Helsinki City Marathon
Runners in the 2011 Helsinki City Marathon
DateMay
LocationHelsinki, Finland
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon, Half marathon, 5K run
Established1981
Course recordsMen: 2:12:47 (1993)
Spain Martín Fiz
Women: 2:36:14 (1991)
Soviet Union Albina Galimova
Official siteHelsinki City Marathon
Participants15,000 (2023)

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 as an exception due to COVID-19 pandemic.

History

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The first edition of the Helsinki City Marathon was held on 26 July 1981 and was won by Sinikka Toropainen and Günther Mielke.[1][2] The largest marathon event in the country, it was held in August every year.[2][3] It is approved by the World Athletics federation as a standard long distance race.[4] The half marathon has been held since 1994.[5] Since 2018, the event has been conducted in May annually on the day called "Helsinki City Running Day".[2][3] In 2020, the race was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was held on 3rd October on the same year.[6][7]

Events and course

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Pariticpants in the Helsinki City Marathon in 2007.

Apart from the main marathon event, other events include half marathon, relay, 5K run and miniathon.[2][3] 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.[8]

The events usually start near the statue of Paavo Nurmi located in the Mäntymäentie street.[9][10] The course runs through the appropriate distance various parks along the route, traverses along the Baltic Sea coastline, before reaching the city centre.[2][9] The races usually end at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, which also hosts the refreshment areas.[3][11] The marathon route usually traverses at sea level with a highest altitude of 32 m (105 ft) and an average altitude of 8 m (26 ft). Only about 1.1% of the route has a steep uphill gradient along the 42.2 km (26.2 mi) course.[12] The temperature ranges from 13–18 °C (55–64 °F) during the race.[3]

Participation and prizes

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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.[9] About 15,000 participants raced in the event in 2023.[3] Participants are allowed to participate in multiple events including the double of marathon and half-marathon called the "Helsinki City DOub.[3]

Cash prizes are awarded for top three finishers overall, and the best placed finishers across various age groups and other specified categories.[9] All finishers of the event within a specified time limit (six hours for marathon race) are awarded a participation medal, and other memorabilia.[2] Racers who clock a finishing time less than 2 hours 20 minutes (men) and 2 hours 40 minutes (women) are awarded an additional cash prize of 500 Euros each.[9]

Winners

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Source:[13]
Key:   Course record

Men

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Year Athlete Country Time
1991 Anatoliy Korepanov  Soviet Union 2:18:06
1992 Aleksandr Belyayev  Russia 2:20:39
1993 Martín Fiz  Spain 2:12:47
1994 Zerehune Gizaw  Ethiopia 2:20:18
1995 Tesfaye Bekele  Ethiopia 2:16:59
1996 Julius Mitibani  Tanzania 2:19:00
1997 Julius Mitibani  Tanzania 2:18:07
1998 Julius Mitibani  Tanzania 2:21:24
1999 Pavel Loskutov  Estonia 2:19:18
2000 Nikolaos Polias  Greece 2:18:46
2001 Daniel Komen  Kenya 2:18:43
2002 Sebastian Panga  Tanzania 2:18:39
2003 Giorgio Calcaterra  Italy 2:20:55
2004 Dmitry Kondrashov  Russia 2:21:29
2005 Vener Kashayev  Russia 2:20:07
2006 Francis Wachira  Kenya 2:18:26
2007 Peter Biwott  Kenya 2:20:31
2008 Johnstone Chebii  Kenya 2:24:31
2009 Pavel Andreev  Russia 2:22:34
2010 Gezahagne Girma  Ethiopia 2:22:36
2011 Dominic Ondoro  Kenya 2:23:24
2012 Titus Kurgat  Kenya 2:22:45 [14]
2013 Hosea Kiplagat  Kenya 2:22:26
2014 Justus Kiprono  Kenya 2:20:42
2015 Hiroki Nakajima  Japan 2:38:25
2016 Robert Magut  Kenya 2:27:31
2017 Robert Magut  Kenya 2:27:40
2018 Robert Magut  Kenya 2:29:42
2019 Robert Magut  Kenya 2:27:09
2020 Joni Hirvikallio  Finland 2:29:47
2021 Eric Mangeh  Cameroon 2:21:37
2022 Oscar Holmström  Finland 2:24:57
2023 Eric Mangeh  Cameroon 2:26:14
2024 Oscar Holmström  Finland 2:24:10

Women

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Year Athlete Country Time
1991 Albina Galimova  Soviet Union 2:36:14
1992 Garifa Baijanova  Kazakhstan 2:42:41
1993 Anne Jääskeläinen  Finland 2:43:32
1994 Sylvia Renz  Germany 2:41:30
1995 Roza Vladimirova  Russia 2:54:03
1996 Svetlana Netchaeva  Russia 2:47:38
1997 Galina Zhulyeva  Ukraine 2:41:38
1998 Tatyana Maslova  Russia 2:45:30
1999 Tatyana Maslova  Russia 2:47:10
2000 Tatyana Zolotareva  Russia 2:44:31
2001 Tatyana Zolotareva  Russia 2:45:56
2002 Tatyana Zolotareva  Russia 2:50:10
2003 Tatyana Zolotareva  Russia 2:57:03
2004 Jennifer Lotoiywo  Kenya 2:57:31
2005 Minna Kainlauri  Finland 3:00:29
2006 Haile Kebebush  Ethiopia 2:52:47
2007 Flora Kandie  Kenya 2:51:05
2008 Margarita Plaksina  Russia 2:40:47
2009 Margarita Plaksina  Russia 2:45:28
2010 Leena Puotiniemi  Finland 2:49:11
2011 Leena Puotiniemi  Finland 2:38:05
2012 Salome Biwott  Kenya 2:41:54[14]
2013 Leena Puotiniemi  Finland 2:42:03
2014 Natalya Starkova  Russia 2:37:56
2015 Elina Junnila  Finland 2:54:13
2016 Anna Herzberg  Germany 2:56:29
2017 Anastasia Zakharova  Russia 3:06:44
2018 Katarina Skräddar  Finland 2:54:45
2019 Katarina Skräddar  Finland 2:50:56
2020 Soili Kosonen  Finland 2:55:28
2021 Aleksandra Borodinova  Russia 2:43:22
2022 Annemari Kiekara  Finland 2:41:11
2023 Petra Kilpeläinen  Finland 2:47:54
2024 Koleta Moravcová  Czech Republic 3:07:15

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Helsinki Marathon 1981". Marathon view. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Annamari Ahonen (6 February 2020). "Reasons to run the number one running event in Finland - The Helsinki City Marathon". World Marathons. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Finland: famous for fresh air". AIMS world running. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ List of approved standard distance races (PDF). World Athletics (Report). p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Half marathon". Helsinki City Running Day. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Helsinki City Running Day postponed to early autumn due to Coronavirus". Helsinki City Running Day. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Helsinki City Running Day postponed to 3rd of October and returns to the Olympic Stadium". Helsinki City Running Day. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Helsinki City Marathon relay". Helsinki City Running Day. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Helsinki city marathon". Helsinki City Running Day. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Paavo Nurmi sculptures". Ham Helsinki. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Helsinki city run marathon". Runna. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Helsinki marathon course map". Go and Race. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Helsinki City Marathon". Marathon view. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Results 2012". Helsinki City Marathon. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
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