Helsinki offers three half-marathons over the summer, but the most interesting is the one during City Running Day. The main attraction of this half-marathon is finishing inside the stadium that hosted the 1952 Summer Olympic Games. There are not many races in the world inside an Olympic stadium. Another attraction is that most of the route is on the seaside of Helsinki, in nature, around lakes, and inside forests. It is not a typical city marathon.

The event was very well organized and had many positive aspects. Many volunteers were on the route, ensuring things were okay—this was a record number of volunteers for a race. They served water and isotonic every 4-5 km. People started in waves every 10 minutes, so it was not crowded at the start, and you could run faster if you wanted to and were able to.

I would have preferred that they don’t have hills. Also, about 5 km of the total distance is not on asphalt but on gravel. You will definitely end up with pebbles inside your shoes. These are not good conditions for me, but they might be suitable for other runners. For people who like to run in the mountains, this is much better than running only on asphalt.

The race day was perfect, with temperatures of about 13 degrees Celsius. The only problem was the wind. The Marathon started at 9:30 AM, and the half-marathon was held in the afternoon from 2:20 PM, similar to in Gothenburg.

My race went according to plan for the first 3 km until I stopped to drink isotonic water. The hills came, and I went from a race mindset to a mood of enjoying nature and the moment and not focusing on the time to finish the race. I stopped and drank isotonic water at each post. Running on pebbles was also not fun.

Upon entering the stadium, I removed my cap as a sign of respect for the history of this temple of athletics. The finish was lovely, with many spectators encouraging the runners in the Olympic stadium. The organizers made the most of this attraction by charging a 50 euro entry fee for the Half-marathon and a 60 euro price for the pictures.

My friend Bogdan had an interesting number at the start. Compared with me, he is better trained and was able to focus on the race and finish in 1:47. If it wasn’t for the climbing and descending, he would have achieved a personal best at this race.

My main reason for choosing this race was the finish at the Olympic stadium. It was in this place, at the 1952 Olympic Games, that Emil Zatopek won gold at 5000m, 10000m and Marathon. No other athlete ever done that and very likely no one else will ever be able to achieve the triple win at an Olympics Game. I consider Zatopek the most remarkable human in athletics, not only for his results but also for the courage to always do what is right. In Czechia, they recently made a movie about his sports career.