My wife seems to have adopted some African women's habits – not carrying the water from the well to the home, but riding alongside me on my longer runs handing well needed Squeezy Energy Forti Drink. Not all runs have been on the tropical & flat Zanzibar but as a tribute to my sponsors I climbed up on the roof of Africa – Mount Kilimanjaro. Most of the way was done trekking, but I did experience a joyful 2 hour long run on 3700-4400m altitude and tried running on the altitude of 5895m at Uhuru Peak. Surprisingly I felt no effects of the high altitude whatsoever, but the up-hills did take away the breath for a while...

After returning back to sea level we hosted the 1st ever orienteering competitions in Tanzania - the Zanzibar O-days. The two races in Stone Town and in the Maruhubi Mangroves were successful, although all the spices (trophies on the spice island) travelled back to Europe. The high tide submerged the Maruhubi terrain quickly after the race, but in the labyrinths of Stone Town I believe the sprint map will assist many more wandering tourists in the future.

The robbery did not stop me from running but I took a short break resently as we were chasing the migrating wildebeest etc. around the plains of Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater. It was the perfect break to get out of the tropical island for a while and since we were fortunate to spot all of the Big5 (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, buffalo) along with quarreling hippos, hugging zeebras and a sunbathing crocodile it has to be considered a success. Since then I have had days when running twice in the heat has felt quite repulsive. Lying down in the hottub and watching a movie would have felt like a better option after a day at the office. I need to soon find some races to keep my motivation up along the way leading up to the Rotterdam Marathon in April.

Running, work and life in general on Zanzibar have become a routine. Similarly relaxing on one of the beaches around the island is a norm during the weekends. I have not caught on to all common zanzibari habits, but being up and running slightly before sunrise is one I predominantly follow and enjoy. It’s not only that dawn is when the conditions for running are best, but the mental energy one gets for the rest of the day is overwhelming.

Yes, that is me starring in the McDonalds commercial on Finnish TV. I was asked to act in the role of a Swedish race walker only on the terms that the Finn, Jarmo, would walk away with the win. Perhaps it’s fortunate that I am far away from the viewers of the commercial in order to escape the swarms of fans.

So I am back on Zanzibar and some kilograms lighter than at the start of Ramadan. I’m convinced fasting is one of the reasons my workouts have been successful. I have acknowledged before that I’m quite a chubby marathoner, but haven’t before been able to found the means to lose weight. Ramadan is a lovely excuse for not eating. The weather on the East African coast is sunny but “cool” on local standards – the daily low being 22 Celsius at sunrise.

My competition season 2011 was rather compact, but since coach Holmén was not big into racing himself during his career this works out fine. During 2011 I won the Copenhagen Marathon and was a onetime Finnish Champ. We have not yet planned in all the races for the coming up campaign, but performing up to Olympic Standards in the Rotterdam marathon in April is the clear motivator for the next 7 months.

While in the Alps I wanted to try some running disciplines unknown to me. As I admit being a bad uphill runner participating in the Grossglockner Berglauf 12km course with 1500 meters of climbing was out of my comfort zone. The final uphills were grueling but I was satisfied with the 10th place finish and the magnificent views. One week later Dolomite Skyrace – included in the Mountain Running World Series – offered 1440m climbing during a 23km long course. This time there was two separate hills so the course included also downhills. The original course was to climb up to 3152 meters, but due to a snowstorm the course was altered and I was informed that the new course would be only 18km… thus the second climb become a drained mans fight against collapsing. I had to let last year’s World Series winner and another competitor pass me on the last kilometers and ended up in 7th. Great experience, but wish I will make it back on a year when all the peaks are tackled along the course.

After another week of relaxing and wine tasting on lake Garda and hiking in the Engadin I participated in the Swiss Orienteering Week in Flims. Since I had not orienteered in a few weeks the navigation proved challenging in the first stages, but caught on by the end of the week and I was able to fully enjoy the awesome orienteering venues finishing in 6th spot. Considering Switzerland is the powerhouse of orienteering I was happy to get top challenge the best!

Soon after the Big Day I added a new country to my list by visiting St. Petersburg, Russia. The city was pretty, however the people were so rude that it lowered the overall impression of the place. A few days’ trip to Estonia’s beachy Saaremaa followed soon after and from Friday onwards we’ll be at our actual Honeymoon in the Alps.

My training has changed quite a bit under coach Holmén. The program I follow states the length of each run atop of all the specifics for the workouts. Even if this gives me less opportunities to wing it as the days go by, perfecting the recovery might be what I need to make the most out of my training. I have for now done frequent workouts and more strides than previously. Following a couples weeks’ break after a disappointing Jukola I’m doing 3 very different races within a week – 1500m in Sjundeå IFs relay at Finnish Champs last weekend, Huippuliiga SprintO in Lohja yesterday and Glossglockner Berglauf next. I have had the joy of running most of my runs during the last month with two NAU teammates of mine, Mark Fruin & Cameron Liston. The company has definitely pushed me along in the tougher session.

This weekend I will run the anchor leg for my club Lynx in the Jukola orienteering relay in Virolahti. The problems in my left hip are under control and I have been able to do some good quality workouts in cool Finnish summer conditions lately. Orienteering wise I have come upon a fresh problem, as I had forgotten how to take action when a mistake occurs… Last year we were 4th at orienteering’s showpiece to the world – with a race like that I do not need to remember how to miss your bearing in the woods.

The sprint O races this past weekend were joyful events. I took it easy in the qualification in the morning to save my incomplete energy for the afternoon final. Since my speed has weathered during marathon preparations my only option to reach up to the medal fight was to gun it from the start. I was leading on the first control and kept up the rocket pace for quite a while. My route choice to the 2nd control was bad, but then I was able to navigate through the Piikkiö streets and parks without trouble until the 15th control. On the last 500m of the race when the terrain turned from urban to forest I lost more time than the total I was behind the winner in the finish. I had reached the limit of my physique on the day, but at least I was able to obey the rules, going around the forbidden cliff, all the way to the end – which seemed too challenging for some of the best… 11th place in a the national Sprint Orienteering Champs 2 weeks past the marathon was an OK performance anyhow.

The short story in video of Copenhagen Marathon.

Next up is my big goal for the spring. On Sunday morning at 9:30 I am starting the Copenhagen Marathon. I ran the first marathon of my career also in Denmark, in Odense, so one circle is closing on Sunday. I still have not been able to race for the win in a marathon – this time this will change. I don’t know exactly who else is towing the line, but I am ready to race. Denmark is a flat country, so if everything goes as planned the time might be decent too.

I have left Zanzibar and will spend the summer in Europe, mostly in Finland, when the country shows its best qualities. Before Copenhagen I will run two races this weekend in order to sharpen up – Huippuliiga sprint orienteering in Tampere on Saturday, followed by 12km at the Finnish Champs Cross Country Champs in Nivala on Sunday.

Now when I will be away from the Swahili culture for a while I have the courage to evaluate how life differs from that I used to be used to. Daily life on Zanzibar involves much less bureaucracy – things are done and worried about when reason arises, not before. Planning the future is not really essential here so if setting up a meeting a week in advance one should not expect to find the person on-time, or at all. This could be considered an unorganized system, but somehow, no matter how messy this seems, life goes on without a worry on the face.

One has to respect the African spirits – not afraid of anything – as I have experienced on several occasions. While running the brutal Kilimanjaro halfmarathon I came upon a Ugandan runner a few kilometers into the race. As I came upon his shoulder he sprinted to gap me by some 20 meters, only for me to catch him a minute later. Again he sprinted in order to gain a few meters on me and as I was running evenly I caught him soon again. This pattern was repeated for a few kilometers, while we were ascending the slope towards Kilimanjaro. Even if I was rather strained I found the whole episode quite amusing – I don’t quite know how far behind me the Ugandan finished, but his efforts proves the bravery which is incorporated into all Africans I have met so far.

I don’t have experience from all over Africa, but it seems Africans lack initiative taking. If there is one shop selling a product and being successful, you are likely to soon find others spring up next-door. You will likely not find local dukas (shop) trying to separate themselves from others – aiming just to survive, not strive. Instead of trying to find out new ways to do business or handle affairs, reliance on the old ways is highly respected.

If you were to go out and ask for 10000 Shillings (5€) for your sick mother a poor african man is more likely to fill you’re request than a rich man. I have not tried this as such, but I have experienced the African anti-materialism. The poor man happens to just have eaten, so he figures you’ll need the 10000 Shillings more than him right now. The rich man would be worried about losing assets, which he might buy something for in the future, so he would deny your request. It’s up for everyone to judge which one is a better way out, but challenging our useful ways of rational thought is refreshing!

I don’t like to do something because you’re “supposed” to do it. Societies are structured based on norms of action, which eases the daily counteraction, but since I have been fortunate enough to encounter several different cultures I’ve learned that these norms differ significantly from one another. Me living in Zanzibar is not exactly following the norm of newly graduated Finns nor that of a European distance runner. Neither was my yesterday’s long run in a sunny Zurich between my flights back to Zanzibar. I have also tried to refrain from having weekly routines and seldom take the same route from one place to the next. I have acknowledged that my odd actions might be a pain in the ass for some. If I was born a few hundred years ago I’m sure I would have been a world explorer, but now I may still discover the contradicting ways of different people, which I feel can be very valuable in our global world. We, westerners try to always be rational, but there is a lot we can learn from others.

You may now officially title me Master of Science, since my Master’s Thesis with the title The Utilization of GPS In Orienteering Mapping In Urban Helsinki and Rural Kenya was approved. I started my geography studies in 2003 so it took me a total of 7,5 years to get my Master’s degree from the University of Helsinki. The Thesis can be read here.

My goal of running up Mt.Meru was demolished by the Arusha National Park officers’ bureaucracy. Due to some inhospitable animals on the lower slopes every hiker needs a park ranger to accompany them. The park was not able to provide me with a ranger for the first 21 hours I was waiting at the entrance gate and then a regulation that one is not allowed to ascend the mountain in less than 3 days was made up to prevent my success. I hiked & run on the lower slopes among giraffes and zebras, but was very disappointed with not reaching the top. I will attempt to ascend the neighboring Kilimanjaro later in the year.

Since returning to Zanzibar I have been able to focus on running over flat terrain again. Since the temperatures constantly hover above that ideal for endurance athletics I have been forced to slightly adjust my training paces. According to some researchers the human body’s performance level is subpar in the early morning when the temperature is the lowest. It´s definitely a challenge to find the correct training paces to develop aerobic and anaerobic running capabilities ideally.

Earlier this week I had a 2 hours 45 min progressive run on the program. I always carry some money for water and dalla-dalla transport and this time I had also brought a simple road map printed at work along. After 1.25’ running the road on my map disappeared under my feet and I was lost. After running in circles quite desperately on tiny trails for 45 minutes I was fortunate to find a fellow willing to leave his burn-clearing to guide this Finland uniformed explorer to the nearest gravel road. There’s quite a clash to trot along to the rhythm of the latest club hits by Tiesto while running through rural tropical settlements & forests. Since the majority of the population is Muslim dogs are rare and the mind rests in the everlasting, ever-changing scenery. After getting back onto bigger roads I increased the pace and was able to eventually find my way back to my house, but there’s still work to be done to bring the maps & databases up to date at work! The log of this long run and all my other training logs can be found on Movescount.

Almost two months into my life in Zanzibar I am still grateful for the running conditions, except for the high temperatures. The track on Amaan Stadium is in better condition than most tracks in Finland, the dirt roads crisscrossing the neighborhoods and forests virtually endless and the possibilities for massage are diversified and very affordably. I have been able to prepare ice baths for increased recovery, but the amount of ice needed when the afternoon air is 34°C is absurd.

There are a few local runners of high standard, but the time synchronization to meet up with them for runs has proven to be very challenging. There were some qualification races put on by the Tanzanian Athletics Association last weekend and I aimed to do a long workout (5km+4km+3km/3´) at the beginning of the half marathon race. There were however no official instructions on when and where the start was nor how to get there, so after an hour of hitchhiking and trekking I confronted the lead runners on a remote road and jumped in after the number 5 runner had passed me (as advised by officials). I do not know exactly how far into the race we were, but ended up passing a couple guys and enjoying the cheering of supporters along the road back to Amaan Stadium. I had an excellent workout and arrived through the stadium marathon gate at 3rd, but continued through the finish line to complete the last 3km dash I was executing. Don´t think I qualified for whatever spots they were racing for, but it was a good preparation for the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon this Sunday. The start there is located close to Moshi in northeastern Tanzania at an altitude of 850m while the halfway turnaround point lies at 1450m. I don´t have a time goal, but the standard of the field is expected to be pretty high since last years winning time was 1.05´!

Following the Sunday race I am aiming to climb Mt. Meru (4560m) in Arusha National Park. This is the little brother of Mt. Kilimanjaro and should not be quite as touristy, but still provide amazing scenery and a great challenge to cope with the altitude. Most tours take 3-4 days to scale Mt. Meru, but my goal is to spend only 1-2 days on the mountain, depending on the fitness of the ranger I´ll find at the gate. After a long period on the rather flat Zanzibar Islands it will be good to get some hills to try to challenge gravity and get sore quads going downhill.

I have my own house some 6km south of Zanzibar’s Stone Town, and 200m from the Indian Ocean. Trainingwise my home in the township of Mbweni offers access to both dirt and paved roads atop on the possibility to runs on the beach and crosstraining in the Indian Ocean. This was one of the reasons I opted for a house outside of the UNESCO World Heritage site, where I was first offered an apartment. I commute to work into town on a moped, while I live in the countryside. The only obstacle for my running pursuit is the heat – I wake up at 5:30am for the main workout of the day and wait until the sun is about to set for the 2nd run. Due to the behavior of dalla-dalla (minibus) drivers and the nonexistent pedestrian ways running after sunset could be considered a suicide attempt, so I’ve tried to avoid that. Last week I managed to run 200km, so the rhythm I’ve adapted to is effective.

Here’s a lection on the African time conception: On Thursday I asked my gardener to plant a banana tree, a papaya tree and a passion tree in my garden as I pressed 10,000 Tanzanian Shillings (5 €) into his hand. He said it would be done tomorrow. Two days later, on Friday, two banana trees and an avocado tree were leaning towards the fence in my front yard. The caretaker of my house showed up that afternoon and we agreed where the trees would be planted. On Saturday the trees were sticking up from the ground. I texted the gardener thanking him for the trees and asking about the missing papaya tree. Today, on Tuesday, I have two banana trees, an avocado tree, two passion trees and three papaya trees in my front yard! "Pole pole!" (Swahili for slow, take it easy) – it took some time, but that’s just the way things work on this continent. I am very pleased to have my own fruit orchard and hope I some of them will bear fruit before its time for me to leave Zanzibar.

There’s at the moment 70cm of snow in Helsinki and the winter has only started. The only resemblance to Zanzibar is the white color, since that’s also the color of the beaches around this Indian Ocean Island. The temperatures might be slightly too warm for running, especially now when it’s summer in the southern hemisphere, but not having to deal with the stress of traveling to escape the snow will easily overweight that barrier. This was just an opportunity way to good to pass on. Making big changes like this is never easy, but I have learned through previous ventures that experiencing new cultures and surroundings are greatly rewarding.

Happy New Year 2011!

I was aiming to start the race in the top 30-40 for the first few kilometers. Since the course was a constant rollercoaster with varying surfaces the expectation was that I would be able to start picking up fading runners towards the end. I came out of the box in good positions and had to relax in order to stick with the race plan. Couldn’t hear my position during the first two laps (of six) and thought I was running as planned. Turns out on the third lap that I’m in about 49th place… and it aint getting any better. I didn’t seem t find a relaxed stride at any point in the race, even if there were sections of rather hard packed dirt. I kept battling in about the same position finishing in 31´04” at 52nd, 1´49” behind the Champion, Sergey “crosscountryking” Lebid. The only positive news came, when we heard our team consisting of Jussi Utriainen, Matti Räsänen, me and Joonas Harjamäki placed 9th in the team standings to beat the best Finnish performance in history.

Yes, my hamstring/gluteus maximus was tight all the way up to the race. And yes, my hemoglobin was found to be extremely low a few weeks ago. I had, however, been able to do excellent workouts my muscles & blood being in the same condition. My only worry, really was that everything had gone as planned and that might have made me overexcited before the race. My heart rate being high all the way from the start would support this theory. Concluding with acknowledging that the race did not correspond with my current fitness level doesn’t really help anyone. End and out for the year 2010.

Su 5.12. AM 24km Easy, PM Massage
Mo 6.12. AM Circuit training, PM Aqua jogging/swimming
Tue 7.12. AM 6km + drills & strides, PM 13km Mass interval 10x70”/20” (over hills)
We 8.12. AM 7km, PM 10km
Thu 9.12. AM 7km, PM 12km 20’ Tempo (/5’+2’ MAX) Massage
Fri 10.12. AM 6km + drills, PM 12km
Sa 11.12. AM 6km + Circuit training, PM 7km + drills & strides
Su 12.12. AM 4km, PM Euro Champs XC 10km

The racing schedule says XC in Amora-Seixal on Sunday. Haven’t run other than a few orienteering races during the last few weeks so it feels good to get a challenging test in at this point, when most hard work is done and just the sharpening remains. My mileage was extraordinary high for a few weeks, after which I lowered it during last week and started feeling sluggish. The navigation challenges I faced in San Marino and Venice last weekend offered a great experience, but physically I was subpar at those races.

Earlier this week my blog reached 100 000 visitors! I started keeping my blog to keep my fellows back home updated on what I experience as I moved to Arizona. It became a fun hobby and I hear every once in a while from strangers that they have followed my career for some time through my blog. Seems like there’s quite a few of you out there who are interested in what I’m up to. Thanks for the continued support which not only keeps these posts coming, but also my legs turning.

Since I last wrote I have done a few quite contradictory races. In the 25manna orienteering relay close to Stockholm, Sweden I anchored Lynx to a 12th place finish over challenging crag terrain, after 24 other performances on the team. At the Istanbul International Eurasia Marathon 15k road race I ran from Asia to Europe covering the hilliest road race I´ve ever run and finishing next to legendary Hagia Sophia. The Nordic Cross Country Champs were staged on a mountain in Trondheim and the course was pleasantly muddy & curvy, giving each competitor a chance to experience how it feels to have legs, with the color of a Kenyan´s. None of my performances were astonishing, but showed me I´m on the right track for the Euro Champs in Albufeira. While covering a lot of miles in October I have found my favorite shoe – Saucony Kinvara. Please get your own so we can share the feeling of running free!

Perhaps due to the overly long “cool down” I recovered quickly from last weekend and have now entered a high volume training phase. I’ll be doing mostly running and try to keep some fast turnover in the mix. Hearing afterwards that the race commentators on the Finnish Eurosport TV Channel dubbed me the sturdy Danish runner motivates me to add a little extra to the length of my runs. Hope I will be able to return to Berlin one day for a quick and leaner experience over the full marathon.

It seems like a well structured life works for my running, since I have done some excellent races recently. After placing 3rd in the SEB Tallinn City Run 10K in early September I won the Finnish Nordic XC test race at Kuortane a week later, with a rather good time over a demanding cross country course. The sights for the fall are clearly in set onto the European XC Champs in December, but I’ll still make an appearance at the real,- Berlin Marathon this weekend. Since I’ve run most of my marathons conservatively this time the goal is to go out hard and hit the halfway point in about 65’. Then we’ll see if I can hang on to it…

Since I got fed up searching for controls for a while I’ve managed to run myself a 10000m reserve spot for the yearly Sweden-Finland athletics rivalry. Tonight I’ll enjoy the atmosphere in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium VIP section with the Noname crew after running a 4020m Cooper’s test at the Helsinki CITYCooper last night. At the moment I am healthy and on the doorstep of an interesting fall season which will have orienteering and road races early on while l will conclude the year with cross country.

It’s sad that the sprintO season is pretty much over now, with only a handful of races worldwide left before the winters sets in. I have been escaping the record hot summer in Finland visiting Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia. The Adriatic beaches and orienteering on the “World’s Best Map” Plitvice Jezera were the highlights in Croatia; climbing Triglav, the mountain on the Slovenian flag and getting a 2,5€ Bosnian haircut the other ones. Following these I enjoyed the atmosphere at O-ringen, but only run two races seriously while there. I wanted to be fresh and still have some pop in my legs for the Finnish 5k Champs tomorrow. My tactics will be to make the pace uneven to try to tire my competitors for a medal. I usually have the advantage in races like this and it wouldn’t really matter if it would be hot either…

Hot weather and uneven pace brings us to the European Championships on the Marathon. With my 2.19’ from Chicago last fall I was faster than several of the runners who toed the line in Barcelona. I tend to do well in inferior conditions so I think I could have had a good chance to perform well in that race. I would probably not have been close to a PR, but considering I would have been 4th with it, I think I would have earned my spot in the race. Fortunately there are a bunch of yearly city marathons where the atmosphere is equally good and the start line open for everyone, so I can still get kicks from shedding blood and tears over 42,195km of running. At least, as a marathoner, I'm as of yesterday ONLY 28 years old.

Sjundeå IF placed 4th yesterday at the Finnish Relay champs in 4x1500m in Pedersöre after four solid runs. It was the best time (15’59”) & place we’ve ever performed, but left the medal hunger for the future. The support the group in Sjundeå IF gives a runner is priceless and as close to the spirit on a US collegiate team as one can get in Finland. Therefore not getting a medal and return the favor to the club feels bad.

Next up is the Finnish SprintO test races for World Orienteering Champs. I know I need to make a clean run and be able to stay close to my max physical level on Wednesday to get onto the team. I have done it before and I’ve lately tried to get back the aggressivity I need attacking the controls. It will for sure be hot in Imatra - I believe I can also continue my heat from the track to the parks & streets.

Fortunately the orienteering fest at Jukola brought me lots of joy. The fellows in my club team Lynx all had a splendid performances and I was able to contribute taking the team up one spot to 3rd place on the 6th leg. I have run the 7th leg every year since Jämi-Jukola 2004 (where I ran 3’43”/km to win the the 5th leg) and have never before been all alone throughout the course. This year’s Jukola was also definitely the technically most challenging one I have run, which makes me extremely proud of my team’s performance and the 4th place.

European Cross Country Champs in the fall will be my main goal for the season. On the way there I will partake in wide array of races, since I love competing and the Scandinavian summer is filled with great racing spectacles. Next up on my schedule is the Nordic Orienteering Tour where I’ll represent Finland in orienteering again after a few years break. Jukola is, of course, a big thing for every orienteer and a few weeks later I need to be sharp at the WOC trials. I have now been able to train 100% and got in two solid weeks of 18 and 22 hours of exercising. Those combined with a 1.09’ half marathon today is a good continuum towards a season which might, after quite the nightmare in the winter, still be a success.

Tatekon is a long time supporter of my athletics career. It’s a small building service company based in Helsinki which believes in my endeavors towards becoming a more successful endurance athlete. It’s with the help of my supporters that I am able to make the best solutions for my career.

With the sprint in my legs, the only goal for Sunday’s Ultra Long O Champs in Somerniemi was to complete the 27km race. Since it was my debut on this distance in the senior class, I didn’t know what to expect from the challenge. After quite a hassle the morning of the race I made it to the rainy start line just on time, but lost contact to the leaders after missing on the 1st and 3rd controls. The forkings were massive so nearly all guys run by themselves most of the race. My energy levels felt good throughout the drizzling battle and since I pretty much ran the last 25km without mistakes was catching guys who had added some distance of their own to the course. In matter affect I was the fastest of all contestants in the last straight 4km loop and pinched 10 positions, ending at 17th place. I don’t know if it was the caffeine dose in the Squeezy Energy gels or what, but I felt quite okay in the finish after 3+ hours of navigating through a wet forest!

A week earlier me, and my buddies Obed and Jarkko from Sjundeå IF took Gold at the 12km Finnish Cross Country Champs. I was extremely unsure of my fitness beforehand and therefore my tactics in the heat was to start out conservatively. After a faster 1st 2km loop I was running equal splits for the rest and even had something in spare to finish stronger in 6th place. Since the Finnish XC culture is quite different from the international standards the race was again run on a rather flat and hard surface. This race was however an immense reassurance that I’m coming back from my injury and want to do some damage at the real cross country races in the fall.

What all of these performances had in common was that I was able to increase my pace towards the end, compared to my contestants. I have for a long time had the motto of starting out fast and increasing the speed towards the end. Seems like I am achieving the latter, but still hunting for the confidence to keep my heart rate up all the way from the start.

We did not quite reach our goals in 10Mila, with a 28th place in the end. It was definitely the loneliest major relay experience I’ve ever had, since I ran 96% of my 9th leg all by myself. The challenges set forth by the organizers were enjoyable and our young guns got experience from new dark situations out there. Since then I’ve already run a couple sprintO races and a cross country race, so I’ve definitely maxed out at a few different occasions already. The Finnish Euro Champs selection race in sprint orienteering was raced yesterday in Sipoo. After two decent performances I ended up 8th in the qualification and 2nd (best Finn) in the final, but that was not good enough to earn me a spot on the team. I know I’m on the right path if I want to try to make it to WOC this summer, but I’ve got some other challenges, like 12k of cross country at Finnish Champs this Sunday before that agenda. It’s sure by now though, that Finland won’t send a marathon team to the Athletics Euro Champs. There are always selections to certain teams and races that are debatable – one just needs to always be the best of all and there would be no doubt that you’re in. Would that be a reasonable goal?!

When an athlete is winning races and improving their times there’s always enough people padding their back and offering a helping hand. But during meager times is when the support is much more needed. Therefore I would now like to thank my sponsors who have stood by me and believed in a brighter future. This time I’ll introduce RA-SK Oy. It is a Finnish company, which operates in the earthworks industry and is supporting my athletic career financially. My everyday functions circle around athletics and ways to improve my recovery, rehabilitation and overall health. The sum adds up and without RA-SK Oy:s support I would have to make compromises, which could lead to injuries.

All the Finns who tried qualifying to the European Champs in the marathon failed in their first attempt, but I’ve still got my hopes up. At the moment I’m just trying to get my running volume back up to normal, in order to be able to start focusing on something. I’m feeling the aches of a rookie runner, but I still remember how to run fast!

During my break from all athletic activities I got sick. I’m convinced that I became sick because my body did not kill bacteria with high body temperature on everyday runs, such as the case any normal month would be. During these days I have been able to partake in activities I wouldn’t normally, and it’s been good to realize I haven’t lost much by living a rather controlled athlete’s life.

Rotterdam Marathon will take place in a little more than a week. I had planned to run a qualifier to the European Athletics Championships there, but instead my season focus will be decided by others on that same date. Francis Kirwa, Miika Takala and Henri Manninen are all Finns running the King of distances that day. If two of them go under 2.18’ Finland will send a team to the Euro Champs, and as I was the fastest Finn last year I would be on the team as long as I could get into shape by then. Good luck fellas!

The winter in Helsinki has been awesome in the average man’s eyes – terrible for a runner. By the time I will be back running the snow should be gone and I may again enjoy the trails of the city, which might just be the greatest place on earth for a runner. I’ll have to turn down all those movie casting offers that my first YouTube blockbuster resulted in – I’d rather run.

I enjoyed my time around Kenya and Uganda. Time got new dimensions - or actually only one new dimension - later. The word stress is unknown in this part of the civilization. At one point, in Entebbe, Uganda, our taxi driver Newton picked up me and a couple buddies 8 hours late from agreed time… and this didn’t seem to be a big issue to him! The people in Eastern Africa are friendly and being a mzungu you feel the respect - probably a remnant of the past history. The orienteering map of the indegenous Ngangao is now finished, so I’m a good way with my Master’s Thesis on using GPS in orienteering mapping. My training was fine during the first few weeks on the equator, but now all my plans for the spring are wiped out from my calendar.