Janne Ukonmaanaho has been a well-known hurdler for seven years Raitanen’s top as a coach. The number of personal coaches of the ex-top runner will double, as he has started the 22-year-old in the autumn Mustafe Muusen as a coach.
Muuse, a Finnish runner born in 2001, won silver in 5,000 meters and bronze in 10,000 meters at last year’s Kaleva Games in Joensuu. This summer, the athlete of the Turku Sports Association ran his 5,000 meter record of 13:51.56 and competed in the under-23 European Championships held in Espoo.
Muuse has been able to enjoy a tough international example before, because his previous coach was famous Addy Ruiterby the teachings of Uganda Joshua Cheptegei has become the holder of world records for distances of 5,000 and 10,000 meters. In addition, Muuse has been able to train with a running legend Mo Farah’s with.
However, Muuse was no longer allowed to continue coaching Ruiter, so he needed a new coach. Muuse had already asked Ukonmaanaho to be his coach three years ago, but starting cooperation then would have been the worst possible time for Ukonmaanaho.
Ukonmaanaho wanted to focus on coaching Raitanen and his studies. Raitanen ran eighth in the 2021 Olympics and became European champion a year ago.
– Topi was heading towards the first peak moment of his career. I wanted to focus on that in coaching. In addition, other work and studies took a lot of time, so I felt that coaching another athlete at that stage is not at all realistic.
– However, it has always been in my mind that at some point I want to coach more. When Muuse called and held a ten-minute monologue, I knew after 15 seconds that he would ask to coach. The first reaction was that now is the right moment, says Ukonmaanaho.
Raitanen’s training as a hook
Muuse already trained with Raitanen last spring at a camp held in Flagstaff, USA. In addition, Muuse prepared for the summer European Youth Championships with the training system of the European steeplechase champion.
Muuse was fascinated by the so-called double-week training used by Ukonmaanaho and Raitanen, which consists of two speed endurance workouts per day. The model in question has been the background of many top Nordic runners in recent years.
– I think that Janne has brought that training style to Finland with Topi. I trained for four weeks in that style with Addy. When threshold training worked for me, there were many different options. I felt that Janne is the right coach for me, says Muuse.
Another decisive factor was having a famous training partner like Raitanen.
– I didn’t want to get in the way, especially now that Top has had a hard time. When I knew Topi and knew that this was ok for him, it supported that decision, says Muuse.
Ukonmaanaho says that a young runner like Muuse also supports Raitanen’s training. The coach hopes that Raitanen will be the kind of athlete who talks and passes information on to young Muuse during runs and training.
– I think that Topi would be ready for that role. The idea is what legacy will be left in Finnish endurance running and how to make a continuum of future champions. Topi is harnessed to that path.
– Of course, he focuses on his best years, but that’s a pretty natural way. We talk on runs and go over things. There will be a certain kind of responsibility that we are building the next successful person, Ukonmaanaho says.
Practice culture
Ukonmaanaho sees the future of the 22-year-old runner as bright. Muuse is basically a 5,000 and 10,000 meter runner, but in the near future he will run a variety of distances from 1,500 meters to half marathons.
– The first year is about him learning how to adapt to different training. Through that, the idea starts to refine from the main journey.
Many often set their goal as a value competition or a specific result. Although Muuse wants to aim for the Finnish records of 5,000 and 10,000 meters and the half marathon in the future, his goal setting is a little different.
– The first main goal is to have a practice culture. I’ve never had such consistent long-form training before. I know I have the capacity to run a hard, Muuse line.