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.