Stockholm Midnattsloppet 10.3k Paul Waters reports: We travelled to Stockholm to take part in the annual Midnattsloppet race. It is supposed to be 6.2m but turned out to be 6.4m. Stockholm is an attractive and friendly city, with contrasts of new and old, and a vibrant youthful feel. The city is built on a number of islands linked by bridges and ferries, with lots of green spaces and water, and we stayed at the official race hotel next to the Globe arena (http://www.globehotel.se/in_english/ - special rates as we were in the race). The race took place on the next island up, Sodermalm, at 10pm. There was a cold wind blowing at the start, but we warmed up a bit as we fought our way to our respective starting points, and joined in the warmup exercises being led by dancing girls on stages. After a fireworks display, we set off. This was my first big race (c. 15000 runners) and I found it hard to run round people in front at first (Claire was much better at this, and I soon lost touch with her in the crowd of runners) but things soon opened up. There were large crowds along the route, and a number of bands, including a samba band (see picture of samba dancer!), and this made the run very enjoyable and buoyed you along. The course was gently undulating through the streets, with a couple of hills including a nasty one at about 6k - here the course up to the church was lit by hundreds of candles by the side of the route. The last km was a long straight, I could see the lights ahead in the distance but thought it was another water station, and so I missed the chance to make up some places with a final sprint for the line! Claire and Anne both had great runs, finishing near the top of the female placings. All in all this was a very well organised race, and one I'd wholeheartedly recommend. Sweden is certainly an expensive place to eat out, and yes the beer is £5 a pint, but it was worth it. Top tip - fill yourself up on the amazing breakfast in the hotel, and get your lunch at the supermarket! Here is some rooftop race footage at Götgatan Skanstull... And here is the winner crossing the line...