Alisa Vainio improved her record by more than a minute at the rainy Malaga marathon. The native of Lappeenranta ran five marathons this year, with three of which he improved his record.
– I was satisfied that I reached the finish line today.
Alisa Vainio the crystallization left nothing unclear when he recounted the Malaga marathon award to Urheilu at the finish line of the race.
Vainio, 25, was third in the race in rain and wind with a time of 2:28:40. That’s his record. The former record was improved by one minute and 16 seconds.
The time of 2.28.40 makes Vainio also the second fastest Finnish female marathoner of all time. Only Ritva Melender (née Lemettinen) has been able to run 42.195 kilometers faster than Vainio: the Finnish record of 2:28.00 is from the London marathon run on April 2, 1995.
In October of the same year, Lemettinen ran the Chicago Marathon one second faster than Vainio’s time in Malaga.
Vainio’s initial pace promised a final time of up to 2.23. However, the difficulties started after halfway.
– It was painful from 24 kilometers onwards. It was a brisk start, but on the other hand I thought there was nothing to lose. And the run felt easy. But then suddenly the lights went out. Then it was time to fight.
– At one point, I was completely exhausted. But I wouldn’t necessarily start slower. You just have to practice so that the run comes to the end. It’s important to get a financial step though, and that was the step for me today, but then something just happened. I do not know.
The last 18 kilometers were a struggle for Vainio. Passing the mental test warmed up the Lappeenranta Sports Men’s runner.
– If there was a time machine that you could use to travel to the finish line, I would have used it. But it wasn’t. I just rubbed the gel and tried to think one step at a time. You can’t stop once you’ve come this far.
– This increases and gives motivation for the future.
Records and difficult Corona
Vainio describes the year 2022 as a big spiritual growth.
He ran no less than five marathons, three of which ended with a record and only one with an interruption (European Championships in Munich). In addition, records were broken both in the half-marathon and in the 10-kilometer road race.
– I have gained a lot of experience specifically from marathons and have done incredibly good training sessions.
Vainio estimates that the results would have been even better if the coronavirus that came at the time of the European Championships had not caused a setback.
– It happened at a really bad time. It took me a long time to recover from it, both physically and mentally, but now it’s been a good period for the second month.
Next season, for example, the World Championships in Budapest await, for which the direct result limit of the marathon is 2:28:00. However, Vainio’s result in Malaga is enough for a place in the competition. He has not yet planned his next season that far.
– The idea is to compete evenly, stay healthy, do upward exercises and raise your own level, Vainio had time to say, before the organizers picked him up for the prize distribution.