'Ideal' conditions in store for this Saturday's Tallinn Ski Marathon
This Saturday, the 28th Tallinn Ski Marathon takes place in Kõrvemaa. The organizers say track conditions are close to ideal, and the races will go ahead on the full 38 km and 19 km tracks as planned.
"The track conditions are close to ideal, and we are fully prepared to host all the participants in the 28th Tallinn Ski Marathon," said chief organizer Raivar Vaher.
"The track conditions are so good in fact that we have even been able to add a classic track – a bonus that not every freestyle marathon has. We have been blessed with plenty of snow this winter," he added.
As for the weather forecast, mild winter weather is expected on Saturday.
"At the moment, it looks like the Tallinn Ski Marathon will take place in temperatures ranging from -2 C to -4 C and no thaw is expected," Vaher said.
As a new feature, the Tallinn Ski Marathon Kõrvemaa Night Race has been added to this year's event, and is due to take place the day before the main races.
The 19 km and 3 km distances will be skied under the light of headlamps, with the 3 km loop able to be completed several times. The Night Race starts on Friday, February 20 at 7 p.m.
"Since Kõrvemaa hasn't had such good snow conditions in a long time, the organizing team decided we didn't want to let this great track go to waste. That's why we're setting up the competition center early on Friday and inviting participants to join us for this magical Night Race. The 19 km loop runs along almost exactly the same route as the main races the following day, with the only difference being that we have left the longer climbs out of the night race, which in turn means an easier track profile," said Vaher.
The Tallinn Ski Marathon is the fifth stage of the Estoloppet public skiing series, and takes place on Saturday, February 21.
The marathon distance will start at 11 a.m. with the half marathon at 11:15 a.m. Once the marathon skiers have set off, the children's races will take place from the same starting point.
On Saturday, representatives of the Norwegian Embassy in Estonia will also be in Kõrvemaa to cheer on the skiers. Their aim is to introducing Norwegian (skiing) culture and talk with those in attendance about skiing over a hot drink. In addition, participants will be treated to traditional Norwegian waffles.
More information is available here.
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Editor: Michael Cole, Anders Nõmm
