Säde and Mäkelä to win the 12 km Jaama Run

Santra Säde, the organizing club of the Kontiolahti Athletes, ran to victory in the largest, 12 km women's series of the Jaama Run, run in excellent conditions. Heidi Horttanainen of the Imatra Athletes finished second and Aino Veijalainen of the Kontiolahti Athletes finished third.

─Today I had a good uphill run, being able to keep such a good pace all the time and tighten up to the end. I saved a little for the climbs, so that there would be bumps, so that I wouldn't acidify so much. Unfortunately, one of the pacers in front interrupted - it was a good target for the beginning of the distance, but then you couldn't really see the group, so you just had to keep your own pace, said Säde, who won the series by more than a minute.

Men's victory for Liperi Ski Club

In the men's 12 km series, Liperi Ski Club Luukas Mäkelä won. He was the only runner to break the 50-minute mark and clocked a winning time of 48:40. The second was Markus Myyry of Kontiolahti Athletes and the third was Eemeli Hirvonen of Liper Taimen who ran in the M15 series.

Mäkelä, who is aiming for junior championship medals in cross-country skiing next season, had started maximum strength training the same week, which was felt in his legs.

─The thigh was by no means at its most sensitive, but on the morning run when he opened up places and took good initial moves, it really took off, Mäkelä said.

Delightfully children moving

In the men's 24 km series, Ari Kinnunen, running in the M50 age group, ran to victory. The second was Jarkko Laukkanen and the third was Markus Häikiö of Liper Taimen. The women's winning trio was formed by Sari Mäkinen, Virva Nyyssönen and Salla Riikonen of Leppäviran Virin.

In the women's 5 km series, local names took the top spots, when Sanna Hämäläinen and Sara Naukkarinen brought a double victory to the Kontiolahti Athletes ahead of Joensuu Kataja's Kaija Pyöriaiä. In the men's series, long-time winners of Jaama Run, Sulkama Kipinä's Esko Lintunen won before Joona Jormanai and Markku Jeska of Kontiolahti Ureheilide.

Kimmo Turunen of Kontiolahti Urheilijat ry and Kontiolahti Outdoor, who organized the event together with the municipality of Kontiolahti, was pleased with the day, but especially with the large number of children. 26 children participated in the Mini Jaama series organized for the youngest children.

─We are developing the event in the direction that there is more to do besides running, also for families with children. The best news of the day was how much parents brought their children to run and exercise in the bouncy castles and other activity points, Turunen said.

Photo: Virva Nyyssönen, who finished second in the women's 24 km series, in the terrain of Välyampie.

Results and additional information:

• Results
• Athlete interviews on Kontiolahti Athletes' Facebook page
• More information: Jarno Lautamati 043-2180573