The trend of diminishing yearly kilometers has been going strong since 2019, and this year was no exception 🙂 With 2,200 km of running this year, I’m drifting further away from the 4000 km I hit in 2019. Is it a great measure or running in general? No. But does it make sense to compare to that peak year at this point? Also no, but that doesn’t stop my brain from doing just that anyway.

Training this year was a bit spotty. I had some good, consistent blocks, but I ended the year with zero motivation to run and I didn’t run almost at all. I decided not to stress about it and treated it as a holiday from running. As I’m writing this, I’m already back into training and what more important I’m motivated again.

At first, my gut reaction was that I didn’t race much this year, but looking back, that’s not true. My first race was the North Coast Ultra in Denmark in March — a 50 km trail race I entered mainly to be eligible for another race, TransJeju 100. To sign up for an UTMB race, which TransJeju is, you need a UTMB score (any will do). Upon trying to sign up I learned that they can expire and mine expired the day before TransJeju’s sign-up opened. Anyway, I got to travel to Denmark and it turned out to be a fun trip, and the race itself was fantastic, so I’m not complaining!

Next was the Tuusulanjärvi marathon in April, where I ran 3:35:28, missing my 3:30 goal by more than five minutes. In May, I did the NUTS Karhunkierros 55 km, which was so much fun! I didn’t have a time goal and just focused on enjoying the experience — no crankiness, no desire to cancel upcoming races, just enjoying the run and even got to see the sunrise from the summit of Valtavaara.

I made another attempt at a 3:30 marathon goal at the Helsinki Marathon in August, but once again, I came up short—this time by 3 minutes and 15 seconds. The race itself was fun, at least until around 32 km. I’m considering doing this one again next year since the route will change to one big loop. Then, in September, I ran a 10 km race in Espoon Rantakymppi as a nice little snack before the main event of the year in October: TransJeju 100.

Jeju is a stunning subtropical volcanic island south of South Korea, and I’ve wanted to run the TransJeju trail race there ever since I first heard about it. Based on how quickly the weather changes in Jeju and footage from previous years, I knew I’d likely experience rain (or snow) at some point during the race. Turns out, I was completely wrong. The weather was sunny and quite hot throughout the race. The route itself was incredibly scenic, and even on top of Mount Hallasan, the skies were clear. The course starts on the south coast, climbs up Hallasan in the middle, and descends to the north side of the island. Then it loops back up to the peak, zigzagging back toward the starting point. On the second descent, I was surprised to see plenty of hikers of all ages making their way up, which was cool. My pacing was spot-on, and I passed people between every checkpoint, all the way to the finish line and I didn’t feel as bad as expected there either.

Plans for the 2025 season are still taking shape, and I hope to share those soon. One thing’s for sure: turning the trend of yearly mileage back upwards is definitely a goal for next year 🙂