“Now there is a bit of a question mark, what is the mood”

Finnish runner Alisa Vainio revealed on Sunday that his preparations for the Oregon World Cup Marathon have not gone as well as he would have liked. Vainio, 24, fell ill with the flu just before the World Cup.

Vainio prepared for the marathon for a week and a half in Oregon.

– I got the important exercises done, but I had a cold that took away a bit of the edge, Vainio told Urheilu.

– Now there is a bit of a question mark, what the mood is.

Vainio, who has recovered from the flu, will compete in the marathon on Monday, which is scheduled for 16:15 Finnish time. Local time, the start is at 6:15 in the morning.

Vainio said that the early departure time does not affect his performance.

– The time difference has been a bit strange anyway. I feel that it doesn’t matter if it’s night or day, as long as you can run, Vainio said local time on Sunday during the day.

The time difference to Finland is ten hours.

Vainio said that he was already looking forward to being able to compete. He said the tension grew more and more during the week and a half preparation camp.

– I consider tension to be a good thing. It shows that competition matters. Excitement prepares the body and mind, but you have to take care not to overdo it.

Vainio and his coach Jarmo Viskari lived part of the camp in the homestay of a local endurance running coach by Lonn Robertson at Creswell’s.

The Finnish runner said that he calmed down in the middle of nature and had a good time with Robertson’s dog. Vainio baked cookies for Robertson as a thank you for the accommodation.

On Monday, Robertson will be on the marathon route as a reporter at the first kilometer. Vainio knows to expect strong encouragement at that point.

– The route seems really meaningful. It’s not terribly hilly. There are shaded spots on the route if it happens to be warm, Vainio said.

– The plan is to set off in moderation and to be on top of the performance all the time, and at no point to get involved in such grinding. It’s a big temptation, when many people are sure to go hard.

Alisa Vainio came to the public in the fall of 2015, when she broke the result limit of the Rio Olympic Games in the marathon at only 17 years old. However, Vainio was underage for the Rio Olympic marathon, and he could not participate.

The 2:33:24 run at that time was Vainio’s marathon record for a long time.

In 2016–17, Vainio suffered from health concerns. In addition, the media attention brought by the top time I ran at the age of 17 caused pressure.

At some point, Vainio almost disappeared from the public eye.

In recent years, he has been featured again, although he still rarely gives interviews.

This season has been the best in Vainio’s career. In February in Seville, he broke his seven-year-old marathon record when the clock stopped at 2:30:22. Just two months later, he improved his record to 2:29.56.

Vainio has run only five marathon races in his career, two of which have been this season. The value competition debut came at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, where Vainio was 26th in the marathon.

– It feels like you can learn a little from each marathon for the next one. Now it’s a bit bigger race, so probably this will also give more confidence and learning, Vainio thought.

Injuries and other health concerns have at times severely hampered the career of a top-promising runner. In addition to the years 2016 and 2017, the seasons 2020 and 2021 were also ruined due to health concerns.

– Love for the sport has pushed me forward. Even if I wasn’t competing, I would always run. The competition is not the main thing for me anyway, Vainio said.

Vainio says that especially after injuries and illnesses, he remembers why he runs. When Vainio gets to run after a break, he returns to the roots of his passion.

He runs for “the power and feeling of running,” not to compete.

– Difficulties come to everyone and they can be overcome. It belongs to this species.

In this way, Vainio knows how to take on the flu that came just before the World Cup.

The schedule of the fourth race day and the Finns

at 16.15 N marathon, final at Areena (Alisa Vainio)
at 19:35 N long jump, 7-match
at 20:55 N javelin, 7-match, group A
at 22:05 N javelin, 7-match, group B

at 3.05 M 200 m, heats
at 3.10 N discus throw, qualifying, group A (Salla Sipponen)
at 3.45 M high jump, final
at 4.00 N 200 m, heats (Anniina Korttemaa)
at 4.20 N triple jump, final at Areena (Kristiina Mäkelä)
at 4:35 N discus throw, qualifying, group B
at 4:55 N 800 m, 7-match
at 5.20 M 3,000 m steeplechase, final
at 5:50 N 1,500 m, final