Paavo Nurmi Marathon (Finland)

I LOVED the Paavo. I've always been afraid to run it because of all of the hills. I've grown up blocks away from the finish line, and never dreamed of running it because I know the area and the hills and how hot it usually is day of. Then I almost PR'd for my marathon time! There are so many aid stations that it's incredible. This is the first marathon I've done where I haven't stopped at all of them. The hills are good. They give your legs a break from beating on the flat pavement. I loved it. The only hindrance is the 5-mile stretch of highway with no shade at the end. If you love the U.P., running in the country (especially the first 10-mile stretch - sooo beautiful), and a down-to-earth, not-very-big marathon, the Paavo is for you!

I write from the perspective of an American. This was my 7th marathon, and my son's first. Our goal was to run it together successfully and we achieved our goal. As with other Scandinavian marathons, it starts in the afternoon (1:00 p.m.). Weather was sunny but not too warm. With this start time, it could get very warm. Course is a half-marathon loop that is run twice. It starts in the beautiful city, goes briefly through an industrial area, and is mostly in the rural countyside. Finishes back in the city, running along the river right next to outdoor cafes. You see some beautiful boats and ships. Some bicycles and spectators can get in the way on occasion. Few hills, but there is one long one out in the country. Aid stations every few kilometers with Maxim and water. Second half it included some sort of PowerBar, and once, some dill pickles! There is a marker every kilometer along the way. Nicely organized and well run. The finisher's medal is beautiful. You receive a t-shirt with your race packet, then a second similar one at the end that says, "finisher." Information about the race is hard to come by in English. We only found out about the start time when we arrive in Finland in Turku. This was a very, very nice event that I highly recommend. There were about 600 marathon runners, and about 1500 half. Everyone starts together. One improvement: there is a long stretch with no WC (toilet), which my son needed badly.

Beautiful, flat course amidst all of the greatest sights in the city: river, cathedral, castle, old boats, islands. A very nice crowd and good arrangements. I would recommend this to anyone! There were a couple of complaints that the organizers have already promised to correct for next year: one station ran out of water and equipment storage was too far away from the finish line. My own race went perfectly, made a PR of 22 minutes, thanks to my wonderful support team along the route!!