marathon called the "Helsinki City Double.Cash prizes are awarded for top three finishers overall, and the best placed finishers across various age groups and other specified categories. All finishers of the event within a specified time limit are awarded a participation medal, and other memorabilia. Racers who clock a finishing time less than 2 hours 20 minutes and 2 hours 40 minutes are awarded an additional cash prize of 500 Euros each.
Winners
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