Finlandia-hiihto

The course

Start and finish are in the Lahti ski stadium at the foot of the three ski jumps, less than a kilometre from the town centre. The 62 km starts at 09:00 in four groups ten minutes apart (elite and the "chase" group with the first group), and the first thing you meet is a climb over the ski bridge out of the stadium, which the organiser asks you to take with care because the field is still bunched. The course then heads west along the Salpausselkä ridge through Hollola, with pit stops at Messilä, Hälvälä (in a military training area), Orinkarkaus, Papinkaivo and back past Orinkarkaus, Heinsuo and Tapanila before the finish.

The route changed for 2025 to take out open field sections that lose snow first and to move the Orinkarkaus pit stop to a junction so that it serves skiers in both directions; before that there was a gap of more than 10 km between Papinkaivo and Heinsuo. Total climb on the main race is about 450 m, taken as many short ridge climbs rather than one big one. The race ends over Intiaanikukkula, the last hill of the World Cup course, followed by a descent that the organiser describes as relatively steep and twisting; since 2024 skiers continue about 30 m past the J-bend before dropping to the stadium at a lower speed. The men's race has been decided on that last climb in both 2025 and 2026.

Be ready for the course not to be the course. Lahti has little snow security: in 2025 the 62 km was two laps of about 34 km on the 32 km route, and in 2026 the organiser made about 10,000 cubic metres of snow for a 16 km loop skied three times as a 42 km race. On a lap course the start is staggered so that the first group is on its last lap before the later groups start, and the two-lap format sends you back past the ski jumps instead of through the stadium.

Timing is a MYLAPS ankle chip, collected at the line (there is an €80 charge if you lose it). Pit stops serve water, sports drink and energy sweets plus blueberry soup, pickles, meat broth, coffee, bread and buns; each one has spare poles and a waxing table, and a snowmobile sweeps the course behind the last skier. Medal and a finisher's cup at the line; hot meal and sauna back at the race centre.

How to enter

Entries for the 2027 race opened on 1 April 2026 on the organiser's site and stay open until half an hour before each start; you can even enter at the race office on the day with card or cash. The race does not sell out. Start groups for the 62 km are elite (bibs 1–100, the only group with a numbered order), a chase group and groups 1 to 4; you pick a group when you enter, places are first come first served and a full group cannot be guaranteed. The 32 km and 20 km have single mass starts later in the morning.

Fees for the 62 km in 2027 rise in five steps: €90 until 30 June 2026, €110 until 15 October, €130 until 15 December, €140 until 31 January 2027 and €160 from 1 February until race week. The 32 km is €70 to €120 and the 20 km €40 to €60. Entering both 62 km races (classic and freestyle) takes €40 off the total; a relay entry is the 62 km fee plus €30, the team race costs nothing extra. The fee includes the bib and gear bag, guarded ski and kit storage, waxing and spare poles at the pit stops, the feed stations, a hot meal, sauna, a medal for finishing inside the limit and basic group accident insurance. Card payment only (Visa and Mastercard).

There are no refunds if you withdraw, but if you cancel before 31 December you can carry 50 % of the fee to the next year's race, and with a doctor's or nurse's certificate sent by 31 March you get 50 % back. If the course is shortened for snow or weather there is no refund or discount. You can move to a shorter distance free of charge and to a longer one by paying the difference until the Thursday of race week by email; from Friday changes and person-to-person bib transfers are done at the race office for €10. No federation licence or club membership is needed.

How to train for it

Build the hours for five to seven hours on skis

A mid-pack 62 km finisher is out for about five and a half hours and the 90th percentile skier for seven, so long classic sessions of three hours and more, with food every 30 to 40 minutes, matter more than speed. If your home snow is poor, roller-ski sessions on rolling roads cover the double-poling and the climbing muscles.

Practise short, repeated ridge climbs

The 450 m of climb is spread over dozens of short rises on the Salpausselkä ridge rather than one long hill. Train diagonal stride and herringbone on short, steepish climbs done in series, and practise changing between double poling on the flats and striding on the rises without losing rhythm.

Rehearse grip waxing for cold and for mild snow

Lahti race days have run from +2 °C to below −20 °C in the last three editions, and the classic technique rule is enforced. Learn to wax your own skis for both hard cold tracks and warm, transformed snow, or use skins; the waxing tables at the pit stops are there for repairs, not for finding your grip at 20 km.

Train and dress for skiing in the minus teens

February mornings in Lahti are often around −10 °C and the jury only meets at −17 °C, so do your long sessions in real cold. Test a face cover, over-boots and a mitten-plus-liner system before race day, and practise eating and drinking without stopping, because fingers go numb quickly when you fiddle with gels at a pit stop.

Do some of your long sessions on a loop

When the snow fails, the race is run as laps of a 16 to 34 km loop and you pass the stadium area between laps. Train on a loop you ski several times so that you know how to keep pace on the second and third pass instead of letting the known distance to go slow you down.

What you need

• Classic skis with grip wax or skins for Saturday; the technique control disqualifies skating in the classic race, and there may be no set classic track on the Sunday freestyle day
• Poles no longer than 83 % of your height in ski boots for the classic race (FIS rule 343.8.1, checked by the jury); a spare pair is in your kit storage, and the pit stops lend spares
• Fluoro-free glide and grip wax: the race is a FIS race with a fluoro ban and tests the top skiers after the finish
• A wind-blocking front layer with a breathable back; the organiser advises recreational skiers against thin racing suits
• Face protection (buff, tape or a face mask) and goggles for a start below −15 °C, plus over-boots or boot covers and wool socks
• Lobster mitts or mittens with a spare pair of gloves and a spare hat in a pocket
• A small tin of grip wax and a cork carried in the race, as the guide recommends
• Your own gels or bars for the gaps between pit stops; the "gel area" 50 m either side of each station is the only place to drop wrappers
• A drybag or the organiser's plastic gear bag with warm, dry clothes for after the finish and for the sauna
• The 112 Suomi emergency app on your phone, which the organiser recommends installing

Getting there and staying

Lahti is about 100 km north of Helsinki. From Helsinki-Vantaa airport take the train (one change or a direct service via Tikkurila; about 50 minutes from Tikkurila, an hour from Helsinki, every half hour) or a bus of about 1 h 30 min; both arrive at Lahti Travel Centre, which is under a kilometre from the town square and a 15-minute walk from the ski stadium. Since 2026 the race has a partnership with Viking Line for skiers arriving by ferry from Sweden or Estonia. Parking at the venue is limited and the organiser asks you to car-share or use local buses.

The race centre is the Lahti Fair Centre (Salpausselänkatu 7), a few hundred metres from the stadium: bib pick-up with your confirmation email or ID, the Vauhti waxing service (bring skis the day before), guarded ski park, kit storage, expo, dining hall and ski bar. It is open Friday 10:00–19:00 and 07:30–18:30 on race days. Friday evening has a ticketed pasta party at 19:00, included for Worldloppet Masters, and a Worldloppet lounge opens Friday afternoon and from noon on race days for passport holders, who get their stamp at the info point.

Lahti is small enough to walk: hotels, sports-college rooms, cottages and villas are booked through Visit Lahti and the organiser says to book well ahead. Rental classic or skate skis, boots and poles can be booked from the organiser's shop and picked up at the CustomSki store on the first-snow track behind the big ski jump. After the finish the men's sauna is under the ski-jump grandstand and the women's at the Lahti swimming hall 200 m from the race centre (free with your bib, closes 17:30); the meal ticket is in your bib envelope and the dining hall serves until 18:00.

History

The race was the idea of Erik Pihkala of Suomen Latu, the Finnish outdoor association, who was asked at Marcialonga why Finland had no race like Vasaloppet. Lahti Ski Club, which already ran the Salpausselkä Games, took on the organisation with Suomen Latu, Hämeenlinna Ski Club and the Finnish Ski Association, and the first Finlandia-hiihto was skied on 24 February 1974 from Hämeenlinna to Lahti over 75 km with 1,334 starters, President Urho Kekkonen as patron and Olympic champions Franco Nones and Ole Ellefsæter in the field. The field peaked at 13,226 in 1984. The name joins Sibelius's Finlandia hymn to hiihto, skiing; since 2020 the polar-bear mascot Finski has been in the logo.

Finlandia-hiihto is a founding member of Worldloppet. The 50th anniversary in 2023 was marked with a 75 km Perinne-Finlandia on the original route and a moonlight 32 km skate race. From 2025 the two 62 km races are also Ski Classics Challengers events, which brings professional long-distance teams to the front of the field; the men's winning times fell from 3 h 04 min in 2024 to 2 h 51 min in 2025.

Where to find out more

• Finlandia-hiihto registration and prices (opens in a new tab): The organiser's entry page with the five price steps, what the fee includes and the cancellation terms.
• Guide to Finlandia-hiihto 2027 (PDF) (opens in a new tab): The organiser's English participant guide: race centre, start procedure, pit-stop closing times, rules and after the finish. Marked pre-release.
• Results archive (opens in a new tab): Official results for every edition since 1974, searchable by year, distance and name.
• Worldloppet: Finlandia-hiihto (opens in a new tab): The federation's race page with the course profile, history and travel notes; the race counts for the Worldloppet passport.
• Visit Lahti: Finlandia Ski Marathon (opens in a new tab): The regional tourist office, which the organiser points to for accommodation in Lahti.