NUTS Ylläs Pallas
NUTS Ylläs Pallas 15 km
Äkäslompolo (Ylläs)
Race guide
Updated 28 July 2026
NUTS Ylläs Pallas 15 km is a loop starting and finishing at the same race centre in Äkäslompolo. The measured course is 14.9 km with 324 m of climbing, a high point of 486 m and a low of 218 m. It runs through the Pirunkuru and Tahkokuru gorges into the Kesänki fell landscape and back. The start is at 14:00 on Saturday. The longer NUTS distances share this same trail for their closing kilometres, which makes the 15 km a good way to see how the big races end.
The course
The opening from Äkäslompolo is runnable forest trail that turns into the Pirunkuru and Tahkokuru gorges. The gorges are the technical heart of the route: rock, roots and narrow path where the pace inevitably drops. After Kesänkijärvi at 4 km the landscape opens into fell terrain, and the closing section past Karila at 11.6 km is fast. The 324 m of climbing is spread evenly, with no single dominant ascent.
Where the race is decided
On a short course, by how much time you give away in the gorges. The technical section is brief but slow, and many runners try to carry their forest-trail pace into it and stumble. The second decisive stretch is after Karila, which is runnable enough to push hard on — if there is anything left in the legs to push with.
Pacing and fuelling
There are two aid stations: Kesänkijärvi at 4 km and Karila at 11.6 km. The longest gap is the 7.6 km between them, roughly an hour for most runners. One soft flask covers it in normal conditions, but Ylläs in mid-July can be over 20 °C in the afternoon on open fell, in which case two is better. The 14:00 start falls in the warmest part of the day.
Cut-off and conditions
The finish does not close until midnight, so there is effectively no cut-off — this distance is built for runners of every level. In mid-July in Lapland the sun does not set, so no headlamp is needed. What does matter is mosquitoes in the forest sections and sun on the open fell: repellent and sunscreen before the start are worth more here than any piece of race kit.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
⚠ Auto-researched from public sources — aid stations and cut-offs may be incomplete. Confirm against the official roadbook before race day.
0 km · 224 m · —
4 km · 223 m · —
11.6 km · 243 m · —
14.9 km · 224 m · Sun 00:00
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Course data researched from public sources — verify against the official roadbook.