Central Park Run: Starting From The Olympic Stadium Of...

Helsinki, Finland

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Posted:  Tuesday, August 15
Runner:  J.P. Roos

Central Park run: starting from the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki (there are free locker and shower rooms in the East side of the stadium) you run north, taking first the road which goes north starting from the Stadium Youth Hostel (a good place to stay!), you cross one big road and after that you will never see a car, or at least never at the same level. This is the Central Park of Helsinki which is open all the way up to Lapland (dividing the city into West and East wings). You may choose any kind of routes but if you want to run about 12-15k you follow the signs which say Paloheinä, basically running north. In Paloheinä, there is a pleasant cafe, open in the afternoons on weekdays, all day saturday-sunday. In Paloheinä there is a soft jogging course of 2-5k, rather hilly but very pleasant for the feet. All this is lit up all night long so you don't have to worry about getting lost in the dark. If you want to run 20-25k you continue from Paloheinä making a wide circle in the forest and turning back to the city by Vantaankoski. There are good maps available in the city tourist office and in the cafes along the route. You don't have to use the same route coming back (there are three main routes going from south to north, with lots of connecting routes). In winter, if there is snow, all the routes are skiing tracks, and runners are not - well if not welcome but frowned upon. But then you can rent skis from Paloheinä!

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