Helsinki City Marathon Reviews (1)

This was the 30th Helsinki City Marathon event, and my first marathon ever.

There were over 6000 participants, of whom 5093 made it all the way through. Everyone started at the same time, which was a bit difficult, especially since the guidesigns for the different target times (4:30 for me) were too close together. This made the crowd very packed at the start.

The weather was very hot and humid, with the temperature at 25 degrees Celsius. There were plenty of sponge points along the way, but only one shower. The route was challenging with numerous bridges, cobbled streets and many steep uphills during the last 7 km.

There were lots of spectators, especially in the city centre, which was nice. There were also several bands and a DJ along the way to improve the mood of the runners, which helped me a lot.

The refreshments in the goal were similar to those of Helsinki City Run this year, which is to say meager. Also there could have been more energy-giving food along the way, bananas only started to appear after 30 km.

The race shirt was ok, but it had a large Chiquita logo at the back, which made it look cheaper. I would also have liked to have a "Helsinki City Marathon finisher" shirt at the end.

All in all, this was a very nice start for my marathon career, and I intend to run a marathon again next year. You can read more about my feelings at http://www.dailymile.com/people/JapaG/entries/2895745