Running his own forestry company is what enables Samuel Heinonen to pursue sport at a high level. To paraphrase Lasse Mårtenson: “Everything except orienteering is unnecessary.”
– The most important reason I became an entrepreneur was that I wanted to decide how I use my time so that work would interfere with sports as little as possible, Heinonen admits.
The 36-year-old Heinonen started as a forest worker, but his path led through university of applied sciences and master’s studies to entrepreneurship.
In mid-June, during the Jukola weekend, customers of Metsänterä Oy shouldn’t bother asking for forest planning or any other services. The entire staff heads to Kotka to follow their passion.
– All eight of our employees will once again be participating in Jukola—either running or coaching, Heinonen confirms.
The entrepreneur behind Metsänterä, a company whose main product is forest planning, is himself aiming for a place in the fiercely competitive first team of Kalevan Rasti.
The company’s other board member, Toni Saari, is not only Heinonen’s former roommate from his student days but also the Finnish long-distance orienteering champion from 2015.
Maija Sianoja, who competed in the silver‑medal Finnish team in the 2024 World Championships sprint relay, is part of the Metsänterä team and will run in the Venla relay.
– Most of our employees are not full‑time. And perhaps even the company name contains a hint toward orienteering from its early founding days, Heinonen hints.
World Champions as Role Models
Heinonen, 36, spent his childhood between Suolahti and Sumiaiset and started orienteering at RastiE4. He became more passionate about the sport in 2011.
After representing Jämsän Retki-Veikot for a year, he moved to Vaajakosken Terä, where world champions Jani Lakanen and Pasi Ikonen were still active.
– I tried sports and orienteering already as a child, but I truly got hooked a bit later. Vaajakosken Terä is the club that brought me into competitive orienteering. I even got to run in the same Jukola team as Pasi Ikonen, Heinonen recalls.
When elite-level orienteering activity declined in Vaajakoski in 2019, Heinonen looked for new challenges.
– I first ended up in Paimion Rasti when my work often took me to Southwest Finland in the spring. In 2023 I started representing Kalevan Rasti, which as an Eastern Finland club felt natural for a countryside boy.
The 2001 World Orienteering Championships in Tampere lit the spark in Heinonen, who eventually found himself racing through the forest as well.
– I saw how two future teammates (Lakanen and Ikonen) were competing. It looked amazing. That’s where it started. I also did athletics and cross‑country skiing, but even as a kid, running in the forest was the most fun.
Heinonen has placed in the top 10 at Finnish Championships and won Finnish relay gold in 2024 with Kalevan Rasti, whose stars include Finland’s top orienteer, Miika Kirmula.
Kalevan Rasti is a powerhouse in orienteering. They have won the Jukola Relay six times, all in the 2000s (2004, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014). They have also won the other major relay, Tiomila, five times (1983, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014).
As Long as the Body Holds Up
When the orienteering spark struck the man from Central Finland, it struck hard.
– Orienteering is a way of life for me—it inspires me, and it’s even more important than work, Heinonen says.
Even though he doesn’t do the sport professionally, it often takes priority.
– I dare say I’m much more excited about orienteering than about expanding the business. In fact, I partly became an entrepreneur to make orienteering possible.
Heinonen intends to compete seriously for as long as his body allows. So far, he has continued improving, which motivates him even more.
– I’m no longer young (36). I started a bit later, and I believe I can still get better. The older guys say the downhill only starts just after forty,” Heinonen grins.
He is also motivated by the fact that his club, Kalevan Rasti from Joensuu, is one of the few teams capable of finally dethroning the Swedish powerhouse Stora Tuna.
– Since I joined the team, our best placement has been fifth (2024). My finest memory from Jukola in terms of atmosphere is probably the one in Kangasala (2019), set in the beautiful countryside.
His Jukola experiences include both triumphs and struggles.
– I believe I might hold both the fastest (2008) and slowest (2019) split between two controls, Heinonen says.
Heinonen’s work involves forestry and forest resource management. In addition to forest management planning, Metsänterä provides services ensuring the quality of forestry operations, including work related to forest certification.
“The most important thing, of course, is to use forests in a way that causes as little harm to nature as possible,” Heinonen says.
You can follow Metsänterä and Heinonen’s orienteering adventures on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/samuelheinonen/
Samuel Heinonen challenges Jussi Pasanen, Executive Director of the South Ostrobothnia Forest Management Association, to take on the fifth leg of the “Life in the Forests of Jukola” article series.
Photo: Touho Häkkinen