Latest News
26 February 2010Check out the latest Finland Ice Marathon 2010 videos below
Finland Ice Marathon 2010 and AdventureKuopio, KNSB.tvFinland Ice Marathon 2010, NOS.nl
Kuopio - Skating and lots of more, KNSB.tv
More videos
22 February 2010
We would like to thank all those involved in the arrangements for Finland Ice Marathon 2010. The number of participants in the competitive and recreational events and the Mini Marathon totalled about 700 in addition to which thousands of school children took part in the skating event for school children. Friday evening's Moonlight Skating and programme were also great and gathered people to the Passenger Harbour.
We would also like to thank the competitors and everyone who took part in this unforgettable event. We wish a sunny spring for everyone and hope to meet you all again! See you on the ice!
19 February 2010
Changes to the Finland Ice Marathon Race Programme on 20 February 2010
The Finland Ice Marathon organisers and the Dutch Skating Union have jointly decided to delay start times and shorten the longest races on the basis of the confirmed weather forecast as follows:10.00 Finland Ice Marathon 150 km M/W
11.00 Finland Ice Marathon 100 km M/W
12.00 Dutch Grand Prix Final 100 km
12.05 Finland Ice Marathon 50 km M/W
13.30 Finland Ice Marathon 25 km M/W
14.30 Finland Ice Marathon Recreational Skating (without ski poles) 12.5 km M/W
15.00 Finland Ice Marathon Recreational Skating with ski poles 50 km M/W
15.00 Finland Ice Marathon Recreational Skating with ski poles 25 km M/W
15.00 Finland Ice Marathon Recreational Skating with assistive devices 12.5 km
Mini Marathon and Games for Children 13.00–16.00
13.00 Under 6 yrs 500 m skating
14.00 6–7 yrs 1000 m skating
15.00 8–11 yrs 1500 m skating
Side Events Programme
The whole programme of side events will be held as planned, e.g. performances by the Koop Arponen Duo at about 11.30am and 2pm. The changes to the race programme mean that the spectators can experience the high points of the day packed into just a few hours.
Weather Forecast
The weather is forecast to be sunny with a wind speed of only 2–3 metres per second. The temperature is forecast to be -18C at most at 2pm.
The Finland Ice Marathon welcomes competitive and recreational skaters and a large crowd of spectators to this year's competition – the most international marathon skating event in the world!
18 February 2010
School children started the series of events of Finland Ice Marathon on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th February. Skating event for school children started out with an enthusiastic atmosphere. Pupils are enjoying ice skating and a large number of other activities for two days.
17 February 2010
Press
Press Centre is in the Skating Cafe at the Kuopio Passanger harbour on m/s Queen R -boatIt is open on Saturday 20th February 2010 from 7:00 a.m.
Press officers:
Mrs Virpi Hakkarainen, tel. +358 0447 182 577
Ms Mirja Kolehmainen, tel. +358 0447 182 936
15 February 2010
Read the latest Finland Ice Marathon newsletter below.
NEWSLETTER 15.2.201012 February 2010
Check out map of Finland Ice Marathon skating stadium
HERE.10 February 2010
In the changing tent now both guarded and non-guarded areas
In the changing tent there is also a guarded area for clothes and other personal items. Cost per person 2 €. Open on Saturday 20.2.2010 from 7 am to 6.30 pm.26 January 2010
Just 22 days to go...
Read the latest Finland Ice Marathon newsletter below.NEWSLETTER 26.1.2010
26 January 2010
Start of Grand Prix season
YOUNGEST OF THE PACK BEATS THEM ALLThe youngest of them all, only 20 years old Pieter Jan van Eck, won the very first race of Grand Prix 2010. The final race is February 20th in Kuopio.
The Grand Prix opening of the season was held in Weissensee. Austrian and Italian mountains, lots of sunshine and great ice floor inspired the skaters in the Aart Koopmans Memorial. With a lively race they honoured the man, that founded the Dutch ice marathon abroad. Koopmans also visted Kuopio many times before he died in 2003.
Already after 20 of 80 km 14 skaters escaped from the bench. Especially Youri Lissenberg, winner of Finland Ice Marathon 2009, kept the speed up. One of the other leaders was Erik Hulzebosch, one of the old top skaters who will end his long and succesful career soon in Kuopio.
However Van Eck qualities as a sprinter were well known, he wasn't the favorite to win, because other fast men like Arjen Stroetinga and Jan Maarten Heideman were also in the leading group. But the youngest surprised them, all even though he had been quite nervous in the end. He surprised himself: 'Of course I was nervous, because being the sprinter of my team I have to do my job well. But there were so many good sprinters around. But I did it. I dream came true'.
Next GP race is next Saturday 30 January also on the Weissensee.
For all resultst see www.weissensee.nl.
12 January 2010
The Finland Ice Marathon is a spectator event too
The Finland Ice Marathon 2010 is also investing heavily in entertaining the spectators. Finnish Idols winner Koop Arponen is performing with an English friend as the Koop Arponen Duo on the actual competition day, Saturday 20 February, in the spectator area at the Passenger Harbour at approx. 11.30am and 2pm. The times are approximate because they depend on the race situation. With both Finnish and Dutch roots, Koop Arponen is a particularly appropriate performer at this year's event, because the Finland Ice Marathon 200 km race is also the final event of the Dutch Skating Union's Marathon Skating Grand Prix. Koop is releasing a new album at the beginning of March, so for that reason, too, he's a topical performer. And he doesn't shy away from performing in the open air ! We are very pleased to have the Koop Arponen Duo coming to Kuopio to perform for us at Finland's biggest skating event !This year, watching the skating races will be more interesting than ever, because for the first time there will be a 40 m² giant screen in the spectator area, so that spectators can see what's happening out on the track. Up to now, the spectators have not been able to see the many crucial moments experienced on the track. Breakaways, falls, tactically sitting behind the leader etc. To serve spectators, the "Skating Ship" MS Queen R is further improving its restaurant and cafe services. Indeed, throughout the skating season, MS Queen R serves as a Skating Cafe and skate rental place, where you can also reserve snowmobiles. Food and non-alcoholic drinks and various kinds of winter sports equipment and accessories will be on sale at the numerous stalls in the harbour area. We are aiming to make the competition area an even more compact whole than before, with the skating track and start/finish area, the children's Mini Marathon skating track and slide, the stage, award ceremony, restaurant services and all the stalls as close to each other as possible.
Friday evening's Moonlight Skating event on 19 February will get everyone in the mood for a great skating festival. The floodlit competition area, festively lit restaurant boat and the lumberjack candles and torches by the side of the track will create a fabulous atmosphere – the exoticism of Lakeland Finland at its best. The popular Kuopio band Rakkauden Ammattilaiset will entertain the crowd and get them dancing with its beat and rock 'n' roll sound. The figure skating performance on the natural ice by Kuopio Skating Club is always something to be admired, because natural ice presents a challenge to figure skaters. The figure skaters will be performing at the beginning of the evening, at 6pm, and at the end of their show they will lead everyone in Moonlight Skating on a 2 km track.
12 January 2010
We have been asked why we do not give the Finland Ice Marathon bank account number with the registration instructions. We give the bank account number only when participation is confirmed, when the payer also receives the reference number. The reference number is essential in order for us to be able to identify which paid entry fees relate to which participants. The payer and the participant is not always the same person.
Finland Ice Marathon
Competition Office
Merja Syrjänen
5 January 2010
The ice on Lake Kallavesi is already more than 20 cm thick !
The winter has come to Finland and Kuopio. Now we've got it all: cold, lots of snow and the ice is getting stronger all the time. The latest ice measurement by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for North Savo on 30 December at the measurement site on Lake Kallavesi recorded a thickness of 22 cm. Mika Venäläinen, the supervisor of the City of Kuopio Recreational Services Centre, said that ice measurements and other ice inspection in the area of the Finland Ice Marathon track will be started on Thursday 7 January. Unless something unexpected happens regarding the ice or the weather, we'll probably be able to get onto the Kallavesi ice in the latter part of next week. As usual, at first a track of only 2 km will be prepared. It's nice to set up the Finland Ice Marathon 2010 event in these conditions. Registration on our website is now under way and we have already received several entries for each distance.11 December 2009
And so a new project gets going
On 4 December our competition organisation had a meeting with Teun Breedijk, the Marathon Coordinator of the Dutch Skating Union. Also present at the meeting was our agent in the Netherlands, Koen Nijmeijer. During the day we were presenting the Finland Ice Marathon spectator area at the Passenger Harbour to our Dutch partners.The spectator area will be located right in front of the Passenger Harbour quay, which is where it was for the first time at last February's event. In all respects, this was a successful solution. For the coming Finland Ice Marathon, we aim to further improve conditions both for the skaters and the spectators and to make the whole event as memorable an experience as possible.
The competitive aspect of the Finland Ice Marathon comes strongly to the fore again on Saturday 20 February, when victory in the Dutch five-race natural ice marathon skating GP tour will be decided, because the Finland Ice Marathon 200 km race is the final event of the GP series. This year, the Finnish championships are not being held in Kuopio, unlike in so many previous years. This gives the Finnish marathon skaters the freedom to choose between the various race distances. And we won't only be seeing Dutch and Finnish skaters in the long-distance races. We have already been in contact with long-distance skaters who will be coming from Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Poland. In addition, skating enthusiasts will again be coming from Sweden, Estonia, Britain and Ireland.
The enormous popularity gained by recreational and tour skating was already seen at the Finland Ice Marathon 2009 event as a 50% increase in the number of participants over the previous year, with nearly 1,000 skaters. Our goal is to reach 1,200 skaters in the coming event, based on an increase in the number of Dutch skaters, the introduction of a new recreational event (25 km with ski poles) and the development of the Mini Marathon for children. It should also be stressed that there are always lots of recreational skaters in all of the competitive events at the Finland Ice Marathon, as there will be this coming February, too.
Get your skates sharpened and go out and practise!
Timo Oinonen
Head of Competition
Finland Ice Marathon 2010
The Finland Ice Marathon is being held on 17 – 20 February 2010.The Finland Ice Marathon 200 km skating race on Saturday 20 February is also the final race of the Dutch Skating Union's natural ice marathon skating GP tour. The other races are in Weissensee in Austria, Biddinghuizen in the Netherlands and Borlänge in Sweden. This means that, after a year's gap, the world's best marathon skaters will again be seen on the ice of Lake Kallavesi. They will be competing in conditions they consider demanding for this season's natural ice marathon skating championship. The Dutch feel that only the best skaters can win in Kuopio, which makes it a good place for the final. The 200 km race starts at 8am. This marathon race in Kuopio has traditionally started at 7am, but the start time was put back an hour at the request of the Dutch.
The Finland Ice Marathon again has a wide range of distances and competitive events. The programme for last February's Finland Ice Marathon included a new feature, a 50 km recreational skating event with ski poles, which was so popular that a 25 km recreational skating event with ski poles has now been added. With the increasing popularity of tour and recreational skating, ski poles have become much more common. In addition there also will be 12, 5 km recreational skating with assistive devices. However, the Finland Ice Marathon has numerous competitive events in which ski poles are not allowed, so we have to programme the ski pole events later in the day in order to avoid the risk of skaters with ski poles interfering with the racers. For recreational skaters, there is also a traditional 12.5 km event, in which ski poles are not allowed. In addition to the 200 km race, there are competitive events over 100 km, 50 km and 25 km. At all the race distances, there are separate events for
men and women.
In last February's event, the children's Mini Marathon was changed from skating games to a skating competition, and encouraged by how well it was received, we are organising a children's skating competition this time, too. There are three age classes for children with separate races for boys and girls.
We are also continuing to improve conditions for the spectators at the Finland Ice Marathon. Heikki Kähärä's excellent idea to move the spectator area from off Vasikka Island to the Passenger Harbour received unreserved praise from all involved – from skaters as well as spectators. Last February's Moonlight Skating showed that we should continue to invest in side events for spectators, because they attract local people. On that Friday evening, thousands of people came to skate and to enjoy being together and the programme. The spectator area will thus continue to be at the Passenger Harbour, and we will invest in the Moonlight Skating event as well as Saturday's programme and other spectator services.
In terms of participant numbers, however, the biggest event of the Finland Ice Marathon is the skating event for school children, which is the biggest school sports event in the region. The enthusiasm with which the City of Kuopio Education Services Centre organises the event is exemplary. The same enthusiasm is also to be found in the school children, because, according to PE teacher Harri Turunen, schools start calling immediately after Christmas to book bus transportation. About 7,500 school children took part in the last skating event.
Finland Ice Marathon 2009 Participant Numbers:
200 km: 24 men, 1 woman
100 km: 39 men, 10 women
50 km: 123 men, 26 women
25 km: 130 men, 68 women
50 km recreational skating with ski poles: 118 men, 56 women
12.5 km recreational skating: 123 men, 128 women
Mini Marathon: 68 children
100 km kicksled race: 15 men, 2 women
25 km preliminary: 15 participants
Total: 946 participants
How to Register
You can register online at www.finlandicemarathon.com from 18 December 2009. You can register online until 15 February 2010, after which you can register only at the competition office at the Scandic Kuopio hotel. The entry fee can be paid by bank transfer until 15 February 2010 and thereafter only at the competition office.
Important! Please note that skaters who register for the Finland Ice Marathon by 10 February 2010 will pay the normal entry fee and receive a commemorative medal inscribed with the year and the distance skated. Skaters who register after 10 February must pay a surcharge of 10 euros and will receive an uninscribed commemorative medal.
There is no advance registration for the Mini Marathon: registration for the event and payment of the entry fee takes place on the same day, on the spot.
The Finland Ice Marathon is now on Facebook, too. Become a fan and take part in the discussion there!
Happy Skating and Merry Christmas!
Finland Ice Marathon
Kuopio Tourist Service Ltd
Project Manager, Kaija Lipponen
Tel. +358 17 182 587, +358 44 7182 587
icemarathon@kuls.fi
www.finlandicemarathon.com
1 December 2009
The first press briefing on the Finland Ice Marathon 2010 event will be held on 4 December, after which we will issue the first press release on this site.
The first Finland Ice Marathon 2010 bulletin will be sent on 11 December to participants in the last event and those who gave their email address. We will also be sending bulletins on 15 January and 3 February. If you do not receive our bulletin, and would like to, please inform us at: icemarathon@kuls.fi
We are still waiting for the winter in Kuopio, but it will surely soon be here, because colder weather is forecast. There is still time for Lake Kallavesi to freeze over and for the ice to become thick enough to support the equipment used to prepare the skating track.
Best regards,
Finland Ice Marathon
Project Manager, Kaija Lipponen
Tel. +358 17 182 587, +358 44 7182 587
