With 17 different nationalities present, Salla FIN5 is a true international competition. Each day we try to interview one of our foreign guests.
Today we met Gilles Renaud. He, his son and a friend came from Switzerland to enjoy the forests of Lapland. ‘Today went ok, I made a few mistakes but it was ok. It was a bit more hilly than the first days, which I like, it reminds me of home.’ Although there are big differences between Salla and Switzerland, he says. ‘Over here, you can see far away. You have only two things to focus on: running and orienteering, while in Switzerland you have to fight the forest at the same time.’
With a twinkle in his eyes he says: ‘The first day was a dream. The pleasure of just running through the forest (without having to fight it) was what I came here to for.’
After this week, he goes straight back to Switzerland for Swiss-o-week, a 6 days orienteering event. When asked if this is his warm-up for the Swiss-o-week, he smiles and says: ‘yes, a flat warm-up.’
