Jukola Relay

The Jukola Relay is an orienteering relay race held annually in Finland since 1949. The race always takes place on Saturday between 13th and 19 June in different sites around Finland. The northernmost location has been 50 km north from the Arctic Circle. The name Jukola is a family name in the classic Finnish book - Seven Brothers.

In the Jukola male relay has seven legs with distances varying from 7 to 15 km. The starting time is around 11 pm when sun sets. Runners of the 1st to 3rd legs should wear headlights, depending on the geographical site (north or south of Finland) of the relay and the weather conditions. The winning team crosses the finishing line early on Sunday morning, around 6 or 7 am, and the last teams finish just before the finish is closed at afternoon.

For the ladies, an individual race with a common start was organized in 1951 and it was then turned into a three leg relay race in 1978 and four leg relay race since 1981. The women's relay, known as the Venla Relay, is a daytime race on Saturday afternoon.

In 2010 the Jukola relay attracted over 1500 teams and the Venla relay almost 1100. Clubs from 20 different countries took part. Jukola is the biggest relay event in the world.

The "Kaukametsäläiset" association is the founder of the Jukola relay and it is also the owner of the rights of Jukola event.