Trailtober Marathon

Quiet morning after the rain by the Laka Kálàtoin in Vaakkoi, Nuuksio National Park.

I launched October Trailtober with a completely self-supported trail marathon. In fact, I started the day before October 1st. View it in Strava.

Trailtober flashing some fall colors.

To add buzz to the adventure, I had no idea where my route would lead me. Except that it would most likely be in Nuuksio National Park.

This never gets old. Well these boulders are pretty old, but you know what I mean.

I decided to start by taking bus 345 from Helsinki as far as it would go. Which is pretty far on the outer edges of Espoo, in a place called Vaakkoi.

My favorite view from a cliff above Haukkalampi.

I ran the first half mostly on the classic trail called Route 2000. The blue-white markings had worn off in many places. I took many detours, some for geocaching and photographing purposes, some simply because I wasn't sure where the route is supposed to go.

Mustalampi is a popular place for the picnic people for obvious reasons.

In Salmi outdoor recreation area the Cafe was open and I sat down for a cup of coffee and a delicious cinnamon bun. They let me fill my soft flasks in the kitchen sink. I was ready to continue.

Love to run on these rocks. 

I decided to turn south towards Solvalla, because I knew it would be possible to catch a bus back to the city from there. I also knew the trails there well enough to run without a map.

Lake Valklampi is great but no swimming this time.

The sun was shining and and I had great time running on fabulous trails. Meddle by Pink Floyd blasted in my headphones and the lyrics of Fearless finally made some sense to me after 45 years. Climbing...



In the morning when I started it did rain briefly, so I carried rain gear in my vest just in case. Fortunately for the rest of the day it was clear skies all the way.

Lake Pitkäjärvi means Long Lake in English. I've never ran around it.

I ran to Solvalla via Haukkalampi, Mustalampi and Valklampi lakes. Those are popular places with hikers, but it wasn't too crowded.

The climbing wall of Solvalla about 1km South of Haltia Nature Center. 

I've often wondered if ultratrailrunners ever hit the wall. The answer is yes. For me it happened right after completing my marathon. I encountered this huge granite wall by the bus stop.

There's a trail up on the right side.

"If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up - climb it, go through it, or work around it."
-Michael Jordan