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“Beautiful. So beautiful.” – Pyhä Crowned NUTS’ Record-Breaking Summer

This is a machine translation generated by ChatGPT. Original text by Marko Krapu in Finnish.

“Beautiful. So beautiful.”

This is how Italian runner Luca Vivaldi summed up his feelings in broken English, sweaty but happy after completing the 10K.

Vivaldi was one of 852 participants who challenged themselves on the versatile trails of Pyhä-Luosto National Park during the NUTS Pyhä event.

NUTS’ incredible summer continued with the fourth event of the year bringing the fourth attendance record. The previous record at Pyhä was broken by 21 participants. Earlier this summer, new records were already set at Karhunkierros, Syöte, and Ylläs Pallas.

The new record is particularly significant since 2023 was the last year to use postponed entries from the COVID years, which had boosted participant numbers back then.

– The summer left a really good feeling. We saw many new runners for whom all this buzz was brand new. I think these records are partly due to the growing recognition of the NUTS brand,

– As the events grow and participant profiles change, the organizer must respond to those changes and to areas of improvement that arise, says NUTS event producer Teemu Takkula, who promises that all feedback will be reviewed thoroughly.

Veera Parikka smiling while running on a reinforced trail section designed to protect the surrounding nature. Photo: Poppis Suomela

Organizers received a lot of praise for the trail, markings, and overall atmosphere.

Still, some feedback highlighted room for improvement. Many participants were frustrated with the two-way traffic between the aid stations at Karhunjuomalampi and Huttuloma (approx. 6 km). This rerouting was due to Metsähallitus prohibiting the use of the old trail due to conservation concerns, directing all users to the new gravel path.

– Metsähallitus has indeed closed the old trails. It’s understandable that not everyone welcomed this change. There are inevitably some narrow points along that section. We’ll explore alternative routes for next year and discuss options with Metsähallitus, says Takkula.This is a machine translation generated by ChatGPT. Original text by Marko Krapu in Finnish.

TTF men’s lead reshuffled

Johannes Soutukorva ran the fastest time in the half marathon. Photo: Rami Valonen

The men’s overall leaderboard got a shake-up.

Johannes Soutukorva improved on last year’s fourth-place finish by taking gold in Pyhä’s half marathon, clocking a time of 1:50:31.

“It was a really enjoyable run, and my buddy Ari Backholm helped with pacing for quite a while. I made my move about a kilometer before the final climb. Uphills were definitely my strength today, while my friend had the edge on downhills,” Soutukorva said.

Veteran runner Backholm, aged over 50, gave Soutukorva a tough challenge and finished just a couple of minutes behind. Kalle Linnasaari claimed third place.

Soutukorva wore the TTF leader’s imaginary yellow vest for only seven minutes before Markus Pennanen, finishing fourth, overtook him in the standings by having completed one more race. The overall rankings consider the best four results.

“I’m definitely going to run at Aulanko, and if that goes well, I might also race at Vaarojen Maraton,” Soutukorva revealed.

The next TTF race is the Nuuksio Classic, 43 km, in early September.

Kaisanlahti and Inkilä conquer the marathon

Maija Kaisanlahti won the marathon with what she described as “a solid performance”. Photo: Rami Valonen

On the marathon course, Maija Kaisanlahti from Sallan Karhut showed the best pacing strategy on a demanding route featuring over 1100 meters of ascent.

Her winning time of 4:23:17 is the fastest ever on the current course. Last year’s winner, Ella Keski-Panula, improved her own time by almost 11 minutes, but still trailed Kaisanlahti by five minutes.

“I must say this win came from a solid, basic run. I didn’t expect to clock this time, but on the other hand, I didn’t have any extra in the tank either,” Kaisanlahti smiled.

While temperatures didn’t reach extreme highs, the heat still caused problems for many, particularly cramps.

“Heat wasn’t an issue for me today because I’ve done a lot of roller skiing on asphalt over the summer. Of course, I drank more fluids than usual and was constantly thirsty,” she said.

Pauliina Meskus completed the women’s podium with a time of 4:41:26.

Reetu Inkilä won the men’s marathon “on a hobbyist’s base”. Photo: Poppis Suomela

On the men’s side, the marathon podium featured a trio relatively unknown to the wider trail running community.

With an orienteering background, Reetu Inkilä topped the 193-runner men’s field with a time of 4:10:02.

“I’ve been more of a hobbyist runner for a long time and haven’t raced much. Mostly, I just run for fun.”

“The run felt great for a long time. I was pretty much alone, so I kept a comfortable pace. The last two kilometers were tough – my hamstring cramped badly on the final climb, and that last downhill isn’t really runnable. Luckily, I didn’t have to sprint to the finish – that could’ve ended badly,” Inkilä chuckled.

Juuso Joukas, with a skiing background and racing in his first trail event, finished second (4:14:47), ahead of Julius Pirhonen (4:20:58).

In the 10K race, overall victories went to Vilma Sydänlammi (1:06:27) and Luca Vivaldi (55:51). In the under-16 category, top performers Nella Matturi (1:08:09) and Ilmari Hietala (59:21) both finished second overall.

This autumn, NUTS still has two more trail events: NUTS HEL in Helsinki’s Central Park in October, and NUTS Köykkyri in Kempele at the end of November.

Text:

Marko Krapu