Magazine Ciiko from Finnmarksløpet

FOTO: Ole-Johnny Myrvold
ET FRIMAGASIN FRA FINNMARKSLØPET 2012
PROFILER FL-2012 Thomas Wærner |
Elisabeth Edland | Far og sønn Brennodden |
Nina Skramstad | Dag Broch
REPORTASJER Den gode hjelper | Sauer
er ålreit | Finnarveløpet | Plagg som gleder |
Ritas ilddåp
ANNET Program | Påmeldte | Kart
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storslåtte
utescener
m a g i s k
at m o s f æ r e
Welcome!
As I am writing this, there are not many
days left before Finnmarksløpet 2012
starts. It is with mixt feelings I am tick off
one day after the other as we draw closer
to the start. The list of participants seems
to get longer than ever, and we are really
looking forward to seeing all the mushers
starting out on Saturday 10th March.
The last few months have gone fast, and
we have worked with many different projects in addition to preparing the race.
One of the more visible results maybe
that Finnmarksløpet has been given a
new graphic profile. We have worked
with Tank Design in Tromsø and will
now appear more clearly and fresher in
our presentation of Finnmarksløpet. And
be assured – the eyes are still there – not
as a logo, but as part of our profile. Soon
we will launch our new web-page, hopefully more user friendly, that we hope you
will like!
We are very pleased that this year we can
receive the mushers at a new check point
in Kirkenes, down town at Rica Arctic Hotel. It has been a pleasure to work closely
with sled-dog enthusiasts, the volunteers
and the business’ in town. We want it to
be a party for everyone at all check points
and in the whole of Finnmark when Finnmarksløpet is on, and feel we almost are
there.
As a rookie in this game, I am still at times surprised at how big this race really
is. Not only is the trail covering an enormous geographical area, but it includes so
many and so much. I wish to give a big
thanks to all who are on the team. I am
looking forward to seeing our partners,
all the volunteers, inhabitants and guests
during the race. And last, but not least,
I wish all mushers all the best when out
there on the trail!
Finnmarksløpet 2012 will also be The
best race ever!
Regards Svanhild
5
CONTENT
Ready to win?
The good
helper
Page 8
www.finnmarkslopet.no
Profiles FL-2012
Lederhunden Juta er en av heltene som skal være med i teamet til
Inger-Marie Haaland når Finnmarksløpet starter 10. mars 2012.
Various
A MAGAZINE FROM FINNMARKSLØPET 2012
«Rask, utholdende og vedlikeholdsfri»
Juta 2,5 år
Features
publisher
editor
layout
Finnmarksløpet as
PB 1248, 9504 Alta
Trond A. Andersen
Sanna Charlotte Kivijervi
cover photo
print
contact
Ole-Johnny Myrvold
+ 47 78 44 54 50
mail@finnmarkslopet.no
design
Bjørkmanns as, Alta
Edition: 500
Tank Design Tromsø
www.finnmarksløpet.no
Thomas Wærner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Elisabeth Edland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Dag Broch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Nina Skramstad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Brennoddens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The good helper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Delightful clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Rita’s debute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Clothes, car and ship´s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Sheeps are quite alright . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Finnarveløpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Best photo competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Mushing ABC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Last news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Attendees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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Welcome to
Finnmark!
Norway is a long country, no doubt about
that. When visitors stand at the county
border, few realises that it is almost a
whole country that reveals itself in, almost as big as Switzerland, Croatia or
Denmark – yes, that is how vast Finnmark
is. The last tenth of Norway’s mainland is
ready to receive all of you who want to
participate, help or just see and experience one of the world toughest sport events
in spectacular nature.
There is no doubt in my mind that it must
be very attractive to be her; and the attention locally, nationally and internationally is formidable. It impresses me that
so many around the world are following
a sled-dog-race so far north. That tells
me that we live in a fairy tale, and that
there are many who would like to be part
of the story. I think of all you who come
here and I am sure you will get to experi-
THE NAME CIIKO
This is a free magazine from Finnmarksløpet about the race, mushers, volunteers and our partners. The name Ciiko has
been picked from one of Sven Engholm’s
legendary lead dogs. Ciiko was the first
dog to cross the finish line in the very
first Finnmarksløp in 1981. Sven named
her using the word for bitch in Sami, Ciiku.
Engholm chose to spell it with a ”o” at the
end, and so did we. Not only was Ciiko
the first finishing, she was a fantastic dog
and was obviously used for breeding. In
most of the famous kennels in Norway
offspring are found with pedigree from
Ciiko, a worthy dog to give name to our
magazine.
ence our hospitality. You will also get to
see, taste and feel that you are in a grate
county. The participants, handlers and
all the winter tourists will also see what
a good organization competence we have
developed over years; we are not talking
just about the race, but also facilitation
and not least our cultural focus.
The local happenings that take place
around the trail and the check-points
contribute even more to the good feeling
we get in Finnmark these days in March;
local culture is proudly presented and
that should make us all proud.
You are welcome to experience the atmosphere in Finnmarksløpet, regardless
of how. For Finnmark County it is also natural to contribute so that more than those who are in Finnmark during the race
get to see nice pictures and hear good stories from and about Finnmark.
Extreme
performance
Runar Sjåstad
Finnmark County Mayor
www.finnmarkslopet.no
www.tank.no
Vi er med på laget!
Kjørere, funksjonærer,
gjester og publikum ønskes
velkommen!
Finnmarksløphotellet
Labb Ekstrem and Finnmarksløpet
– leaders in their fields
Enjoy the ride!
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The Good
Helper
Trond A. Andersen
PHOTO: Trond A. Andersen
TEXT:
Just like any elite sportsman, some of the
dogs are troubled by sore muscles, swollen joints and other injuries. Heidrun
Sandve Bergseng is a veterinarian who
has specialized in chiropractic. For two
seasons now she has practised her skills
on dogs that do not function optimally
and do not perform to their potential. We
met Heidrun at the home of one of our
winning candidates, Trine Lyrek. Heidrun has been her often this winter, and
Trine is not in doubt: – We’ve benefitted allot from dog chiropractic. The dogs
that are injured is sooner back, they are
without pain and are generally better. If
you are really unfortunate and get several
important dogs injured one may have to
pack up all ambitions of winning. We’re
pleased to have a person like Heidrun.
WILL LEARN MORE
Heidrun is modest, but finds it very exciting. – It’s all about feeling all the joints,
to see if they move normally. If there
are lockups they are adjusted. The aim
is to prevent pain and overuse, informs
Bergseng who commends mushers for
paying attention to their dogs. – My experience is that they are very good at
observing and communicating to me if
something isn’t OK. In order for me to
succeed I’m depended on receiving detailed explanations about what it is that
is wrong with the way the dog runs. Her
experience is that many mushers do not
hesitate to spend money on giving their
athletes chiropractic if it is necessary. –
This is something I’m going to continue
with, and I’m going to get more courses.
I really believe this is worth it’s while,
says the veterinarian who originally comes from Smøla but now lives in Alta.
PRIO INJURED
Trine Lyrek, who is cooperating with last
year’s winner, Roger Dahl, has been lucky. Lyrek is sponsored by Heidrun and it
is she Heidrun has spent most time and
expertize with. It is not a secret that Lyrek has ambitions to win Finnmarksløpet
2012. A key dog to success is Prio, Rogers
super lead dog in 2011, where highly
praised by Dahl after the race. Now the
little dog with the one extra speed is injured, unfortunately. Neither Trine nor
Heidrun can be sure about him being
ready to start in 2012, he is now receiving
treatment and will hopefully be in training soon. – I’m off all week during the
race and I can’t deny that I’ll pay attention to how Trine is doing, Heidrun says.
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Clothes
that Warms
NICE: This is what this year volunteer collection looks like.
The models are Marie Romsdal and Rikke Elisabeth Nilsen. Photo: Trond A. Andersen
Our main partner Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge has for many years given a nice fleece
jumper to all the volunteers that work
hard for Finnmarksløpet. The tradition
continues this year and now Ishavskraft
has also decided to show their appreciation to this hard working group.
Ishavskraft’s gift is the winter hat Nordic
Heater, produced by Fjällräven, which
is one of our new partners. Both the
fleece jacket and the hat have printed
these partners’ logo on them as well as
Finnmarksløpet’s new logo. We want to
thank both Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge and
Ishavskraft for their gifts to our fantastic
volunteers.
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PROFILE FL-1000: THOMAS WÆRNER
Ready
Converted
Trond A. Andersen
PHOTO: Geir Norling og Trond Ørslien
TEXT:
He has the King’s Cup, gold in NM, several WM/EM medals and has been one of
the world’s best mushers, what also needs
to be mentioned is that none of those honours are in long-distance racing. In the
1990’s Thomas Wærner raced in more
than 30 km/h, with 16 or 18 long legged
dogs bred for sprint. In 2003 he made a
drastic choice; he quit sprint and became
a part of the long-distance-community.
came better with some experience, and
in 2011 Thomas managed to climb up on
the podium with a nice 3rd finish in WM/
Femundløpet; one month later he did a
strong race in Finnmarksløp resulting in
finishing 5th.
IMPORTAN PARTNERS
- The transition from 20-50 km races to
ten times that, gave me two great challenges, says the 38 year old man from Torpa.
- The first was the types of dogs I had; I did
hold on to those genes for too long, which
meant I had a team that didn’t have the
medium speed. That speed is crucial in
long-distance. This made me spend more
time to become a good long-distancemusher than I had planned. The second
may not be so unexpected, the challenge
to be patient and to calm myself down,
says Wærner who now is fully converted.
He has proven so with increasingly better
finishes the last few years.
A major factor that makes Wærner a winning candidate in 2012, is his very gifted
wife, Birgitte Næss Wærner. She is herself
a very capable musher and obviously they
benefit from sharing the training. -Birgitte is phenomenally good and has a little
different view of some things than I. That
creates constructive debates which gives
results when the racing-season starts. Already in January the”Berserkkennel” cashed in their first victory. Birgitte won the
200 K-race, Hallingen.
- We don’t have handlers, but are fortunate we can join forces about this. On my
own I would never had the opportunity
to fight for victories, confirms Thomas
Wærner who is really looking forward to
Finnmark in March.
A SETBACK IN 2007
AN EXTREME EXPERIENCE
He started in his first Finnmarksløp in
2007, but even with a good mix of his
own dogs and some from Trond Ørslien’s,
the trip was over when they arrived in
Kirkenes. The team was then reduced to
seven dogs and Wærner had learned an
important lesson. Fortunately, giving up
was not an alternative. The results be-
- Finnmarksløpet is an extreme experience. You feel the pain but don’t want to be
without it. The experience is huge, to see
the team work and know all the training
has paid off makes all the long training
trips and money spent well worth it, confirms Wærner who has no doubt about
this year’s goal: -I race to win!
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Program
Finnmarksløpet 2012
Thursday 8th March
19:00 – 20:00 Opening Ceremony, Borea-
lis Winter festival, with presentation of
mushers. At the park, down town Alta.
Thursday 15th March
1000 mushers have a guest in their sledges.
kjørere har med en gjest i sleden.
Alta. Restart. Spectators are welcome to
watch the restart and will be appointed
parking at the west side of the Alta River.
16:45 – 20:00 Sparebank 1 Nord-Norges
Start Banquet, Rica Hotel Alta.
Tickets may be bought at Finnmarkløpets Service Office, In Kunnskapsparken, down town Alta. The sale starts
Wednesday 7th March at 12.00.
Baptism of
Fire for Rita
TEXT:
Trond A. Andersen
David Dale
PHOTO:
Saturday 10th March
10:45 – 11:00 Official Opening of Finnmarksløpet 2012, down town Alta.
Finnmark
Saturday 17th March
12:00 – 12:30 Victory Ceremony for FL-
Monday 12th March
12:00 – 16:00 Forventet målgang FL-500,
gågata Alta sentrum.
Tuesday 13th March
18:00 – 18:30 Victory Ceremony for FL-
”While we are waiting”
entertainment among others Finn Arve
Sørbøe, down town Alta.
10:00 – 10:45
down town Alta.
19:00 - 20:00 Outdoor show with Scene
14:00 – 15:00 Sorrisniva, 15 km south of
Friday 9th March
18:00 – 24:00 Expected finish FL-1000,
1000, down town Alta.
19:00 – 24:00 Finishing Banquet for all par-
ticipants of Finnmarksløpet 2012, Rica
hotell Alta. Mushers, handlers, volunteers, partners, press, guests, spectators and
others. Tickets sold at Finnmarkløpets
Service Office, Kunnskapsparken, down
town Alta. Sale starts at Wednesday 7th
March at 12:00.
500, down town Alta.
19:00 – 24:00 Rica Hotel Alta’s Finishing
Banquet for FL-500, Rica Hotel Alta.
Tickets may be bought at Finnmarkløpets
Service Office, Kunnskapsparken, down
town Alta. Sale starts Wednesday 7th
March at 12:00.
11:00 – 13:00 START! First team out at 11.00
several times and been a handler will probably help in her new job.
- My first choice would be to race, but
when I don’t have enough time to prepare a team, it’s fun to be a part of the
race through helping organize it, says the
40 year old who is living in Eiby outside
Alta.
PROUD OF THE RACE
Finnmarksløpet has always had a goal of
being the best sled-dog-race on the planet. There are probably other races which
has the same goal. Rita thinks that Finnmarksløpet already is a race where things
work well. –Together all parties involved
have taken measures that have improved
the mushers experience. I feel that we as
judges and TDs have managed to set a
good standard for how a successful race
should be. We aren’t strict judges, but supervisors. Our motto has been and always
will be: to make the race as fair as possible for all mushers.
- When I was asked to be Race Marshal,
I wasn’t sure and considered to say no.
When I had thought about if for some
time I decided it would work. I’ve got two
fantastic partners in Don Lyrek and Kari
Jæger who are race leaders for FL-1000
and FL-500. Now the tension increases.
I’m looking forward to seeing all the
teams leave the streets of Alta; then I will
enjoy my work together with fantastic
dogs, mushers and colleges.
sharp. FL-500 starts first. The teams are
running down the main street of Alta, FL-
FOTO: Guro Storskjær
This is the woman with the main responsibility for technicalities of the race.
When Marit Hoveid Honerød, Race
Marshall over a number of years, decided
to make the 2011 her last race, there were
many who wondered who would be able
to fill this important position. Rita Hallvig is the one chosen, and she has some
“big shoes to fill out”.
- Those shoes doesn’t fit me, Rita laughs.
– We are somewhat different personalities, so I think I’ll find my own style. Rita is
very busy the last weeks before the race.
There are many things to get acquainted
with. She has been Technical Delegate
(TD) many times before; now she is the
boss for a prestigious sport-event. The
fact that she has entered the race herself
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Mehamn
Nordkapp
TA NA FJO RD EN
Honningsvåg
Havøysund
N O R SKE HAVE T
888
98
891
Tana bru
Varangerbotn
PORS
Hammerfest
Vardø
E 75
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Båtsfjord
890
ANGE
REVSB
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LA K SE FJ O R D EN
Kjøllefjord
889
BA R E N T S H AV E T
Berlevåg
VA R A N G E RFJORDEN
Vadsø
FIN N M A RK
E6
94
98
886
E6
Kirkenes
Sirma
Neiden
E6
ALTAFJORDEN
Lakselv
Alta
RUSSLAND
Nikel
Skoganvarre
Start og mål
E6
FINLAND
Levajok
Løypas nest lengste etappe:
Neiden - Kirkenes 120 km
E 75
Varmest:
+ 6,4 °C 2004
UTSNITT
Jotka
TROMS
1000 km tilsvarer
avstanden fra Oslo
til Mo i Rana.
Løypas lengste etappe:
Karasjok - Alta 141 km
Karasjok
93
Kaldest:
– 43,6 °C 2006
92
Jergul
= 1000 km
= 500 km
885
E6
30 km
Kart ©
Kilde: www.finnmarkslopet.no
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Clothing, Car and Boat
PROFILE FL- 500 : ELISABETH EDLAND
PHOTO: Gian-Rico Willy
Always
favourite
TEXT:
Ann Kristin Ødegaard
Anita B. Svaler
PHOO:
In an already strong team of partners, others have turned up, wanting to be a part of
the Finnmarksløpet team. One of them wants to give two of the volunteers a fantastic
journey.
SAFE WITH TOYOTA AND HARILA
FJÄLLRÄVEN, WHO ELSE?
During the race we have a great need for
transport. Our partner on four wheels
is the car company Harila. Reliable and
winter friendly Toyotas from Harila will
bring officials, veterinarians and TDs
(race-judges) safely around our beautiful,
but at times challenging county in wintertime. Harila has also decided to decorate
several of their cars with our (according
to ourselves) outstanding logo. The deal
with Harila is highly appreciated and we
hope for a long and lasting partnership.
One does not need much knowledge about winter-clothing to know that Fjällräven delivers good quality clothing for arctic conditions. Now the giant in clothing
is on the team. As we can read another
place in Ciiko, will, among others, all
volunteers keep their heads frost-free
with the hat “Nordic Heater”. Many of
our other partners have also chosen to
buy quality-clothing from Fjällräven. Veterinarians and Race Marshals will be
seen in nice parkas from the clothing
company which has picked the name
from the on land mammal with the least
heat loss, namely the Arctic fox. Soon our
www.saltdalshytta.no
web-shop will get in more products from
Fjällräven. Everything will be available at
nice prizes and with our logo.
HURTIGRUTEN
Hurtigruten ASA is for the first time a
partner with Finnmarksløpet. This will be
noticed in several ways, but the most apparent is that they are installing screens
on two of their ships that are in Finnmark
while the race is on. Here the guests will
get live pictures and results from the race.
These ships have together 1000 international guests who will get a good presentation of the event.
Elisabeth is a fit grandma at 53. She
lives at Asakskogen, Nannestad with her
boyfriend Per Olav Gausereide, also he a
musher. They run the kennel Flying Huskies with roughly 30 Alaskan-Huskies.
It is a very experienced lady that will be
ready to start out from Alta for her 7th
time 10th March 2012.
Elisabeth Edland started her career as a
musher in medium distance, with very
good results. She has won EM, Pirena
and World Cup in medium distance before she converted to long distance, 6
or7 years ago. Even though the races got
longer, she goes fast. Elisabeth has a very
strong track record; several victories in
Pasvik Trail and Gausdal Marathon; twice
2nd in Femundløpet 400 km, the last one
during last year WM; she has won Finnmarksløpet 500 km twice, 2007 and last
year. She also received the Norwegian
Champion Title for 8 dogs team. So when
Elisabeth Edland enters a race, she will
always be one of the favourites, whether
she likes it or not.
when Elisabeth Edland
enters a race, she will
always be one of the
favourites, whether she
likes it or not.!
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Everyone get GPS
– Sheep
are OK
TEXT:
Trond A. Andersen
Magnar Haraldsen
PHOTO:
Surely you were surprised by this headline; what do sheep have to do with Finnmarksløpet? The explanation is to be
found in a little grey box which means the
world for the public’s interest in the race.
The firm Telespor is one of our partners.
Telespor deliver what is known as radiobells, yes, you got it, they are used on
sheep. The last decade Telespor really has
made this system work. Sheep and other
farm-animals that are grazing can be monitored by the bells which contain a GPS/
GSM sender and receiver; the farmer can
monitor the animal’s movements and
have more control.
WORK PERFECTLY ON DOG-TEAMS
For the last few years some of these radiobells have been fitted to selected teams
during Finnmarksløpet. The updatingfrequency has been turned up from three
times a day to every 15th minute. The
bells are better and in 2011 the system
worked fine. Only in a few areas with
poor GSM-signals did we lose signals
from the musher.
EVERYONE GET
In 2011 we had 40 radio-bells at our disposal. This year, we can, due to goodwill
and generosity from Telespor, inform that
all the mushers will get the box fitted to
their sledge. In short we may say it like
this: Now everyone with access to internet can at any time find out where all the
mushers are. Who says it is hard to follow
Finnmarksløpet?!
POPULAR WEB PAGE
As if that was not enough, our eminent
computer-programmer, K2 represented
by Helge Johansen, improved our map-solution on which you can watch the signals
from the mushers on our web-page. The
zoom-function has been improved as well
as the map itself. The updating-frequency
will for most of the time be every five minute. Then the chance to have full control is very high. Maybe some of the thrill
about who will first come to a checkpoint
or who rests on the trail will disappear,
but we can live with that so long as we
can enjoy watching the race develop with
such a phenomenal tool.
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23
PROFILE FL- 500: DAG BROCH
Dag Broch,
Cuts Down on
Chocolate
TEXT:
Ann Kristin Ødegaard
Jørn Losvar
PHOTO:
After last year success with many contributions, Ishavskraft has no doubt: there
will be a photo contest this year as well.
Our eminent partner tempts with prizes
as well as honour and glory for the best
pictures sent in to them from Finnmarksløpet. A local jury at the Ishavskraft’s office in Alta will pick out the best pictures
daily and distribute them on their own
webpage. It will also be possible to see
them on www.finnmarkslopet.no. In 2011
finnmarklsopet.no had 57 million hits, so
here is a good opportunity to get a lot of
hits on you photograpy.
You send the pictures to kunde@ishavskraft.no. The winning pictures will be
distributed and published 19th March,
and the final deadline to send in is 18th
March.
Ishavskraft has easy requirements pictures entered.
1. A minimum of 5 megapixel resolution.
2. The pictures must have been taken during Finnmarksløpet 2012
3. This year theme is”action”.
Clean your lenses and good luck!
This year Dag is racing FL-500 for the fourth time. His all-time high is as number
14 (2010) so his aim is to finish among
top 13. You need to be ambitious. His preparations for the race have been good; he
returned from Røros where he finished
as number 10 in Femund 400 among 98
teams. Dag works in the public culturalschool in Tana and runs Tana Husky. His
dear Inkeri and partner Åshild Bye helps
him. Dag is more than happy to bring
along his guitar in the sledge when he has
guests on a ride. His goal for the future
is to race FL-1000, but he has plenty of
time. He says that Finnmarksløpet is the
greatest sled-dog-race in the world, and
that he wants to take part for 30 more years, at least.
DAG IS READY: From the start in 2011. Photo: Jørn Losvar.
Ishavskraft’s
Photo Contest
Dag Broch (42) from Tana was a rookie in
FL-500, 2009. He ate Finish chocolate till
his fillings where popping out on his way
to Skoganvarre. Åshild Bye got her hardest task as a handler: get hold of a dentist! At an outpost in Finnmark at 11pm
on Saturday night. But on long races the
creativity is abundant. One handler was
a dentist and a volunteer from England
had a dentist-kit. So, by using a teaspoon
for mirror, Dag received a new filling that
night and continued. During the race he
also struggled with some dogs that had to
be left behind, but he did finish.
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PROFILE FL- 1000: NINA SKRAMSTAD
Sponsors
love her
Trond A. Andersen
PHOTO: Christiane Ødegaard / Dag Borgenhov /Jørn Losvar
TEXT:
Nina Skramstad is one of Norway’s best known mushers, even
though she does not have much of a race-record. The 42
years old woman from Brandbu is ready for her sixth Finnmarksløp. In 2012 she will start out for the fifth time in the
1000 km.
Her best finish was as a rookie in 2006,
she finishing third in FL-500. Nina won
the 200 km long Gausdal Marathon in
2009, but apart from these achievements
there are no top three finishes. She is, just
the same, well known and she is one of
the few who can call themselves professional mushers. How is that possible?
- I have many good partners or sponsors
as some call it, but they don’t come easy.
I’ve had a strong focus on tending to my
sponsors. Everything about our team
should be handled professionally; everything from how the dogs, the car and
clothing looks, and to what I give in return. I give talks for my partners, take
them out on trips and most importantly
I keep them posted. I have several times
heard that they don’t care as much for
where I finish, as for how I finish, and
being a team. In 2010 my best finish was
14th , but I received the prize for “Best
Dog Care” during Finnmarksløpet. That
was something my partners, as well as I,
where proud of, says Skramstad who really looks forward to 1000 tough kilometres
in the Finnmark nature.
FINNMARKSLØPET IS A TREAT
- For me Finnmarksløpet is something
special. It is The Treat and our main goal
every year. The last seasons the kennel
that I and my boyfriend Didrik Sand own
has gone through a shift of dogs, with
new generations coming up. This year
we start with solely our own dogs and we
have many promising two-and-a-half year
olds that we expect soon will take respon-
sibility. Our ambition is to be among top
ten, says the professional musher.
PR IS IMPORTANT
- I sometimes get somewhat sarcastic
comments about me being too eager to
get the spotlight on me when it comes to
mushing. To those who might think so,
the answer is simple: When journalists
ask questions I answer and give them
what they want; this has to be done if the
goal is be professional. My partners get
attention when I’m exposed in media. I
also think that each time a musher is exposed we are ambassadors for this very
fine sport. Even though NRK (national
TV) shows allot from Finnmarksløpet, we
still have to accept that we are considered
a small and odd sport.
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27
PROFILE FL 1000 : JO ARE AND KJELL BRENNODDEN
“ It would have been fun
if he beat me, but it’ll be
tough”
Junior Takes
on the Old Timer
TEXT:
Trond A. Andersen
Lill K. / Jørn Losvar
PHOTO:
As with most sports, we find that some participants are
a “chip off the old block”. In the Brennodden family from
Folldahl, two chips just happen to resemble the block.
Jo Are and Ola both compete in long-distance mushing;
the thing is that their father has not retired, far from it
– he seems unbeatable.
Kjell Brennodden (63) is one of
Finnmarksløpet’s real profiles. Gubben
(The Old Timer) as he says himself makes impressive placing year after year in
the longest Finnmarksløp. Twice he has
finished second; even more impressive is
it that he has finished all his last ten races
within top 10. Even though experience is
an important factor one has to wonder
how he can compete against 20 year younger women and men. – I’m fu… stubborn, Kjell concludes while he is thinking
about other reasons. – Yes, I’ve got good
dogs; they’ve only gotten better and better. Also, I haven’t been mushing from my
youth. I was more than 40 when I started,
so I haven’t reached the point where I’m
tiered of it, says the man who starts in his
15th Finnmarksløpet in 2012.
JUNIORS PLAN
Those who follow the race has for many
years expected that the oldest son, Jo Are
Brennodden (36), should beat his father
and come home to Folldal with the biggest grin. That has not happened. Three
times Jo Are has completed the race, but
without the joy of waving good bye to his
father’s team. – This year I get to choose
from among the best dogs. There’ll be
many dogs that are tiered of my pa’s smell,
so this should be good, says Jo Are. – I’m
probably a bit more conservative than my
dad; have often used young dogs and have
had to take it easy on the first few legs,
maybe a bit too easy. It’s likely that I’ll be
more aggressive now in 2012, says the
firstborn who is pleased that the old man
still is part of the game. – It’s a great asset
to have a rude and outspoken dad whom
has to be brought down a notch or two,
laughs Jo Are. – If I get to see him up
front, I’ll bring out kicking-strength I still
don’t know I possess.
In 2012 this will become an amusing
family contest within the race contest.
If we take on a more serious hat, both Jo
Are and Kjell want all the best for each
other. A victory in Finnmarksløpet will be
a great achievement regardless of who of
the Brennodden takes home the trophy.
Still, it is hard not to have an eye to the
family-duel, especially when the son writes the following in his profile: -I’ll speak
my mind and bring down my pa a notch
or two, for real…
- It would have been fun if he beat me, but
it’ll be tough, chuckles Kjell. Follow the
family-duel from 10th March 2012!
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29
visit our new
webpage
www.finnmarkslopet.no
Bruin 6 år
«Fantastisk leder, herlig uberegnelig, særeste hund jeg har hatt»
Robert Sørlies lederhund, Bruin, er klar for innsats i Finnmarksløpet.
Se han i aksjon når Finnmarksløpet starter 10. mars 2012.
The Finn
Arve Race
TEKST:
FOTO:
Trond A. Andersen
Privat
Few people in the region have as wide
appeal as Finn Arve. He has made people
collapse from laughter with his amassing characters in his På Tryne Theatre,
he had a major part in Den Fordømte
Nordlending and he has won several
children’s heart with his program Ugler i
Mosen. Lately we have enjoying his new
program Helt Patent, where he plays at
least a hundred different parts. Now he
will give comic reports during NRK’s
programs about Finnmarksløpet 2012.
He has been on our wishlist for many years and
finally we can announce that Finn Arve Sørbøe
is coming to Finnmarksløpet 2012.
it takes to finish the race – if possible,
even less on how to finish first. But I’m
curious, and shall now get the chance to
ask stupid questions, listen to rough outdoor stories and play dog-whisperer. My
part will be to represent all those who
don’t know what Finnmarksløpet is all
about, but still are fascinated. As the race
moves on, I’ll travel along the trail and try
my best to convey the atmosphere around
the race, says the comedian from Tromø.
ENTERTAINS AT THE START
- Finally I’m going to experience Finnmarksløpet close up, the event everyone
talks about every winter, cheers Sørbøe.
– I don’t know the first thing about what
As well as following the NRK’s team
we have engaged Sørbøe to entertain in
the thrilling hour before start the 10th
March. Exactly what pranks we can ex-
Norges råeste tilbud
på internett til bedrifter!
100 Mbps
kr 990,- pr. måned*
pect is not clear at this point in time, but
we can guarantee that the children in
Alta that the smart thing to do will be to
get themselves to the starting area from
10am.
SLED-DOG
It is just natural to ask Finn Arve, who has
lots of experience with animals from his
program Ugler i Mosen, what experience
he has with dogs.
- My own experience with dogs on trips is
our late dachshund, she was placed in the
backpack when the snow got too deep.
We pulled the dog. Somewhat like a FinnArve-race. I understand that Finnmarksløpet is the other way around; the dogs
pull us. This is going to be exiting!
*les mer på
www.eltele.no/kanonpris
Når Elisabeth Edland stiller til start, er det alltid
som en av favorittene.
Enten hun vil eller ikke!
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31
The ABC of
Mushing
“total time”. In FL-1000 there are only
two mandatory rests to pay attention to.
One is for 16 hours and is often taken at
checkpoint Tana, Neiden 1 or Kirkenes.
When everyone has taken the 16 hour
rest, the first on the trail is the first in
the race. All the mushers must rest for
8 hours in checkpoint Karasjok. In other
words, first in to Karasjok, first out.
4. TIME ADJUSTED
Another factor one has to notice is “time
adjusted”. The mushers start out with one
minute intervals from Alta. The time adjustment for FL-500 is made in Karasjok,
here the mushers must rest the numbers
of minutes they started ahead of the
musher starting last. In FL-1000 the time
adjustment is made when they decides to
take out their 16 hour mandatory rest. So,
if you start out as number 55 out of 60
mushers, you rest 16 hours and 5 minutes.
Mushing, or sled-dog driving, can at times be hard to
understand. We have made a short ABC that we hope
will help you to enjoy the race, but it is not complete.
TEXT:
Trond A. Andersen
Geir Stian Altmann Larsen
PHOTO:
1. HANDLER
English expression for those who help
the mushers at checkpoints. They may
not enter the musher-only section or
help with care of the dogs or equipment.
They hand gear over to the musher from
outside the musher-only section. They
also take care of the dogs that have to be
left behind, and drive the car with all the
equipment.
2. DROPPED DOG / LEFT BEHIND DOG
Often we hear about dogs that have been
left behind or that a musher dropped
three dogs from his team. That does not
mean that the dogs are lost or dead. It
only means that they no longer are part
of the race and are taken good care of by
the handler.
3.
MANDATORY
RESTING
TIME
AND
MANDATORY REST
In FL-500 there are 20 hour mandatory
rest at checkpoints. At checkpoint Jergul
everyone have to rest a minimum of six
hours. Because of this it may be difficult
to understand who is in the lead before
they get to Jergul. What you should look
for is “total rest” at result service. Some
choose to rest a lot in the beginning
and will therefore fall behind the front.
A smart parameter to watch as well, is
5. MUSHER
8. SCOOTER BRAKE / MAT
Also an English word that in this context
means the person on the sled driving the
dogs.
It is a brake on the sledge. It used to be
a piece of a scooter belt. In addition everyone has an ice-break and one or two
snow hocks.
6. CHECKPOINT
The stations the mushers come to during
the race. Here they may take out mandatory resting time/mandatory rest, get
depot bags, water and straw, and obviously rest in a cabin or caravan. They are
clocked in and out of the checkpoint. You
are allowed to rest on the trail, but that
happen les now than before.
9. DEPOT
The musher sends dog food, sled runners among other things they need to the
different checkpoints. Some equipment
is handed to them by their handler like
paw-cream, dog-coats, wristwraps and
other gear
10. TD/RACE MARCHAL
7. SNACKE
When the musher snack the dogs, she
or he stops on the trail and give the dogs
some food. Often it is frozen and is quick
to eat. A racing dog needs between 8-10
000 calories every day, so it is important
to have a system so they get enough.
TD is short for Technical Delegate, assigned by The Norwegian Musher Association to observer that mushers keep to
the rules of the mushing association, the
Norwegian Sport Association and Finnmarksløpet. The Race Marshal has the
responsibility for the sport and technicalities of the race. In Finnmarksløpet we
have one for each distance, and a leader
for the whole race.
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close to
deadline
WEB-CAMERA
Finnmarksløpet works hard to get in
place a good web camera solution for
start and finish, as well as for some of the
check points. High quality video cameras are already in place, now we need to
get in place a high enough capacity. Last
year more than 20 000 users tried to connect at the finish, that was too much for
the server, and many were disappointed.
We want to deliver a professional service
that can handle extreme amount of users.
We cannot make promises, but watch our
web page just before the race starts.
It will gush out news from our website in the days
before the race. Here’s a sneak peek at what you can
read more about the www.finnmarkslopet.no.
MODERN LEVAJOK
FESTIVITY IN FINNMARK
At our web page we will update you on
what takes place during the race, not just
the competition among the mushers, but
also on events along the trail. It is good to
see that many places we arrive at wants
to make a good impression. Finnmark
prepare for festivity from the 10th to 17th
March.
ALL-TIME HIGH
Number of participants at the end of
February is an all-time high. More than
120 on the list little more than a week
before the start may give a new all-time
high. 107 out from Alta is the standing
record, it came in 2010. Most impressive
is that 50 mushers have signed up for FL1000. We hope everyone are well prepared and can be part of a new record the
10th March.
INTERNATIONALT FELLOWSHIP
This year we will have to buy some
new flags. Numbers of nationalities
represented in FL-2012 are now 15. Just
very pleasant, expenses for flags =
pleasant expenses.
Det er Polaris som lager
spor til Finnmarksløpet
foto:
losvar.no
Foto: Reiulf Grønnevik, Altaposten. fagtrykkide.no
Something we can promise is that every-
one who needs data capacity will get a
positive surprise when they arrive at check
point Levajok. With good help from Finnmark County Council and our data partner, Eltele, it is now installed a temporary
fibre to the check point in Tanadalen.
During the race we offer free broadband
at check point Levajok.
Vi leverer 1. premie
i både 500 km
og 1000 km
BEST PÅ
KUNDESERVICE
Vinnervilje i vinterland
Det lyser innsatsvilje lang vei. Energien gløder i øynene. Lederhunden anfører et nøye
sammensatt team av hunder. Hundeføreren er en bedriftsleder, som må stille godt
forberedt og der alt må klaffe for å bli en vinner. Riktig fôr. Utrustning som tåler tøffe
forhold. I dette beinharde løpet kan ingen ting overlates til tilfeldighetene. Det er en
prestasjon å fullføre.
Finnmarksløpet illustrerer godt hvordan naturen og landsdelens egenart kan gi bærekraftig
næringsvirksomhet. Vi berømmer innsatsen fra deltakere, arrangører og frivillige, og vi
gleder oss over suksessen. SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge, generalsponsor.
Bank. Vinnervilje. Og deg.
Team Lyrek & Dahl:
Norsk Kraftsalgsbarometer
Ishavskraft er vinner 10 av 12 ganger
Vinnervilje & Ishavskraft!
Vi er stolte over å være aktiv samarbeidspartner med Finnmarksløpet
også i 2012. For det er viktig å støtte lokale krefter som skaper
spenning og trivsel. Så vi heier masse – på både hundekjørere,
handlere, frivillige, arrangører, sponsorer og publikum!
Imens gjør vi det vi er best til
– å levere miljøvennlig, kortreist
kraft her i verdens blåeste landsdel.
Til glede for oss alle. Og miljøet.
Blå kraft fra luft og vann.
Årets premier er
1. Premie 500 km:
Sportsman 500 EFI EU-traktor
1. Premie 1000 km:
Ranger 400 4x4 EU-traktor
www.polarisindustries.com
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35
2012
Foto: Geir Stian Altmann Larsen
Race entrants - 28.02.2012
FL-500
FOTO: Guro Storskjær
Fernando Pardo
Dag Broch
Reidun Kolpus
Eirik Leander Rotmo
Bente Levorsen
Jose Arias
David Dale
Elisabeth Edland
Mathias Jenssen
Ole Sigleif Johansen
Mel Andrews
Sølvi Monsen
Kai Arne Berg
Juho Ylipiessa
Marçal Rocias Palau
Wolfgang Simon-Nilsen
Stein Tage Domaas
Geir Wiik
Monica Celius
Katy Meier
Kari Eldby
Leif Wilhelmsen
Sean Rebbeng Næss
Stein Are Harder
Merete Neset
Jon Hearn
Johanne Sundby
Juha Pekka Björkstedt
Jose Sacristan
Ole Wingren
Yvonne Rinne
Einar-Andrè Dalen
Egil Eliassen
Vidar Uglebakken
ESP
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
CAT
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
GBR
NOR
NOR
FIN
CAT
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
SWE
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
ENG
NOR
FIN
BAS
FIN
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
forts. FL-500
FL-1000
Yngve Opgård
NOR
Tommy Larsen
NOR
Tore J. Helistø
NOR
Aslak Prestbakmo
NOR
Vidar Løkeng
NOR
Arnt M. Bjørnø
NOR
John Øivind Selmer
NOR
Mats Nysæter
NOR
Trine Marie Flåtten
NOR
Camilla Bjørkli
NOR
Kim Frode Ophus NordsveenNOR
Stian Hasfjord
NOR
Francois Pagnoux
FRA
Olivia Van Uytvanck
BEL
Maria Sparboe
NOR
Christian Høy Knudsen
NOR
Kenneth Gjemmestad
SWE
Philip John Gretton
ENG
Jose Valverde
NOR
Gerhard Hirz
AUT
Ingebrigt Storli
NOR
Øyvind Skogen
NOR
Espen Prestbakmo
NOR
Hanne Bakken Johansen
NOR
Pål Karlsen Haugsnes
NOR
Rolf-Helge Ellingsen
NOR
Nicole Burger
NOR
Katerina Paleckova
CZE
Ronny Wingren
FIN
Helge Markus Markusson NOR
Rolf W. Johansen
NOR
Keijo Korpela
NOR
Krzysztof Nowakowski
POL
Nils Hesthag
NOR
Jon Børge Stina
NOR
Lars Monsen
Aila Emilie Sarre
Arne Liaklev
Per Weddegjerde
Thomas Wærner
Miquel-Angel Martinez
Mats Pettersson
Øyvind Nordahl Næss
Kjell Brennodden
Jan Vidar Dahle
Bernhard Klammer
Torsten Kohnert
Marius Moholdt
Sigmund Alhaug
Emil Inauen
Stine Berget Nordvik
Bernhard Schuchert
Roger Fossøy
Ketil Reitan
Ben Voigt
Trine Kristiansen Lyrek
Jo Are Brennodden
Bjørnar Andersen
Jo Jøldal
Mikael Jutila
Nina Skramstad
Tore Bergby
Ronny Frydenlund
Harald Tunheim
Tove Sørensen
Tore Albrigtsen
Kristian Walseth
Dag Torulf Olsen
Inger-Marie Haaland
Yngve Fagerli
Robert Sørlie
Thomas Rosencrantz
Arne Karlstrøm
Tom Frode Johansen
Magne Storstein
Eirik Nilsen
Arnt Ola Skjerve
Øyvind Mortensen
Bernd Helmich
Dries Jacobs
Dariusz Morsztyn
Bjørn-Hugo Kristoffersen
Rune Johansen
Bjørn Petter Kaltenborn
Petter Karlsson
Gerard Gaspard
Jan Øystein Dervo
Bernt Walseth
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
CAT
SWE
NOR
NOR
NOR
AUT
SWE
NOR
NOR
SWI
NOR
GER
NOR
NOR
GER
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
FIN
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
SWI
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
NOR
GER
BEL
POL
NOR
NOR
NOR
SWE
FRA
NOR
NOR