Where I come from

Running for the Alps. It feels good to be back on my feet out of the couch. With my heart and my head fully invested.

Three years of more or less sedentary life behind. Occasional swims, occasional cross country skiing, occasional tennis, occasional boxing, occasional golf, occasional gym, occasional biking, occasional snowboarding, occasional hiking, occasional kayaking. And the very rare and very O-C-C-A-S-I-O-N-A-L run. Recently I've been busy laying the foundation for a career as an investment proffessional. So physical fitness training has been very occasional. As it has, as a matter of fact, for the most of my life.

Now I have a goal - and milestones - that really motivates me.

That makes all the difference!

I can't wait to get my shoes on and get out. Feeling the gravel fly under my feet. Feels great!

When I was 16 I wanted to become a proffessional snowboarder. I had nowhere to train. I tried to build a hill in the forest behind our house. It's hard to build a mountain and I gave up after the first meter or so. At 18, after finishing school, I took my board and got me a flight ticket to the Alps. I didn't speak French. I had no money. I had no marketable skills. I just wanted to ride. And I did. And I did realize the talent just wasn't there. It took a LOT of crashlanded flips and spins to turn my head though.

I returned from the Alps without a clue what to do next. As a boy I also wanted to be an elite soldier. So I started to train to become a Finnish paratrooper. Running. Swimming. Lifting weights. Running. I got myself into great shape. But I failed. Because I didn't train properly. I trained loads. But I failed to train the right swimming technique. I aced the other tests but failed miserably at the swimming test.


So I did the next best thing and did my military service (we have a conscript army) as a coast jaeger. Turned out to be far from green berets or navy seals. At times it was tough and fun. Mostly it was just a joke and a caricature of an army. The most demanding part of the training was a 24h 70 km march fully equipped (40 kg of gear). That was tough. And fun.


After the army I entertained an idea to go competitive in triathlon. I couldn't afford the bike so I scrapped the idea. Went sedentary and occasional instead. Many years passed. Partying. Praying. Studying. Working. Living. And many more years passed.

Now I'm running for the Alps. With a plan and a purpose.