Joona Huila– Ikaalisten Nouseva-Voima: There was a bit too much enthusiasm and speed in my orienteering today; the performance would have required better pacing. I competed in this same terrain back in 2020, so it felt familiar in a way. The arrangements worked well and met my expectations. The course was pleasantly challenging, and there will certainly be significant time differences. Today’s long-distance race will be crucial for the overall competition.
Venla Turakainen – Kalevan rasti: My first impressions of this coming week were very positive. The terrain was beautiful and varied, but the hillside controls were difficult for me. are very bad for me. The medium-length legs at the beginning of the course were my favourites, and by the end I had already become familiar with moving through this type of terrain. I was happy with my performance, even though one leg did not go well. Over the next few days, I’m looking forward to demanding orienteering challenges and enjoyable, fast-running terrain.
Karoliina Ukskoski – Lahden suunnistajat -37: The terrains of Salla made a great first impression on me. I’ve always liked the landscapes of Northern Finland. It was really enjoyable! I’m quite satisfied with my own performance. I’ve been recovering from a cold over the past few weeks, so my pace was slow and I don’t have any result goals for this week. I made a couple of mistakes at the beginning, but after that things started to go much better. For the rest of the week, I’m looking forward to beautiful terrain, technically strong performances, and clean runs.
Anna Haataja – SK Pohjantähti: It was wonderful to return to Lapland for orienteering once again! Nothing beats Lapland. The terrain is quite similar to that around Rovaniemi: good visibility, at times fast and runnable forest ground, at times rocky sections, and moderate elevation changes. I was pleased with my performance—just a couple of small mistakes, but otherwise a solid and balanced run. You really had to approach the controls carefully, as the control feature could be small or well hidden. I usually find compass legs and featureless hillsides challenging, but I managed them at my own level today. This week, I’m looking forward to beautiful terrain and simply enjoying my orienteering. In my free time, I plan to go fishing!
Lari Pernu – Espoon Suunta: It’s fantastic to be orienteering in the north! The terrain is magnificent, and the orienteering is completely different from what we have in southern Finland. The visibility and running speed are on another level altogether. The different type of forest and unique map style provide a real challenge, and using the compass becomes even more important. The first half of my race went really well, but towards the end my legs started to feel heavy and I began to get mentally tired. There’s still some room for improvement over the coming days.
