Winter Warrior Finland 15.4.2023 10:00 – race info and inquiry

Welcome to Winter Warrior Finland! Just about a month to the start. Here’s some important information regarding the race. There may still be changes to the information, but we’ll inform you about them as needed.

We also need information from you due to practical arrangements, so we hope you will respond to the inquiry: https://forms.gle/XTZ9uFwQS1im2xSJ8

Racers get-together on Friday the 14st of April – hotel Ylläskaltio

Buffet available in the restaurant of hotel Ylläskaltio from 6 pm to 8 pm. This is a nice opportunity to meet fellow racers in advance. Offer price for Winter Warriors is 26€, please book your dinner by email yllaskaltio@laplandhotels.com. The restaurant has promised to reserve a table for those who have registered, where they will put the Winter Warrior sign and guide the participants there. 

Registering to the competition – Race office at Visitor Centre Kellokas

The Visitor Centre Kellokas acts as the race center. You can find the race office inside and the registration to the race is open on Friday from 5 pm to 6.30 pm and on Saturday morning from 8.30 am to 9.30 am. Remember to take your ID to the registration! The race office is open on Saturday until the end of the race and you can also purchase Winter Warrior shirts, beanies and bags from the race office.

Safety info for the racers – Auditorium of Visitor Centre Kellokas

Mandatory safety info for all racers is organized at the auditorium of the race center. The info sessions take place at 5.30 pm on Friday and at 9.30 am on Saturday. If you’re around on Friday, we recommend coming to the first info session.

Arrival to the race site – Visitor Centre Kellokas

Address: Tunturintie 54, 95970 Äkäslompolo

Registration at the race center starting at 8.30 Saturday morning. If you’ve already registered on Friday, notify of your presence at the race office before 9.45 am.

The race center is about 3 km from the center of Äkäslompolo. The easiest way to get there is by car or taxi. There is a parking space in front of the race center. If it is full, there is a large parking area by the ski resort one kilometer away. In Facebook group you can try to agree on carpools. 

You can book a taxi by phone +358 20 071 800 (24 hours) or use Valopilkku app https://valopilkkutaksi.fi/briefly-in-english/. The app will locate you and also notify you of the arrival of a taxi.

The race center can also be reached by ski bus https://www.yllas.fi/info/yllas-ski-bus.html. On Saturday, the first bus will arrive just in time, but then we recommend that you register already on Friday.

The drop bags

Mark your name and racer number clearly to a plastic bag with a marker pen: it acts as a drop bag. Bring your drop bag to the race office on Friday or before 9 am on Saturday to be delivered to the swimming obstacle. There’s plastic bags and pens at the race office. The drop bags are returned to the race office when all participants have passed the obstacle. You can pick up the returned bag until the end of the race. If you forget to take the bag, you can also pick it up at hotel Ylläskaltio during the prize ceremony in the evening, or on Sunday.

Racing gear

Read about racing gear at our website https://winterwarrior.fi/race-info/

Changing of clothes and valuables

The auditorium is at our disposal on the race day and there you can change clothes and leave your bag during the race. The center also has large toilets. Leaving valuables in the auditorium at your own risk. The doors are kept locked during the race if no one is present in the race office.

Race time

The race start is at 10 am behind the race center. The race will be closed down by 5 pm at the latest. Every participant should either reach the goal or abandon the race before this time. Organizers need to be informed of possible abandonments.

Service point

There is a service point along the track, rights after the swimming obstacle. Full course runners will pass the service point for a second time when returning from fell Kesänki. The service point offers water and there is also first aid point.

After the race

After the race, it is important to change on dry clothes. Make sure that you have dry clothes waiting at the goal.

It is possible to access the sauna at Äkäshotelli. Äkähotelli’s customer saunas and changing rooms can be used by competitors for a fee on April 15, 2023 from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. 5€ payment to the Fireplace bar, the price includes a towel. With the survey, we map the need for this as well.

Prize ceremony and social evening

Evening gathering is from 8 pm to 10 pm in the hotel Ylläskaltio restaurant. A generous buffer table is available for participants for € 26. The prize ceremony will be there around 9 pm. Dinner reservations by e-mail yllaskaltio@laplandhotels.com. The hotel will send a payment link to your email. Advance price is valid until 10.4. The price of dinner after that and when purchased on the spot is 29€/person.

Please book your dinner in advance so that the restaurant can prepare for the right number of diners. They are only open for us then. 

The after party is at Äkäshotelli. Free access to the nightclub and dance restaurant with the magic word “Winter Warrior”. Cloakroom fee 3 €, not included in admission.

Moving around the area

Äkäslompolo is a small village and you can mostly reach places on foot. There’s also a ski bus driving around the area, https://www.yllas.fi/en/skibus.html. You can book a taxi by phone +358 20 071 800 (24 hours) or use Valopilkku app. 

IMPORTANT!!

Let’s take good care of the nature. We have a unique chance to race in the amazing surroundings of the national park. Let’s make sure that we don’t leave any traces to the natures. If you see a single piece of trash on the ground, please pick it up!

Note! If you haven’t joined the WWF 2023 INFO WhatsApp group yet, do it now:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/EkaXHbTn5NJ68VqgBVw9r

With the help of the group, we can reach you more easily, especially if there is something to communicate during the race weekend.

Contact information

You can easily reach us by email winterwarriorfinland@gmail.com or by phone: Maria +358 50 339 6966 and Simo +358 44 4166 584

You can chat with fellow racers in the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1259370867526339/