Some people may think it isn’t possible to run in February since it is freezing Helsinki. Now I am telling you  – it is not only possible –it is also a great pleasure! If it is below -10 Celsius, then it is too cold. Actually, when you go running when it is around – 10 Celsius and you have bottle of water with you, after a while the water starts turning to ice. I have experiened that. But now I am writing about nice runs in February, that means no freezing water in bottle.

You see, when sun is shining and it is just below zero (so freezing only a bit) running is lots of fun. I recommend all runners to try! You need warm clothes (but not too warm – after all when running you start feeling warm after a while) – gloves, knit cap and some layers of long sleeves. With some planning, you can wear your normal running shoes – if there is snow, then it is normally easy to run, not slippery. When not snow but ice, one must be more careful. Some people even have studs in their running shoes for winter runs. However, I run around the year and use only normal running shoes. Generally, when running the shores of Southern Helsinki, the walking and running paths are in quite good condition – and very possible to use.

When running you can enjoy beautiful scenery like I did when taking these pictures. As you can see from the pics, this year winter hasn’t been very cold. That means there is not strong ice around Helsinki, instead there are ice floes. Now one can’t have lovely walks on the ice like in many other winters. Also ice fishing isn’t possible since ice is not strong enough for that. However, if you truly want to go ice fishing, it is possible in other parts of Finland.

On top you can see my running path – to help to understand the scale I can tell I ran this time a bit less than 6 kilometres. This path is very suitable for walking as well and you can find some nice cafes on the way.

Anna

ps. Sorry for long pause for writing – I was first sick and then on holiday far away