Bodom Trail 2017 gathered together the greatest variety of nationalities in the race history. Part of the international spirit was brought here by Suunto Summit event. Philipp Reiter, a top-tier ski mountaineer and mountain runner visited Finland first time as a member of Suunto Summit team and kindly shared his experiences with us.
What were your first feelings when you arrived in the event center?
Very nice, I wasn’t expecting to see so many people around in here. The atmosphere is very relaxed, people are smiling and chatting to each other.
Now when you have a clue of Finnish terrain, what are your expectations for the race?
I believe it’s going to be very runnable and fast paced race. I’m looking forward to seeing some lakes and Finnish forest, I may even take photos along the course. Let’s see how muddy it’ll be, maybe I should loan those Salomon test shoes instead of getting my own pair too dirty 😉
Do you have any guesses who is going to win today?
Actually, I don’t have any presumes. I’ve heard that there are many really tough guys participating but I don’t know any of them personally. Nevertheless, I guess the pace is going to be really high!
What are your instant post-race feelings, did the terrain meet your expectations?
What surprised me was the amount of focus the running needed. Mentally, I had to concentrate all the time to avoid scrambling and the muddiest parts. Secondly, the terrain was much muddier than thought. I saw a fellow runner almost losing his shoes!
How Finnish trail running competition differs from other events you have participated?
I would say this was real trail running in the forest – the route is runnable for everyone. When comparing to the mountain trails, all uphills were easy to run. It was also super nice to see hundreds of lifestyle runners on the same route. In central Europe, many competitions only have a small bunch of elite runners.
What is the most memorable race you’ve been to?
I have to say that Transalpine-Run has been the most memorable race this far. Challenging yet beautiful Alpine terrain and the multi-day nature of the competition made Transalpine so special. Crossing the finish line after competing 8 days was unbelievable.
What’s up next – what competitions you have planned for the upcoming summer season?
At least lots of photographing, I’m taking pictures for Salomon. Major competition I’m taking part this summer is The Mont-Blanc 80KM race in June.
Thanks, Suunto Summit for joining us at Bodom Trail, looking forward to seeing you and many other international runners here also in the future!
