4/4/48 Virtual Solo Challenge 80K

4/4/48 virtual solo running challenge is done!

It involved running 4 miles (6.437km) every 4 hours for 48 hours. That means 12 x 6.437 = 77.244km. Actually I ran a little extra to get exactly 80K.

The loops took me 40-50 minutes, leaving three hours before the next run.

We started on Thursday at 8pm Helsinki time. The night runs at midnight and 4am were most challenging. Just when you fall asleep, your alarm rings and you must get out for a run in the dark and cold. Twice each night, for two nights.

The 8am, noon and 4pm loops felt somewhat easier. But don’t get me wrong: this is not as easy as it may sound. You need stamina and discipline to finish.

I ran my loops in Helsinki Central Park. I felt lucky, as some runners in England had to run around their garden and so on. It was the same course I used in Backyard Ultra, with some variations to avoid boredom. The weather was ideal, some clouds but no rain. Especially the second night was chilly though.

Thanks for all the participants in Finland and England for making this so much fun. Thank you Jon Brazier for putting this on and inviting me in.

Helsinki 50K50F50%

After watching the old running film UltraMarathon Man: 50 Marathons - 50 States - 50 Days for the first time recently, this is my tribute run for Dean Karnazes.

It’s called 50K - 50F - 50%, as I ran 50 kilometers in 50 degrees Fahrenheit with 50 per cent effort today!

Thanks to Jon and Mikki for running with me for a part of the journey around Helsinki.

In the center of city I took a wrong turn (not unusual for me) and found a stone monument in Armi Ratia’s Park with the following inscription on it:
”There is only one responsibility - beauty; There is only one reality - dream; There is only one power - love.” - Armi Airaksinen, 14 years old Armi Ratia née Airaksinen is the founder of Marimekko. I’ve never been in her park before.

Anyway, nice sunny day for a 50K!

NUTS Virtual Easter 10K and Half-marathon

I ran two NUTS virtual races during Easter 2020: a 10K and a half-marathon.

The 10K was just random trail running on Saturday at Taivaskallio, near my home. The 21.1K was in Nuuksio National Park on Sunday, with my son.

It was awesome! My times were very slow, but I was awarded a prize for suggesting the idea for this event. 800 runners signed in and 600 finished one of the distances.

Quarantine Backyard Ultra

Quarantine Backyard Ultra by Personal Peak was a well-received virtual event via Zoom and Strava. Over 2,400 runners started at the same bell ring on Saturday, April 4th, 2020.

It was fun to see other participants on the screen running around their living room couch, around the block they lived in, or on a frozen mountain lake in Northern Sweden like Anna Carlsson.

After a snow-free winter in Helsinki, I was surprised to find my 6.71km race course in the Central Park a bit snow/ice covered.The cold Western wind felt freezing. I dreamed about 15 laps and 100km, but finally settled for 11 laps and 76.5km at 3am. I logged off my Zoom, uploaded my results to Personal Peak and Strava, and went to sleep.

Mike Wardian won with 63 laps and 422km when Radek Brunner failed to start his treadmill on time. The Backyard race format has been developed by Lazarus Lake, who kindly served as a commentator.