I am orienteering in third generation in my family. My grandfather was orienteering "some" years ago in Helsingin Suunnistajat and later my father started to run orienteering in the age of 20, in a club called Tervakosken Pato. Later he teached the habit of living to my mother and to the children, so we were like the usual orienteeringfamily, travelling around Finland and other countries by caravancar for every single weekend in the summer...
When I was 3 years old my family moved from Helsinki to Tampere and a little later the club changed from Mesikämmenet to Tampereen Pyrintö. I was running my first competition as 6 years old in Kainuun rastiviikko. I have always liked speed and competing, so, from these years ahead I have loved to run in the forrests with such a big passion that quite many times I've forgot to orienteer...
I had many different kind of hobbies when I was a child: balet, apparatus gymnastics, team gymnastics, football, floorball, figureskating, playing piano, scouts... Gymnastics I was doing untill 15 years old, but then I needed to do a choise and I chose orienteering. Sometimes I'm happy of my choise, sometimes I wish I have chose some sport where one need just fysical forces and a big willingness without mantalability:) But the orienteering was the sport where I had the willingness to win most. Orienteering is challenging, there I had already then lots of friends, we made funny trips and camps and there's so many different ways to do trainings for orienteering. Also the time spending in the nature is very important thing for me. Forrests are fantastic places! Exspecially when have a chance to see so many different kind of forrests, in so many different countries.
My first coach I got when I was 15 years, If i remember right. Annika Viilo did a trainingprogram for me about three years. She is a wonderfull person, who I respect very much as an orienteer, as a human. She gave me lots of data about training, which I still can use today. It was a funny moment last spring in Kevätyönviesti. Annika has finished top-o many years ago, but when i was passing her during the race I was so amazed of it, that I did a mistake in the next control. Some idols are idols forever.
After a couple of years brake of a trainee, I asked Raija Laukkanen to help me to get better. I moved to Switzerland for half a year to work as an aupair and I felt it would be good to get a program and somebody looking after, when I was there just training alone. Raija teached me to train more and faster. Training got more serious, ofcourse because i got more age and I still wanted to succee. Thought I was in a good shape next summer, I had still big problems with my orienteering and I didn't get the results, which I was expecting. I didn't get ever to JWOC and that was a big dissapointment for me. Because Raija was so busy with her work in Polar and I was unactive the trainingships just died after two years.
Then I changed from Tampereen pyrintö to Paimion Rasti, because I had moved to Turku for studying and living together with Markus. Things worked well in Paimio and Matti Sipponen helped me a lot to get better as an orienteer. I started to understand more about orienteering, forexample what does those brown lines mean in the map and how to make a plan ;). Not forgetting my boyfriend Markus who has teached me a lot lot about orienteering as well as these westerncoast terrains.
Orientering Academy was The big step to be a real toporienteer as training with other a-/b-nationalteam runners, starting to make trainings twice-a-day regularly and doing lots of more technicaltrainings than before. Janne Salmi was first only the academycoach, but during spring 2005 he started to make me a personal trainingprogram for me. That was a great gift, which make me also to believe much more for myslef and what I'm doing. Janne has teached many new trainingmodels, which suit me very well. I have started to know better what kind of trainings I need and when and learned to do some routines before races. The training strated to be more planned and controlled and the hours growed also. My traininghours growed 20% in the winter 2006 and all of the growth was easy speed trainings, what I like less. Man just got to do what man got to do.
The season 2005 was a step forward I could say. Thought the steps haven't been so big I would have wished, some development has happened in every year in WE-class. Last year I got my first medal in Finnish Champs, from SM-ultralong, 9th place from shortdistance, 11th place from the World Games and some other good performancees (in not so important races..), gave a motivation to do more work for this year and finally try to reach a place from the A-nationalteam. I try finally to be enough mature to keep my orienteering together also when are the most important places to do it.
Next
16.4. Silja-rastit, Huippuliiga 1
21.4. EOC-qualific/sprint, PIF
22.4. EOC-qualific/middle, PIF
23.4. EOC-qualific/long, Raseb
29.4. Tiomila, Swe
Katri Kerkola suunnistus - orienteering http://users.utu.fi/kkkerk