Tiomila victory WOW! Thank you Celine, Vendula, Ida, Kajsa and the rest of Halden SK! Bornholm, Denmark, May 2007: Two girls who ran NOC sprint 30 minutes ago are really upset. They discuss it over and over again… The last ten minutes of the Tiomila last leg some days ago, where they were both highly involved: “Why didn’t we do this or that – and what an impressive technical knock-out made by Tanya Ryabkina for Hellas!” The two girls were Kajsa Nilsson (finished 5th for Halden SK in 2007) and Hausken (3rd for Bækkelagets SK back then), and they had absolutely no idea that they two years later would end up winning Tiomila together… Arlanda, Sweden, April 2008: A girl who yesterday ran last leg in Tiomila is really upset. She hates the fact that the girl’s Tiomila is only a short vorspiel compared to the boy’s relay - they can “party all night” on their ten legs of demanding night orienteering. She writes a letter to the organisers, and publishes this on her website, as well as in the Swedish Orienteering Magazine “Skogssport”. She doesn’t always write such letters after competitions… Probably she is not in a very good mood, because she had to start out on last leg as number 35. (The leg went ok and she brought her new club, Halden SK, to place 15.) I had absolutely no idea that one year later, five minutes before I was up to running another Tiomila last leg, the speaker Per Forsberg would remind me of that letter – and that this year’s Tiomila offered the longest last leg ever…”so now she will get the challenge she asked for…” Skåne, Sweden, April 2009: On the night before Tiomila, Halden SK Coolchicks have their team meeting. No girls are upset, but all five of them are kind of nervous… When we were actually done, I felt like telling them this: “If we don’t succeed tomorrow, it is not the end of the world to me… because Tiomila has already given me a lot of energy! This winter’s training has not been like a dream compared to the previous one, because I fell and hurt my knee. While I’ve been at home, doing alternative training instead of being away on training camps, I have dreamt of running a strong race in Tiomila anyway.” To succeed when you want it the most is really something special… To me, this year’s Tiomila was THE mental challenge of this season. I am not worried that my changed winter training will have influence of WC or WOC preparations, but I was worried that Tiomila would come a bit too early. As I knew the other girls were on schedule, I felt we had a chance for victory if I ran a decent race. So I tried to convince myself that April 18th is the D-day; be there or be square… About the relay, lots of words have already been written – I have put some links below. Once again, let me thank my wonderful team mates, sending me out in 2nd position, only 1.18 minutes behind Domnarvet: Celine – the structured French 1st leg runner, giving me goose skin by punching first on the first radio control; Vendula – the always well-prepared Czech 2nd leg runner, and also the brilliant physiotherapist who fixed my back and hipster on Friday; Ida – our Halden-born girl, experienced and technically strong despite her young age; and Kajsa – the crazy Swedish girl who taught me the importance of joy in sport – “Always remember to enjoy, Hausken!” Let me also thank the rest of Coolchicks; the 2nd and 3rd team, the injured girls supporting us either on site or at the “Halden Tiomila Web Party” (we heard you screaming all the way to Skåne!), our coach Kenneth Buch, my discussion partner Kjetil Bjørlo, Anne Haugen joining Buch & Bjørlo in the selection committee, the Halden guys giving me lots of self confidence (by e.g. calculating probabilities of Coolchicks victory to be close to 100%), AND, of course the “Halden Family”: supporters and leaders making the atmosphere during our Tiomila preparations and performance something really special! I look forward to Tiomila 2010… www.amhausken.com – Tiomila 2007 www.amhausken.com – Letter to Tiomilaforeningen 2008 Tiomila results NRK SVT Halden Arbeiderblad Ultimate orienteering (pictures) Fit for fight – Coolchicks foto session (20.04.09 14:42)