The race was well organized and well supported. There were lots of spectators applauding along the route.

There is such potential for a beautiful run here - on the coast, crossing over islands in the bay - but, oddly, little of it is visible from the route, as it is obscured by buildings much of the way.

The heat and humidity were a shock and slowed me down a lot. It was necessary to take in a lot of fluid over the course and there were water/energy drink stops approximately every 2K, which was excellent. Unfortunately, the drinks were handed out in plastic cups. Not sure about you, but I cannot run and drink from a cup... so many stops were inevitable. I would suggest small bottles of water/Gatorade that can be drunk from whilst continuing your run.

Apparently, the race used to finish in the Olympic Stadium. This would be a magical finish to the event if it were restored.

Overall, well organized, but a couple of little points that would make such a difference.

Helsinki has a picturesque marathon course, which essentially covers the main harbor area whilst crossing to some of the inner harbor islands.

The race is medium-sized, although with a small feel. It's extremely well run - this event has been going for nearly 30 years.

Race conditions were good with temperatures around 19/66 and dry, bright skies. The only concern was a stiff breeze blowing in off of the Baltic Sea. This has been mentioned in previous years by other competitors. The race starts and finishes outside of the Olympic Stadium, which is quite cool.

My only criticism would be the 3 p.m. Saturday start time, which just feels too late. It means you're hanging around all day waiting to run. Whilst this year was fine, if you had a hot day, then this could be a real problem as opposed to starting early morning, as most marathons do. It would also have been nice to see more marathon merchandise for sale at the expo. The only souvenir available was a free t-shirt that everyone received.

Overall, I would recommend this marathon. It offers you the chance to do a marathon in August (unusual), and Helsinki is an interesting city, where Scandinavia meets Russia.

...make a stop in Helsinki and run the marathon. I did it in 2009 and it was great.

Lovely weather (the organizers say it's like that every year, despite my "Finland-equals-long-sleeve-running-t-shirt-even-in-August" belief), a very scenic racecourse, all around the harbor, jumping from one island to another through nice (and sometimes painfully steep) wooden bridges.

Very enjoyable atmosphere, and friendly and efficient organization. I agree: plenty of porta-potties - and I know what I am talking about, having tried them all (reindeer meatballs on the previous night weren't exactly the most suitable fuel).

Abundance of water and sports drink.

Beautiful support on the racecourse (apart from kilometers 5-15). It was even elegant, I'd say (with well-dressed people cheering and smiling; forget the "way to go"'s and "one-two-one-two"'s), and many hidden lawns to lie on when you were out of stamina but didn't want to be bothered by runners-by.

Well... I would have loved to be bothered by some Finnish girls, as I was stretching my aching muscles on the grass, but the organization wasn't (yet?) that perfect.

Do it!

Really scenic route that's not flat, but with not too frequent, manageable, gentle hills. Beautiful to run alongside marinas, parks, modern and classic city architecture.

Hydration stations every 2K or so with personal drinks, Gatorade and water available at every single one.

Plenty of toilet facilities also.

Easy access to the start, with secure baggage drop right beside the start/finish area.

NO congestion meant that you could get into your stride within the first 20 meters of the race, but always with runners alongside you.

The sunny day, with temperatures of 20 degrees, meant lots of spectators, but they clap and support without shouting and screaming at you. Runners dont tend to chat to each other as they go along. Not sure if this is due to iPods, but I suspect it is not in their nature to be chatty. Excellent marshaling of the roads and pacers were also available. Great lump of a medal and reasonably good goody bag.

Would do it again.

I rated the course at a "three" because I was hopeful that the route would run through more of Helsinki. It seemed that we spent a lot of time on the outskirts of town. While it was very beautiful scenery, I would have liked to see more of the sites of Helsinki. My final observation of the course is that it finished outside of the Olympic stadium. Why couldn't we finish inside?

Organization was great. Registration was easy, final race instructions were clear, and packet pick-up was easy. Having the sports hall to store bags in was also a great plus.

Spectators were great and vocal, but they were sparse. There were plenty of times along the course where we were outside of the city and no spectators were around.

Overall it was a good race. I don't know that I would recommend making a special trip to Helsinki just to run it. If you're in the neighborhood, though, it's worth your while. They have some work to do before I would consider it to be a destination marathon like.

Helsinki puts on a fantastic marathon - a gorgeous and relatively flat course, a well organized event, great T-shirt and medal, and plentiful (if frenzied) water stops (plus pickle and banana stops). As an international runner, they couldn't have made it easier, from the special check-in desk and support for international runners to the 3 p.m. start time (a relaxing option that I hope more races will consider). Thanks to Helsinki for a fantastic race and great vacation!

I just ran the 2009 Helsinki City Marathon. Definitely not my best time, due to the hilly nature of the course. Weather was great - in the mid 60s. The starting time of 3 p.m. is a bit strange. Spectators were pretty minimal throughout. But the organization of the race was great! And a very scenic course.

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.

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.

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....