Free Race Buses from Kajaani to Kainuu Orienteering Week and Kainuu Trail
Published: 18.03.2025
Kainuu Orienteering Week 2025 offers free race buses for participants traveling from Kajaani to all four competition stages. The buses will be available on Sunday, June 29, Tuesday, July 1, Thursday, July 3, and Friday, July 4.
– Kainuu Orienteering Week Association aims to organize the most responsible orienteering and holiday week event possible in Kainuu, says the event's secretary-general, Jukka Liuha. In line with this goal, we want to test the demand for such bus services at Kainuu Orienteering Week.
Liuha emphasizes that a key objective is to reduce the number of private cars at the event and encourage locals, especially residents of Kajaani, to participate in the orienteering week. The free buses from Kajaani also provide a convenient option for solo travelers or small groups. Participants can book accommodation in Kajaani city centre and take the bus to the event site in the morning.
Free Race Buses for Kainuu Trail Participants
Kainuu Trail Hossa National Park (Finland) trail running event will offer free event buses from Kajaani on race day, Saturday, June 28, 2025. These buses are especially intended for runners participating in the 55 km, 38 km, 21 km, and 10 km distances.
– From the beginning, we have aimed to organize a highly responsible trail running event in Hossa National Park, says Liuha, who also serves as the race director of Kainuu Trail.
In previous years, paid bus services were available on the Kajaani–Hossa and Ruka–Kuusamo–Hossa routes, but demand remained low. For example, last year, only 5–10 participants booked bus tickets, despite a record-breaking 545 participants in the event. Even this year, with affordable bus tickets (20–25 €) on sale, demand has remained low.
– It will be interesting to see how well these free bus services attract participants traveling from Kajaani. Additionally, we have introduced a completely new route from Kajaani via Vuokatti to Suomussalmi and Hossa to serve participants staying in the Vuokatti area, Liuha explains.
The free bus services are part of the Organizing Responsible Events In Kainuu project, which aims to organize sustainable sports events in Kainuu.
Detailed information on free bus tickets is available on the KOW website: www.rastiviikko.fi -> About KOW -> Projects.
Tickets can be booked via the KOW webshop in April 2025.
