Ten years of waiting is now over and big goal reached in the form of WOC-silver medal! WOC long distance in France was not the feared via Dolorosa for me - on the contrary, it was one of the most enjoyable runs I have had. On Monday I was rather disappointment after missing the final in middle distance, but on the starting line - on the western cliffs of Massif de Bauges - I was already feeling strong, but humble.
I got more humble by struggling with the early controls of the race, but it helped me to find the last safety routines needed later on during the course. After that all was easy in my performance, it was in fact like in the sport psychology books ;). Actually, every time I have done a really good performance, the general feeling has been extremely light. All the stars were in right positions today and I made the right moves.
But without friends and co-operators this would not have worked out at all:
- Minna and my familyi - great support, in every turn!
- Jarmo Heiskanen, Eino Havas ja Juhani Palonen - hey guys, we did it!
- Vaajakosken Terä - Terä viiltää!!
- Finnish orienteering folks, friends, relatives - thanks for the marvellous spirit!
- and finally co-operators Icebug and Anttolanhovi
THANKS TO YOU and now the story goes on to further adventures. On Saturday we'll fight for World Champs medals here in France. The results can be found here.
Below you'll find my exact routes and analysis of yesterday's race. By running a totally perfect run, I had still lost 2s to Thierry ;-):
