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Helsinki City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Helsinki City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 34 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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Simon Cox from London
(8/18/2009)
"Could And Should Be Better!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Helsinki is a nice place to visit. That's the positive news. I don't like to be too critical, but as for the marathon, I have the following observations: 1. Why does it start at 3 p.m., instead of 9 a.m. like most marathons? The temperature was already 24 degrees at the start of the race. 2. Helsinki is a very green city, but a lot of the marathon is run on tarmac competing with passing traffic. It's quite depressing and drab. 3. There's good support at 4K and 25K, and at the finish; but apart from that, you don't have much support along the course. 4. The marathon isn't publicized very well in Helsinki, and most locals don't know that the event exists. 5. The race starts and finishes outside of the Olympic stadium. Why can't we finish in the stadium like Stockholm or Amsterdam? The marathon should be so much better. It really has potential, as there were over 6,000 runners, and a lot of those were from overseas. The organizers should really do better. | |
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A. W. from Guernsey
(8/25/2008)
"great summer run in the north" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Fabulous city for a trip and a run. Very safe place; people were nice and accommodating. Good start by the Olympic stadium, and to finish in it and have your name up on the scoreboard is cool. The expo didn't have much and there was no pasta party. The 3 p.m. start time was strange; earlier would be so much better. Scenic course around city islands, but undulating to say the least. You can have a free swim in the Olympic pool after the run, which is nice. | |
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M. G. from Imperia, Italy
(9/14/2007)
"Nice time in Helsinki" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Helsinki City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run in Helsinki twice - the first time in 1999 and now again in 2007. It's a great place for a run, with great people on the street, a great, quiet city, and a great finish in the Olympic stadium.... | |
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M. S. from London ENGLAND
(8/21/2007)
"Challenging hills; great views across water" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Nice city marathon. Hills? Yes! Windy? Yes! And a strange starting time (3 p.m. in the afternoon). However I did enjoy this marathon.... Lots of drink station (too many, really, if that's possible - and I'm not too sure on the gherkins for re-hydration either!) Small number of competitors, easy-to-navigate course, no crowds and finishing in the 1952 Olympic Stadium - what a treat...!!! Easy start finish area with sauna, spa and pool nearby. Not for first-time runners, but worth a visit to see a great little city. Thanks, Helsinki. | |
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G. C. from London, England
(8/20/2007)
"Very well organized marathon - do it!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Had read comments about the organization of Helsinki in previous years and 2007 did not disappoint. Significant numbers of volunteers ensured this was a very well organized and enjoyable race. Course was very scenic and took in the best parts of the city and surroundings. The course allows spectators to easily walk to various points along the route to cheer you on. The only point to note is that the course is definitely "undulating" - more hills than I had anticipated. But very enjoyable nonetheless. Great weather - not too hot, but quite windy in parts, especially along the sea front. Sea breeze did keep things cool which was good. There were lots of refreshment stations and lots of drinks/food at each station. Salted cucumber was a novelty! Also, lots of WCs along the course - clean and actually with paper! Great medal and finishing in the stadium was a great thrill. Spectators were supportive but not very numerous. All in all, a fantastic race and one I would highly recommend. | |
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A. M. from Moscow, Russia
(8/18/2007)
"Quite hilly course; friendly people" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course is not very interesting. Lots of drinks along the course. Lots of spectators also. Spectators are not very enthusiastic, but I think it is because of the mentality of the people who live in the North. Finish was at the Olympic stadium of Helsinki. It was a great pleasure to see my name and my time at the scoreboard of the stadium. | |
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jeff siebold from Warsaw, Poland
(8/22/2006)
"A Marathon I Recommend" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is my 16th marathon total, my 3rd in Europe. I would not hesitate to recommend this marathon to anyone (I can't say the same for the similarly-sized Rotterdam Marathon). The marathon had all the bases covered: 1) Course was a nice combination of city sights (including popular tourist areas which created huge crowds in these areas) and natural beauty along the Baltic (although, the course has its fair share of hills, so I wouldn't count on a PR here). 2) Well-organized before, during and after including water stations that had people providing water or Gatorade (a unique choice for European marathons) to you instead of having to reach on the table for it. 3) Spectators were unique in that while certainly not the crowds of Chicago or Berlin, most individual fans seemed to clap for runners passing, as opposed to just waiting and watching for the one runner they were really here to watch. Nice crowd support. 4) Finishing in the 1952 Olympic Stadium with the crowd roaring and each finisher's name displayed on the big screen as they finish was a real thrill. However, the finisher's medal, with its lack of a hole and ribbon attached was the only negative. The 3 p.m. start seemed strange to me. But the cool breezes off the Baltic balanced the 25C temperature, so heat wasn't a problem. Great city to visit as well, with many beautiful buildings. This can also be a good tune-up for a fall marathon with the time of the year that it is. There aren't many marathons at this time. | |
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Geoff Levett from London , England
(8/21/2006)
"Great race in a beautiful city" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my second marathon and I found it a lot tougher than London. There are a lot of straight flat sections where you can't fool your mind into getting you just to the next corner and it seems that the worst hills are saved for the last 10-15 KMs. That said, the organization was superb, everything was explained very clearly, drink stops were frequent and well-manned. There are hardly any "fun" runners or charity runners and the crowd does thin out at times, especially when you get to the outskirts of the city, but I liked that because it meant that my view of the beautiful islands of Helsinki was unobstructed. The medal is a corker, really chunky, and the t-shirt too was superior to any race t-shirt I have received before. Finishing in the Olympic Stadium with your friends or family in the stands is a really special thing and much better than wandering around Horseguards trying to get your mobile phone to work. I'd really recommend this marathon to beginners or experienced marathon runners - there's plenty to see in Helsinki if you're there for a weekend and the Finns seem to be sport crazy and really happy to have visitors to their city. | |
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A. B. from Alessandria, Italy
(8/25/2005)
"A great week in Helsinki" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My first marathon, so, indeed, a success.... Reached the end and less than 4 hours. Hilly marathon, especially after the 30's, but great organization (just some narrow passages at the beginning), lots of refreshments, and good pacers! Helsinki is a great city, full of bars and discos too (not the night before, lol), nice to vist and to stay in (don't forget to taste sauna pleasure). | |
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T. O. from Dundalk, Ireland
(8/12/2005)
"Great day" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Helsinki City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon - quite warm 22 - 23 degrees but loads of refreshment points throughout the course. Great atmosphere around the course with some very enthusiastic fans. Quite hilly so as mentioned in previous comments, it's not a PB course. Great t-shirt and medal. Definitely recommend Helsinki as a place to go as we found the city to be very clean, pretty and well layed out.The locals were very easy on the eye and were also very helpful and friendly. |
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