The Race
| Next Race Date | To be Confirmed |
|---|---|
| Course type | Loop: two laps, start and finish at Matkus |
| Registration | Open online entry, no ballot; 2026 reference price €55 to €80 |
| Ballot opens | Not applicable |
| Start | Matkus shopping centre, Hiltulanlahti, 09:00 in 2026 |
| Finish | Matkus shopping centre, Hiltulanlahti |
| Total finishers | Not published |
| Cutoff time | Not published; in 2026 the finish line and timing closed at 16:00 |
| Free race-day transport | Not published |
| Course certification | Not published for the current Matkus course |
History
The organiser's homepage describes the next edition as the thirtieth Kuopio Maraton, with the date shown as a placeholder, and the 2026 race was described as the 29th. Edition counts can omit cancelled years, so no founding year is worked out by subtraction. The event is run by Pohjois-Savon Liikunta and Kuopion Reipas. In 2025 the two organisers announced that the event headquarters would be at the Matkus shopping centre for 2026 to 2028, which matters more to a visiting runner than the older accommodation suggestions on some English pages that still refer to the Rauhalahti resort as the race base.
Earlier event pages used a sponsor name, Trube Maraton, and described a four-lap course of 10.55 km per lap. The 2026 route page describes a half-marathon circuit run twice, which matches both GPS recordings checked. The 2026 full-distance race was named in memory of Ari Järveläinen. The programme also includes a half marathon, 10 km, 5 km, a four-person 10 km relay and an untimed ENJOY walk or run. The event is not an Abbott World Marathon Major and no World Athletics label is listed.
The course
The marathon starts and finishes at the Matkus shopping centre area in Hiltulanlahti, about 11 km by road south of the city centre. The route is a half-marathon circuit of about 21 km, run twice, through the southern districts of Kuopio, which the organiser describes as alternating between urban areas, forested sections and open views, on paved roads and pedestrian and cycle paths.
Each lap leaves Matkuksentie east to Pitkälahti at km 1, runs north on Vitostie and Kuvelammentie at km 2 to 5, reaches Leväsentie at km 6 and Rauhalahdentie at km 7, its northern end 4.6 km from the start. It returns along Rauhalahdentie through Jynkkä at km 8 to 10, Hulkontie through Petonen at km 11 to 13 and Vitostie at km 14 to 17, loops south through Hiltulanlahti at km 17 to 19, and comes back on Hiltulanlahdenkatu and Matkuksentie to the lap point at km 21. The organiser names the Highway 5 underpass beside the ABC service station, Rauhalahdentie, Lippumäki and the Hiltulanlahti pedestrian underpass as route points; the order and distances for the underpasses and Lippumäki are not published.
The course is rolling, between 75 m and 116 m above sea level, and no part of it is flat for long. A lap climbs 20 m over the first 0.8 km (2.5%), falls 39 m to a low of 76 m at km 3, climbs 30 m over 1.7 km (1.7%) to Pitkälahti, and then holds 91 to 96 m along Rauhalahdentie. The second half of the lap has a 20 m fall at km 13 to 14, a 31 m climb over 1.9 km (1.6%) at km 14.4 to 16.3, a 21 m fall in 0.7 km (2.9%), a 21 m climb over 1.7 km and a 16 m fall into Matkus. The steepest climb is the 24 m rise over 0.8 km (3.0%) out of the lap point at km 21.0 to 21.8 on the second lap, which repeats the opening climb. The organiser publishes no total climb.
Eleven aid-station visits are listed, roughly every 3.5 to 4 km. The 2026 finish line closed at 16:00.
Kilometre by kilometre
Km 0 to 21: the first lap. The marathon starts at Matkus at 09:00. The shopping centre is not a scenic start, and the first kilometres leave it along roads and paths the organiser describes as urban, before forest and open lake views appear. The opening is not flat: the course climbs 20 m in the first 0.8 km, drops 39 m by km 3 and climbs 30 m to Pitkälahti by km 4.6, so hold back. Run the first lap as reconnaissance, noting where the wind comes from, where the surface changes from road to path, and which aid stations you will see again. Stations are at about 3.5, 7, 10.5, 14.5 and 18.5 km, with water and sports drink at each.
Km 21: the lap station. The route returns to the Matkuksentie area at the end of the first lap, after a 16 m fall through Hiltulanlahti. This is where you can collect personal drinks or food that you left labelled with your name and bib number. Carry enough for the first lap, because the station is not a bag drop.
Km 21 to 42.2: the second lap. The second lap repeats the first, with the same five stations in the same places and the climb out of the lap point at km 21 to 22 (24 m at 3.0%) hitting tired legs. Half-marathon runners start an hour after the marathon, so by this stage the later marathon runners share the circuit with half-marathoners. A runner on 4 hours 15 minutes pace reaches the lap station at about 2:08 and meets the half-marathon field on the way round. Expect a busier course and more people to weave through, on shared pedestrian and cycle paths in places, so pass with care and call out on narrow sections.
The underpasses. The Highway 5 underpass, Lippumäki and the Hiltulanlahti underpass are the named features passed twice. Their kilometre positions are not published, so do not rely on them for pacing. A GPS watch will drift in the underpasses, so trust the kilometre signs and the lap clock more than the watch there.
Km 42.2: the finish. The finish is at Matkus, after the last 16 m fall from Hiltulanlahdenkatu. Timing closed at 16:00 on the 2026 schedule. Whether intermediate cut-offs apply has not been published.
Leave Matkus and run it as reconnaissance: a 20 m opening climb, a 39 m drop, a 30 m climb, then 91 to 96 m along Rauhalahdentie.
Collect labelled personal drinks and food if you set them out.
The same circuit, with half-marathon runners joining the later marathoners and the 24 m climb out of the lap point.
A 30 m climb at km 35 to 37, then Hiltulanlahti and the final 16 m fall to the finish at Matkus.
Course Map
Two laps of southern Kuopio from Matkus: north through Pitkälahti to Rauhalahdentie, back through Petonen, and a loop south through Hiltulanlahti. Tap a marker for details, and scrub the slider or press play to move the orange marker along the course with the elevation profile beneath it.
Pacers
The organiser's pacer page lists 4:00 and 4:30 for the marathon, with pacers carrying balloons showing the target time and starting with the field. Two groups serve only part of the field, so a runner aiming for 3:30 or 5:00 should plan to run alone. The 2027 pacer list is not published.
| Start | Pacing groups | Corrals |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 (2026) | 4:00, 4:30 | Not published |
The Kuopio Marathon does not start in central Kuopio. It starts at the Matkus shopping centre in Hiltulanlahti, about 11 km south of the market square, and some older English pages on the race site still describe the Rauhalahti resort as the race base. Plan hotels and transfers around Matkus.
The 2026 marathon started at 09:00 on a Saturday in late August. No verified average temperature for that hour exists, so plan from the forecast in race week. Late August in a lake region can bring a cool morning and a warm afternoon, and a runner on a four-hour pace is on the second lap in the warmest part of the day, so dress for the later hours.
The route has forest, open lake views and urban stretches, with wind exposure unknown. Arm sleeves or a light layer that you can strip off at the lap station work better than a jacket, and if you want to change a shirt halfway you can label a bag with your name and bib number and leave it for the lap station, where personal drinks are permitted. The surface is paved roads and pedestrian and cycle paths, so road shoes are suitable. Carry sunscreen and a cap if the forecast is clear. The finish closed at 16:00 in 2026, so a slower runner spends the afternoon on the course. Bring dry clothes for the finish: a free supervised bag service operates at the venue and showers are at a school nearby.
Entry
Entry is open and online. The organiser states that registration is available only through the online form, that it closes 30 minutes before the runner's start time, and that the race office handles bib collection only and not registration. The marathon price rises through the year: the 2026 reference prices were €55 until 30 June, €60 from 1 to 31 July, €65 from 1 to 23 August, €70 from 24 to 28 August and €80 on race day. Those are 2026 figures and not 2027 offers, so confirm them when entries open. A sterling conversion was not retrieved.
Students receive a €5 discount with a valid student card. Group discounts were 10% for two to four entries and 20% for five or more, and the two discounts cannot be combined. Transfer protection costs an extra €5 at entry and allows participation to be moved to the following year, so read the terms page before assuming every cancellation qualifies. The 4×10 km relay is a separate event, starting at 11:30 with a mass start and priced between €130 and €180 per team on the 2026 page; it cannot be registered on race day and is not a marathon.
The older marathon page requires a personal bib on the front of the shirt and prohibits running without one, so do not plan to swap bibs. The minimum age and the rules on headphones, wheelchairs and assisted runners have not been published. No good-for-age route, charity entry or official travel package was found.
| Registration window (2026 reference) | Marathon price |
|---|---|
| Until 30 June | €55 |
| 1 to 31 July | €60 |
| 1 to 23 August | €65 |
| 24 to 28 August | €70 |
| Race day | €80 |
Fast runner standards
There are no Good For Age or fast-runner standards for this race.
Register on the organiser's site →Race Weekend
Number collection
Number collection is at the Matkus event centre. The organiser says bibs are collected with the QR code emailed on the Thursday evening before the race, or by giving your name, and that only race numbers are handed out there: registration and everything else is not handled at the race office. Collection dates and hours for 2027, proxy collection rules, the identification required and whatever else comes with the bib have not been published.
The English instructions say runners must be registered and have collected their number at least 30 minutes before their own start, so for a 09:00 start plan to be at Matkus with your bib well before 08:30. The event is not described as having an expo, so plan the visit as an errand. The shopping centre has shops and restaurants, which make the visit easier, but check their hours.
Getting to the start
The 2026 marathon started at 09:00 from Matkus and the finish line and timing closed at 16:00. The half marathon started at 10:00 after being moved earlier, and the 10 km, 5 km and relay at 11:30. These are 2026 times and not a 2027 timetable. Bag storage is a free supervised service, 08:30 to 16:30 in the latest English-language information (an earlier note gave 08:00 to 16:15), with the tear-off label from your bib attached and valuables not recommended. The 08:30 opening leaves only 30 minutes before the gun, so arrive with your kit already sorted. Showers are at Hiltulanlahti school, Hiltulanlahdenkatu 7, about 1.7 km south of the start in a straight line and beside the course at about km 18; hours were given as 11:00 to 17:00 on an earlier note.
Matkus is in Hiltulanlahti, about 11 km south of the city centre. The organiser provides parking in the shopping-centre car park and a gravel lot behind the building, with traffic management, and warns of congestion. Public transport to the venue is not described on the organiser's information page, Vilkku runs the local buses but the line and first departure have not been published, and a taxi from the centre is the fallback. A central hotel means a bus or taxi to Matkus and a plan to get back after the finish, and no suitable property directly beside the start has been verified, so plan the journey before the day.
Pack dry clothes and your known fuel, and agree a family meeting point outside the participant flow. A runner who withdraws can ask an aid-station marshal to arrange transport back to the event area. Corrals and road closure hours have not been published.
Nutrition on course
The organiser lists eleven aid-station visits for the marathon, about every 3.5 to 4 km, with water and sports drink at each. Five stations repeat on the second lap and the lap station at Matkuksentie sits between them, which adds up to the organiser's eleven. The second-lap positions are inferred from the lap structure and are not published as kilometres. The drink is Dexal Light in lemon-grapefruit, with electrolytes and carbohydrate, so practise with it before race day.
Gels, food, cup type and cumulative second-lap kilometres have not been published, so carry your own gels. Own bottles and food may be left at the lap station, labelled with your name and bib number. Make the labelling obvious so that volunteers do not have to search for an unmarked bottle, and carry an initial supply for the first lap since you cannot pick up personal nutrition early.
| First-lap km | Water | Sports drink |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5 | Yes | Yes |
| 7 | Yes | Yes |
| 10.5 | Yes | Yes |
| 14.5 | Yes | Yes |
| 18.5 | Yes | Yes |
| Lap station, Matkuksentie | Yes, personal nutrition allowed | Yes |
Spectating
Matkus is a shopping-centre complex 11 km from the city centre, which is not a spectator-friendly start by the usual standard, and public transport to it is undocumented. The best plan is to base yourself at Matkus, where the runners pass the start, the lap point and the finish, with shops, toilets and cafés. A runner on 4:00 pace passes the lap point at about 1:58 and a runner on 5:00 pace at about 2:28, finishing at about 13:00 and 14:00 on a 09:00 start, so the wait in the centre of the circuit suits a coffee at the shopping centre.
The organiser's route list names the Highway 5 underpass, Rauhalahdentie, Lippumäki and the Hiltulanlahti pedestrian underpass as service points, which give spectators places to stand, but walking distances from Matkus and safe crossings have not been published. An UltimateLIVE timing page exists for the 2026 results, which does not show that live GPS tracking is offered. No spectator restrictions were published.
- Stay at Matkus for the start at 09:00.
- Watch the lap point near Matkuksentie.
- Wait at the finish area for your runner.
- Watch the start at Matkus.
- Walk to the Hiltulanlahti school area on Hiltulanlahdenkatu, about 1.7 km south of Matkus in a straight line, which runners pass at about km 18 and again at about km 39; check the route map for the point and the safe crossing.
- Return to Matkus for the finish.
- Watch the start at Matkus.
- Choose one safe point near an underpass and stay there for both laps.
- Return to the finish area in good time.
Post-race food
The finish area has a shopping centre beside it, so the first seated meal is likely to be there, though restaurants and their race-day hours have not been published and kitchens may be shut or busy on a Saturday afternoon. Check one seated option before the race and carry a simple recovery snack in your bag. The finish offering from the organiser has not been published.
Do not plan to walk back to the city for food straight after the finish: Matkus is 11 km from the market square. If you want the harbour and the market hall, plan the meal for the evening and take a taxi or bus after you have changed and rested. Scandic Atlas, beside the market square, has a restaurant and bar called Roast on its ground floor serving lunch and dinner, so check its opening hours and book a table for Saturday evening.
Where to Stay
Kuopio is built along Lake Kallavesi, with the market square, the railway station and the bus station at the centre. The marathon is not in the centre. It starts and finishes at Matkus, about 11 km south, so every stay requires a transfer.
Market square and harbour
The market square is the heart of the city and the main hotels are around it, about 9 km from Matkus in a straight line. Scandic Atlas stands at Haapaniemenkatu 22 beside the square, with the train and bus stations within walking distance. This is the choice for restaurants, the harbour and sightseeing, with a taxi or bus to Matkus on race morning.
Station area
The railway station is in the city centre and the bus station is next to it. This area suits luggage-friendly arrivals by train from Helsinki, which takes about four hours, or from Jyväskylä and Tampere. It also requires race transport.
Rauhalahti
Spa Hotel Rauhalahti is a resort hotel outside the city, about 5.6 km from Matkus in a straight line. It was the old race base and the organiser's English pages still carry its distances, but it is not the current venue, so do not use the old transport instructions that refer to it. It suits runners who want a spa and a quieter evening, and still requires a transfer to Matkus.
Near Matkus
A hotel near Matkus would reduce the transfer, but none was verified within walking distance of the start.
Measured driving distances to Matkus, weekend room rates and noise levels were not retrieved.
Recommended hotels
131 rooms at Haapaniemenkatu 22, beside the market square, with the train and bus stations within walking distance. The Roast restaurant and bar is on the ground floor, and guests get free bicycles and sauna access. A race transfer is needed.
A central tourism-board listing. Confirm the walk to the station and the transfer to Matkus.
A city-centre listing on the Kuopio tourism site. Check current rates and the transfer to Matkus.
The organiser's accommodation partner for the 2026 edition, with a published race offer for that weekend. It was the old race base, so ignore older distances on the race site. Check whether a 2027 offer exists.
The organiser's second accommodation partner for 2026, with a race discount for that weekend. Check the location and the 2027 terms before booking.
Booking timeline
Wait for the confirmed 2027 date before buying anything that cannot be changed: the homepage shows a placeholder and not a date. Entry is open and the 2026 price rose in five steps from €55 to €80 on race day, so enter early once the date is known and the price suits you. Reserve a cancellable room after the date is published, and check breakfast times, late checkout and luggage storage directly since none is assumed. No hotel sell-out or room premium was found.
Kuopio airport is about 14 km from the city, with flights from Helsinki-Vantaa in under an hour. Trains run from Helsinki in about four hours and the drive takes about five. Confirm timetables for your dates and book flexible tickets first.
See & Do
The sights are in the city centre and on the Puijo ridge, 9 to 10 km north of Matkus. Distances are straight-line from the start at Matkus.
Puijo Tower
A 75 m tower on a ridge that stands 224 m above Lake Kallavesi, with a café, a restaurant and an open roof terrace at Puijontie 135. Admission was €8.90 for adults on the tower's own site, and hours change by season, so check before you go. The summit is reached by road, and a free chairlift runs on selected dates in summer. A better choice for the day after than the day before.
RIISA, the Orthodox Church Museum of Finland
A museum of Finnish Orthodox church heritage in Kuopio, listed by the tourism board as one of the city's cultural sights. Opening hours and admission are on the museum's website and were not confirmed. It is an indoor, level visit, which suits sore legs.
Market square and market hall
A flexible, free recovery visit with the harbour behind it. Stalls and the hall keep their own hours, so check on the day.
Lake Kallavesi cruise
A summer boat trip on the lake, run by operators such as Roll Risteilyt and Koski-laiva. Timetables are seasonal, and none was verified for late August. Check before planning the day around it.
After the Race
Late summer in Savo is mild and lake-bright. The four itineraries run from a day around Puijo and central Kuopio to three nights in Savonlinna. Journey times are left to check against the operators.
A seated, gentle Sunday: the tower, an Orthodox museum and the market square, with little walking.
A lakeside spa hotel for a quiet night, with the pool and sauna to hand.
A lakeside resort village in the hills near Nilsiä, with gentle outdoor walks and a slow stay.
Olavinlinna castle on its island in the Saimaa lake system, one base for three slow days.