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It’s been a busy month of new race announcements for Ironman (see 70.3 Bariloche in Argentina and 70.3 Coquimbo in Chile), and the newest event features a fun twist. Ironman 70.3 Lahti Finland will take place on Jun 30, 2018, and will start at 4 p.m. with athletes finishing late into the evening with a midnight cutoff. Thanks to the region’s northern location and the race date’s proximity to summer solstice, athletes will enjoy daylight for the majority of the race with an anticipated sunset time of 10:55 p.m.
Though midnight finishes are commonplace at full-distance events, this will be the first midnight finish for the half-Ironman distance. There are a handful of smaller races that run through the afternoon, and the now defunct Ironman 70.3 Boise was known for its later start. In the running space, the Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon is the most well-known nighttime race with the event boasting a “Strip at Night” tag line.
In Lahti, athletes will begin with a single-loop 1.2-mile siwm in Lake Vesijärvi close to the city center. The 56-mile bike course will lead athletes through the Nordic landscape, with athletes rounding out their day with a flat two-loop 13.1-mile course that passes the region’s famous ski jumping center before heading back to the finish line at Vesijärvi. Race registration opens June 29, 2017 at Ironman.com/finland70.3.