World of O News
– If I could only run one discipline each Championships, it would always be the relay, Helena Jansson says in this Interview. One of her big highlights in 2008 was therefore deciding the EOC Relay for Sweden on the last leg. Jansson has taken another major step up as an orienteer with her first individual WOC medal this year.
Below Helena Jansson is presented for the nomination “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.
About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet – World of O and Ultimate Orienteering – are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.
Interview with Helena Jansson
Give a short presentation of yourself.
Helena Anna Jansson, 23 years old, medical student, living in Umeå (the very north of Sweden). I absolutely hate the darkness here but I adore the snow. I love skiing, and by that I mean real alpine skiing, none of that Nordic nonsense. I have an older brother who loves his suit-job and an older sister who likes rowing and who inherits all my left-over training-gear. None of them likes orienteering. My brother dislikes the fact that I am lousy at getting personal sponsors, partly because I don’t have one that can supply him with a GPS for his car. In Ume I live with my boyfriend Niclas Jonasson, who likes running shoes and to vacuum. He also likes me, and I definitely like him, and it is such a luxury to live with the person you like the most, it still fascinates me. Also, I am a sucker for music, especially alternative pop and, as Kat Stratford said, “angry girl music of the indie-rock persuasion”. Currently, Arcade Fire, Joel Alme, Melissa auf der Maur and Editors are among my favourites. I love pink and I am a firm believer that you can never get to much glitter. My to worst things are bananas and eggs, and also, I can’t stand Swedish singer Lars Winnerbäck.
What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
Hard! I have had a great year, with a whole lot of really great races and experiences. If I have to choose I would say that the EOC relay was the best. I had just come out of a period of knee-trouble, not really knowing if I had anything in those championships to do, and therefore I was extra nervous. Relays are my favorites (if I could only run one discipline each Championships it would always be relay.) but being part of a team means that someone else will have to suffer for your mistakes… Luckily, we didn’t make that many mistakes, and when I, together with Lina P and Emma E crossed the finish line, we did it as European Champions, and it was just great!
My brother dislikes the fact that I am lousy at getting personal sponsors
What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
It is very flattering, but I don’t really know why you are putting me up there with all the stars, I think I have some way to go before I am among the most skilled runners in the world! It feels really great though!
What are your main goals for the future?
I still have a lot to learn and to develop, and I have a vision that I one day will feel that I am all the best that I can be. I still have a long way to go before I get there, and maybe I never will, but in the meantime I am completely satisfied that I am taking one step at a time towards becoming really good at this sport!
Where is your favourite place to orienteer – where you would advice our readers to travel?
I have a lot of favourite places for orienteering, and I still have not seen so many. I love northern Italy, Slovenia, an (after last weeks trainingcamp) Hungary. In Sweden, one of my favourites is Haddingen, right here in Umeå. It is the greatest forest ever, and I would advise every one who likes orienteering to come here and run at least once! We have a guest room…
Can you describe your toughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
My toughest week is yet to come! I have not started my training towards 2009 yet, but when I do it will be something extra! Overall, my toughest weeks have been around 18 h of training, and with high intensity running (and weightlifting) as a major part. Exactly which weeks I have done what, I have no idea, but my trainer Harri Viinamäki does!
I love northern Italy, Slovenia, an (after last weeks training camp) Hungary
Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position – and how many hours do you train each year?
I am a professional orienteer, of course, but I am also a full time medical student. Does it work? Oh, yes! I love school and I love to run, and the two things together make me even better! When I have too much time of from school, I don’t know what to do with myself, I can’t make use of all the time, and the days that I am resting from training I start crawling on the walls. I am not sure how many hours exactly I have trained this year, but last year it was 660 h, and probably it is maybe 10-15% more this year. I really don’t know.
In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
I try to be diverse. I have a tendency to run more on tracks and unpaved roads than in the forest when I am training just running without a map, but I try to keep a good balance! In the winter however I run wherever I can (snow you know…), mostly on paved but cleared roads and indoors. I have no idea what my PB is on either 3000 or 5000 m, numbers are not my big thing, especially running-times. I know that I have run 3000 a couple of times though…
