Trail running: Montrail (part of Reitti 2000)

(This posting was written two weeks ago, but due to laziness with photo editing / uploading the publishing has been delayed)


Last weekend I headed to Noux National Park for some Trail Running. Something I’ve wanted to do for at least a year already. 

WTF am I doing? – Oh Yeah! I’m going to run 35km on the trails just for fun!

Said and planned. To the bus stop in the morning, with surplus time, so I shot some pictures. Below, an unfortunate friend I never had the chance to get to know. I wonder what its last words would have been, if hedgehogs could speak?

Natan, the Go Green Hippie Hedgehog, didn't reach mature age

Bus number 345 from Helsinki City will take you to the trails. I rode all the way to Skogby, to run on route 2000 (reitti 2000) from there on. The route spans a total of +100 km from the central park in Helsinki, including the loop in Espoo and Vihti. My plan for this day was to run/walk some 30-40 kilometers, a shortened part of the loop. The full loop, also called Montrail, measures approximately 55 km.

After 30 minutes I started doubting the whole thing.
I was sweating like a pig. You can see the sweat dripping from my face.

 It was warm, +23 degrees Celsius, and humid. The air didn’t move. For hydration I had 1,5l of water in a bladder and 0,5l in a bottle + 0,5l of carbohydrate drink. Would it be enough? For salt loss, and additional energy, I had a dried bier-sausage and a bag of salted roasted cashew nuts. Yummy!

The trails were nicely varied. Some parts were really technical. Some were easy going on smooth surface. And some were a bit swampy and wet. My worrying about running out of water was a total waste of energy. The water lasted just fine. I drank 1,5l during the first 15km, but you can refill with tap water at Salmi – I did.

Sometimes the trail wasn’t marked very well, I ran past a turning point - thrice. So I would recommend bringing a map, and a compass. I did. It’s not optimal to get lost with a dizzy head, out of energy with very limited equipment, at +30km out in the woods.

After finishing, a slightly shortened run, I could finally kick off my shoes and rip of my sweaty, bloody clothes (stained from mosquito kills), to skinny dip in a lake. Refreshing! I grilled two sausages on open fire, to fill up my empty stomach. After some relaxing silence and stillness I headed towards the bus stop.



The full specs are available at Garmin Connect



All in all I’m pleased with run/walking 34,6 km in 5:03. The nature along Route 2000 isn’t really that spectacular (there are much better scenery out there in Noux). There were hoards of mosquitos biting me as well. I was a bit surprised by the constant up- and down hills. The total elevation gain for this part of the route was 760 meters. The Montrail, indeed, makes for ideal training ground for Vaarojen Maraton, or similar trail running events (even for mad ones like the Goretex Trans Alpine Run). It was tough at times. But, it was well worth a little pain. You get your head straight and your soul rests, out there in the woods. I’m heading back next weekend, with wife and dog.

Some day, maybe next spring/summer, if providence agrees, I might do my Ultra debut here - finishing the entire 55km loop.

Major improvement

This morning I ran to work. Like so many days before. Except today was different. I was running below my MAF (Maximum Aerobic Funciton) heart rate of 148 bpm. Nothing exceptional there. I run mostly at or below MAF. But today was different. The pace reading on my Garmin oscillated around six minutes per kilometer, sometimes dropping well below six minutes. I've gotten used to seeing it oscillate at around seven minutes per kilometer. So I realized today was different.

I was running faster than ever.


I ran trough the calm summer morning with a silent joy in my heart. A conviction that there is some justice in this world spread trough me. You can't bluff yourself in running. You can't evade work and reap the benefits of others labors. You can't rely solely on your talent. You have to go the extra mile yourself. And when you do, you don't get instant results. You have to do it over, and over, again. Patiently. With persistence. There is something beautiful, and just, in it. You reap what you saw. It's an ancient truth, blurred by our complex urban environments. In running it's clarified. And when you see those inches of success. It strengthens you. You have been strengthening your body. And you find out your mind is strengthened along with it.


Keep doing those good things. And good things will follow. Stop doing them, try to take shortcuts, violate yourself, your environment, or fellow human beings - and bad things will follow. This truth is clarified in running. For life in general, it's the same - although blurred.

Barefoot (at last)

Yes. I have done some running barefoot. Inspired by Paljasjalkamatti. I was passed by this Finnish Barefooting Pioneer at the local half marathon mass event Helsinki City Run. It put the wheels in my mind turning. Then a few days later it happened. I kicked of my shoes while walking the dog. It felt good. The nasty sharp gravel from last winter hurt, of course, but other than that it felt truly liberating. Some days later I kicked off my shoes while walking in the woods. It felt really good. Except for those nasty ants that decided to chew on my feet. Ouch!

A few weeks later, while at our summer cottage in Ostrobothnia I went out for a random run and ended up at the local horse track. No horses were out running. The surface seemed so smooth, yet hard enough. I made sure nobody was there observing me. Off went the shoes. I ran two laps. Damn. It felt good. I tried to run all the way back to our cottage barefoot, but had to give up as the sharp gravel was painfully piercing my soft untrained feet.

The following day I went back for more. I did five laps (that's five kilometers). Putting the shoes back on felt like putting on a condom half way trough a moment of sweet love. I don't like shoes anymore. It seems that I'm slowly turning into a barefoot junkie. When I came back to Helsinki I just couldn't help myself. I called the Finnish importer of Vivo Barefoot shoes. He has run out of stock twice already this spring / summer. Anyway, he told me where I had the best chances of finding a pair. So I went shopping. Now I'm logging miles in a pair of Vivo Barefoot Ultras. And it feels good.

I don't like my "normal" cushioned Asics anymore. The heel drop feels awkward. It gives me a forward tilt I've never noticed before. My shins feel a lot better already, after I've substituted some miles in traditional shoes to minimalist barefoot shoes.

Thank you Paljasjalkamatti for the inspirational example. And thanks to Christopher McDougall. Born to Run was no small influence in preparing my mind for this pleasant switch towards a more natural gait.

Peace over Caballo Blanco. I hope the world will remember him for all that he was, and wasn't.

Thanks to Dr Phil Maffetone as well. Who has propagated for more minimalist shoes for decades already. Sowing those mental seeds into my mind trough his excellent Big Book of Endurance Training.

Barefoot running. Who could have imagined that happening at the outset of this adventure?