FL2007 on Cross Country Skis

Tore Olsen, cross-country skier and "outdoorsman" from Olderdalen south of Alta, has for many years dreamt of doing Finnmarksløpet on skis. In year 2000 he won the Norwegian Nordic Skiing Championship's 50 km and is now living his dream when he starts off on Finnmarksløpet's 500 km this Thursday.   

-It is all about creating new goals for oneself and find new challenges, says the 36 year old ex-national-team-Nordic-Skier. -That is the way it has always been for me; always new challenges, he says and smiles. Tore's name can still be found on top of the rankinglists of local cross-country skiing competitions and mountain-runs.

And he is for sure facing a challenge when he leaves the city center of Alta to meet 500 km of white snow-covered trails on the mountain plateau. The sled-dog race starts two days later and more than 1500 dogs will race after him. The mushers and dog-teams are not only competing to finish the race first, the question is also when - and if - they are going to catch up with Tore Olsen. 

Hans Petter Dalby, Head of Press and Information in Finnmarksløpet welcomes Olsen's sporty adventure. - This is great! Skiers have gone the distance before, but always with dogs and sleds. This is the first time it is done on skis only, and it is going to be exciting to see who finishes first; Tore or the winner of Finnmarksløpet's 500 km. 

Tore plans to divide the distance into 4 approximately equal stages. He will ski during the day and sleep at night. He plans to sleep at the checkpoints that Finnmarksløpet also uses. He is going to bring a small backpack, but it will contain only essentials needed to save his life if he is surprised by bad weather: food, drink, map, compass, GPS, down jacket, survival sack and stove.

He says his biggest challenge will be to eat enough food. - I know I have to endure long days to be able to cover about 125 km per day. That means I will have to start in the dark and ski until dark. I plan to eat every 2 hours just like the mushers do with their dogs during their race. I will eat food rich in calories and fat, for example peanutbutter! - The weather might be a challenge also. I hope to avoid last years temperatures when the sled-dog-teams experienced frost below minus 40. However, an even greater challenge weather-wise will be if I ski into storms with snow and hard winds. - My own health might also create an unexpected challenge. As I used to do competitive sports for many years certain parts of my body are simply worn out. But I have a strong will, that is for sure, he says.

When asked whether it is him or one of the sled-dog-teams that is going to cross the finish line first in the city center of Alta Tore smiles and says: - If the conditions are good no-one will catch me!