Kaisa Mäkäräinen will run in Jordan in November.
Kaisa Mäkäräinen has remained active even after her career. ATTE KAJOVA
Former biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen, 39, says on Instagram that she is participating in the HMDS (Half Marathon Des Sables) event in Jordan, which is organized by the sportswear and equipment brand WAA.
Despite its name, it is not a half marathon. In the event, participants either walk or run for three days in the desert. After the second day, the competitors have a break day.
– Everyone has to carry four days’ worth of food and some other things they need in their backpack. That means extra weight. Fortunately, I have been used to carrying a rifle for many years, Mäkäräinen said in his Instagram post.
Competitors can choose their favorite from three different routes. The routes are 70, 100 or 120 kilometers long.
Events are organized in the fall in Fuerteventura, Morocco, Jordan and Peru. The event organized in Jordan is located in the Wadi Rum desert in southern Jordan.
The participants also spend the night in the middle of the desert.
Mäkäräinen says that the competition is not that serious, but you still have to practice.
– It hasn’t been so smooth since the corona in June. Yesterday we completed crazy hours in the hills of Koli. 4.5 hours, 27 kilometers.
If you don’t see the embed below, you can watch it from here.
Mäkäräinen said at the end of June that he has been elected to the athlete commission of the International Biathlon Federation. The commission represents and defends the interests of active biathletes in the association.
In May, Mäkäräinen ran third in the half-marathon competition held in Helsinki. He ended his biathlon career two years ago, but has since been involved in trail and mountain running and shooting.