Registration for Kainuu Trail 2025 began at record speed

Published: 04.11.2024

Registration for the Kainuu Trail Hossa National Park (Finland) trail running event on June 28, 2025 began at record speed, with a total of 155 trail runners signing up during the first and most affordable registration period, which ended in the end of October.

"This is already the same number of runners as we had registered by the end of December last year, so we are seeing an extremely strong start in terms of registrations," says race director Jukka Liuha enthusiastically. The participant limit for Kainuu Trail, agreed upon in collaboration with Metsähallitus (the Finnish Forest Administration), has been 600 trail runners in recent years. "If registrations continue at this pace for next year’s event, we may have to start limiting participant numbers," Liuha adds, speaking a bit more seriously.

Participation in the Kainuu Trail event has increased steadily over the past three years. Liuha believes that the main reason for the growing numbers is the event’s location itself – Hossa National Park.

"Last summer, we set another attendance record, with 545 runners registered and 438 heading out onto the trails," says Liuha, who also serves as the course manager, pleased with the event’s growth. "Over the first four years, we have strived to deliver a high-quality event, listening closely to participants' wishes. Perhaps this professionalism is reflected in the growing number of participants, as word-of-mouth spreads. However, the biggest draws of Kainuu Trail are definitely Hossa’s scenic trails, breathtaking views, and the peace and silence of the wilderness, which seem to attract an increasing number of trail runners."

The next registration period for Kainuu Trail ends as the year turns on December 31, 2024.