Why this blog?
My life so far has been quite extraordinary and filled with adventures. I’ve been fortunate to see and accept opportunities that have led to some amazing experience. I decided to type down these memories for myself. So that I have something to reflect on while sipping white wine spitzers with other grannies at the elderly house. But if you find this fun to read, then it serves a dual purpose. Thank you, Ira, for the encouragement to write.
Races are 100% team work and I am lucky to have been able to work with the most wonderful people over these years. Big thanks go to RTP, founder Mary, and colleagues Sam, Alina, Zeana, Ross, Matt, Simon and the whole Hong Kong team, as well as the race crews, Carlos, Thomas, Pierre, Hernan, Tony, our fun medical and media teams, the local teams all around the world, volunteers and of course the racers themselves. You have made my life so rich.
I have always been drawn to traveling, especially in off-the-beaten-path destinations. After some short work stints in France and the USA, I moved to Hong Kong at age 24, in early 2000. This was meant to be an exchange semester but Asia lured me quickly. The initial four months became a memorable 15 years, work and a whirlwind of fun times in one of the world's busiest and most captivating cities. Hong Kong is one of the best gateways to the entire region. During my first year I did some of the most exciting backpacking across Southeast Asia and China. As my first real job in HK, I organized business events and managed marketing activities for an international law firm. Time flew - after 3.5 years, I decided it was time for a break. So, I hopped on a plane to South America and New Zealand, where I spent months kitesurfing, meeting fascinating people, and exploring intriguing places. Just before catching my flight back to HK in March 2010, I received an email from a company that organizes extreme footraces. And I thought, "Why not?"
The Desert Debut
Job interview, April 2010.
Physiotherapy, tourism & event management and logistics…the peculiar combo of my “what will I want to do when I grow up” studies started making sense. This job sounds like a heavy load of everything… also a very niche industry. I pondered if it made any professional sense. "Well, you'll at least meet fascinating people," they quipped. Little did I know it would become my career for over a decade. Why? Because it's been ridiculously addicting. Fascinating people indeed, -- captivating places! The thrill of pulling all the strings to make things happen and tackling the unexpected. Great colleagues who put their hearts into everything. Who could ask for more?
Lesson #1
First month at work taught me my first lesson: Mixing your hobby and work is the best way to ruin a good hobby. On my third day, I found myself helping with race check-in in Australia, surrounded by 300 athletes from around the world. Their excitement was contagious, but it left me feeling a tad empty. Memories my own race registrations and starting lines flooded my mind. I so wanted to be a racer right now! A few weeks later, back in the office, reality hit me. Looking at the project plan, I realised I had faced something entirely new …Woops, nothing like at my previous job. A freaking huge amount of work and ever-growing responsibility. A guess I better accept the challenge I had been looking for. While the racers would think about their own finish line, we had our own – to navigate endless hurdles and organize a safe, seamless, and unforgettable race, one of the other. This soon became “more than a job”.
Working at my very first race, just to about to learn the ropes
Since then, I've organised close to 50 ultramarathon stage races across the globe for RacingThePlanet (RTP). Founded in 2002, RTP is one of the oldest stage race organisations out there. The 4 Deserts Race Series is annual. It includes the Gobi March (originally in the Gobi Desert, China, and later moved to Mongolia in 2018), Atacama Crossing (North Chile, bordering Bolivia), Namib Race in Namibia (the original version was the Sahara Race, held in Egypt), and The Last Desert -- Antarctica. All 250 km (155 miles). Self-supported races lasting 7 days. Each desert presents its own unique challenge, from the windiest to the hottest, to driest, and coldest. And every year, we have held a race in a new location. The RacingThePlanet Ultras, also known as the roving races, have always taken place in the breathtaking and culturally vibrant settings. So far, we've explored 13 countries. The last one for me was in Lapland, my home country Finland.
Organising these races is very much a team effort. We have a few race directors on the team, my colleagues Sam, Zeana, and myself, who take turns managing, and Mary, of course, who founded the company. Additionally, there's a brilliant support team in Hong Kong who assist with everything from websites to shipping and sourcing. The races wouldn't be possible without the talented staff working on medical, course, and volunteer management at each race. And like any event organisation, volunteers truly are a key to success. Whatever your role, each race is a reunion that everyone eagerly awaits.
What you may not realise, each race involves a demanding amount of office work. Over 80 % of our time is spent on the computer, doing planning, marketing and customer service like in many other jobs. And after all the preparation, when we get to a race - those trusty laptops follow us to the desert.
Love it