Which team: Pyhät Miehet, in English the Holy Men, is a team consisting of mates from Central Finland with a hint of Southern Finland blood. Common factors are some kind of a history with Äänekoski Rasti E4 Orienteering Club, great sense of humour, rough personality, and experience in orienteering.

Goal in Jämsä-Jukola: Last year in Valio-Jukola an all-time record 262. This year the goal is a placement starting with two again.

One of the first teams to get registered in Jämsä-Jukola was Pyhät Miehet, the Holy Men. The team includes orienteers all with experience of many, some even tens of Jukola relays. So it is natural that for example last year’s great placement in Valio-Jukola was based on confident and clean orienteering as well as successful allocation of roles. “Everyone had a stake where he was able to fully utilise his potential: nerves in the first stake rush, ability to navigate in the dark, ensuring the in-between-stakes and fitness to manage the long stakes”, says Harri Mehto, a well-known orienteering persona from Central Finland. Due to an Achilles tendon injury he will act in the background this year, together with ”the best carer ever, Kössi”.

Preparation for the most important event of the summer is glorious. Mehto clearly is enthusiastic: ”We have a tradition to go for an hike in Lapland around Halloween, there is the spirit created and plans are made for new adventures. The winter camp is for improvement of basic condition and sometimes we might have some spirit-strengthening bees. In the spring camp we are following the competition registering to the event and doing some mental exercises. In June is the D-Day, the mother of the motivation, Jukola. Then and there is the time to reap the rewards of the hard work. We are not taking this too seriously, but when you have that number tag on your chest and the clock is ticking, the old warhorses cannot help but fight for every second for a better placement.”

The Holy Men Team expects Jukola to be a great summer event again. ”Jukola relay is about genuine spirit of sports, great organised event with honest long-distance sport in the nature, with professional and amateurs on the same routes, communality and great feelings”, summarises Harri Mehto.

 

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