Mellow minutes: a running balance between relaxing and pushing for performance

It all started with a bad run but in a bit over a year, Helsinki-based Mellow Minutes has taken local running culture to a whole new level. The community-driven approach, with its carefully curated aesthetic, is not only good-looking but also warm, inclusive and on Tuesdays, boasting fresh pasta. It answers the need for adults to train together in a relaxed manner, whatever the starting level may be.

Mellow Minutes is a local running crew that meets weekly to do things that are fun. Run by design students Aleksandra Niiranen, Laura Mertala and designer Elias Ervast, the community looks very much like its founders: easy-going, endearingly engaging, fresh – and with delectable merch.

“The whole project started with a bad run. I had been invited to attend a training session but was met with not-so-nice circumstances. Something which really made me think,” Aleksandra Niiranen explains. 

“We are now somewhat big on a Finnish scale with a Strava community of more than 500 people and with more than 70 people running with us during summer. Even when it’s pouring with rain,” Niiranen laughs. 

What started out as a weekly running meet between Niiranen and Ervast, has now grown into a social media following of more than 2,000 people, a weekly schedule with plenty of activities and Laura Mertala joining the group of organisers.

“We all come from hugely different backgrounds,” Niiranen explains. “I personally come from being a semi-professional athlete who, due to a series of injuries, was forced to quit in 2018. Having gone through quite a change with dropping my Olympic dreams and leading an everyday life with way less performance, my being suddenly changed. I met Elias and later we slowly got excited about training again.” 

But the pair soon ran into a problem. Helsinki offered little in terms of what seemed to be a gap between athleticism and solitary jogging. Where were the hobbies for people aged twenty and upwards but not quite fifty, to engage in while meeting other like-mindeds?

A need which Mertala also shared. 

“While I come from a background of leisurely sports and hobbies, my wish was to find new social circles. Others who were interested in similar things. But what I found instead was a bunch of bubbles! As an adult living in Helsinki, it seemed that the places that were available were either those where we work or places where we live.”

“Or the club,” adds Niiranen.

“Exactly, but I wanted to meet people from all different backgrounds,” Mertala explains. “Not just those within easy reach.”

Meanwhile, internationally running was booming.

And according to Ervast, “As designers, we are intuitively tuned into what is trending even though Finland in comparison with the rest of Europe for example, is a bit slower on adapting things.”

“As designers, we are intuitively tuned into what is trending even though Finland in comparison with the rest of Europe for example, is a bit slower on adapting things.”

Elias Ervast

While the running scene in Finland had been active for the past ten years, international running communities with strong social media presences, such as the London-based Your Friendly Runners or Satisfy Running for example, were sure to fuel the change. 

“We recognise the past and present of the history of local running, its booms and lows but are also dedicated to creating something of our own. Carving a niche within the culture of running that looks like us,” Mertala explains.

“Mellow Minutes for us is a platform to test things on. Aleksandra and I are still design students wishing to find our way – this is our means of experimenting.”

“In a broader context, this past year has allowed us to think about the longevity of this communal approach. With Mellow Minutes we are able to influence the existing running culture while also changing it – but how does one continue when trends die down? Recently, we have been thinking about ways to keep the community going even though the running trend might die down,” says Niiranen.

Concurringly, Mellow Minutes has been growing from Saturday morning runs to weekly meetings between members. Mondays during the winter season are spent in the tunnels of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium running track while winter Tuesdays are for Pasta Runs in collaboration with local Way Bakery. 

All things that according to Ervast are “something that we find fun and want to engage in”.

“But the level of runners ranges from ultrarunners to casual strollers. For some, the Saturday run is the highlight of the training week and for others, a casual meet between friends. Nevertheless, everyone comes and for us this is the key. Mellow Minutes is run for the people, not for the act of running.”

“Being and doing together has always been the core of Mellow,” Mertala confirms.

“Additionally, one could look at the Mellow week from the routine perspective. Saturdays are set runs and the basis of the whole operation while Not-so-Mellow Monday and Track Tuesdays are concepts aimed at people who wish to train harder,” Niiranen explains further.

“Tuesday Track is kind of like a natural continuum for people wanting to learn how to run better,” Mertala says.

“It is no running school per se,” Niiranen reminds. “We work out by running drills and intervals. I plan and share them with the group. Then we suffer together, that is all.”

“But you learn by doing – and watching others!” Mertala says smiling.

If coaching is a fallacy then another would be that in order to join, one would need to be a pro. 

“We have runners from all ends of the spectrum! Some still run on a competitive level while others have now found running through Mellow,” explains Niiranen.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are running your next marathon in 2,5 hours or joining us for the first time,“ says Ervast.

“And I would like to encourage everyone to come and try! Before each run we will let you know the end of the route so if something happens, in case you are unable to finish, you may join us for coffee at the finish line”, Niiranen encourages. 

“I have personally been known to grab a city bike in order to finish a Saturday run,” she laughs, “even though I am a retired pro.”

“Mellow Minutes is a way of balancing between relaxing and pushing for performance.”

“We only run as long as it is fun,” confirms Mertala, adjusting the Mellow Minutes tote bag on her shoulder.