Helsinki City Run (after the fact)

Well, I ran it. I learned a few things:

1. Finland is cold. I should know this by now, but I am continually surprised. Even in mid-May, you cannot expect that shorts and a long-sleeve shirt will be warm enough for a half marathon.
2. I really should train for this type of event. I was quite sore afterward.
3. Finns are not good at cheering for people, and you can expect silent, unsmiling spectators at a road race in Finland.
4. The gummy-bear-at-each-distance-marker is not fun in Finland because the kilometers go past much more quickly than miles, and also the gummy candies are way too large and dense for that. Towards the end, I started just tossing a piece of candy to the side each time.
5. Peeled, pre-cut-into-thirds bananas at a water station? Genius. It was a little gross to put my sweaty hand into the box where everyone else's sweaty hands had gone to grab a slippery chunk of banana and then toss it into my mouth, but it was a perfectly timed, seemingly healthy and natural energy boost.

This is in the neighborhood of Pikkuhuopalahti. If it looks rainy and miserable, then Kimmo has done his job as a photographer.

The finish line was in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (from when Helsinki hosted the summer olympics in 1952), which was pretty cool. 'Maali' is what they yell when Finland scores a goal in soccer, too.