Vuokatti Trail Challenge

The start is located at an old school in Teerivaara and the finish is at hotel Vuokatinhovi. The track follows UKK- hiking route and goes over total of 13 large hills or ‘vaara’ as called in Finnish. The track offers outstanding hill, forest and lake sights for runners. Total height difference is about 960 meters and some of the climbs and descends are very steep and rocky, which makes the run very technical and challenging. Runners should be careful on the hill sides especially in wet conditions. As the route is very demanding especially in the last 13 kilometers it is sure to offer unforgettable experiences when overcoming the challenges. However, the hard work is rewarded with superb sights at the top of the numerous hills. The track is very versatile. It’s mostly wide and clean path but there’s also duckboards and stairs, rocks and rocky areas as well as short parts of sand roads. Despite the very technical parts, the track is generally well runnable. This route is by far the most stunning and awe-inspiring part of the Vuokatti Trail Challenge.

The start of the Vuokatti Trail Challenge 42 km competition is located at the Maanselän Etappi and the finish is at the hotel Vuokatinhovi. The track follows UKK-hiking path and offers great scenery and beautiful wilderness with old boreal forests. Shortly after the Maanselän Etappi there is a long uphill as the track goes over Lappavaara hill area. After that the track is rather even and there are no big climbs before Teerivaara. The condition of the UKK-hiking path gets better in this part of the track and the duckboards and bridges are generally in good condition. The path is also good and easy to run. Wildlife can be seen throughout the Vuokatti Trail Challenge track for example grouse birds like black grouse and capercaillie. After Teerivaara the competition route is the same as the 22 km route (see 22 km route description) and it will lead the runners towards the legendary 13 Hill´s area called Vuokatinvaara which is the great and very hard ending to 42 km track. Sceneries are amazing in this Vuokatinvaara area which will start about 22km before finish.

57 km starting place is located in Rumo UKK-cottage. The route goes on towards Maanselän Etappi via UKK-hiking track. In this part of the track the runner can admire magnificent several kilometers long esker on top of where the track runs. Sometimes spectacular viewpoints on top of ridges and forest hills surprise runners. Especially this part of the Vuokatti Trail Challenge radiates the spirit of wilderness and silence of forests where runner can enjoy clean and green nature. From Maanselän Etappi the route continues via 42 km route (see 42 km route description) towards the legendary 13 Hill´s area called Vuokatinvaara which is the great and extremely hard ending to 115 km track. Sceneries are amazing in this Vuokatinvaara area which will start about 22km before finish.