Heat tormented the athletes – Lohjanjärvi brought relief
The ARWS European Series race and European Championship qualifier, Endurance Quest contested in Lohja over the weekend, ended in joyful Finnish celebrations on the shore of Lohjanjärvi. On the finishing straight at Lohja Spa & Resort the reigning European Champions, Lane4 Adventure Team, coped best with the checkpoint-hunting of a demanding 230-kilometer course and heat of over 25 degrees.
In the end they opened a gap of 2 hours and 45 minutes on the demanding route, ahead of the runners-up, Avanti Adventure.
Lane4's team was made up of Pauliina Pohja, Jaakko Mäkelä, Mikko Sakala and Ville Mäkelä. The quartet was the same one that won the European Championship a year ago. With the victory, the team earned a spot at the European Championship final, to be held in Denmark on the last weekend of August. At the finish, however, the team revealed surprising news about their autumn program.
"Our team's primary goal is the World Championships (ARWC) in Corsica around the turn of September and October, and so we will not defend our European Championship gold in Denmark," revealed Lane4 Adventure's captain Ville Mäkelä.
"That's why the European Championship final place is being given to Avanti, if they want to take it," said Mäkelä.
Avanti Adventure team, from Vihti, were pleasantly surprised by their strong performance, even though the gap to the world's elite came to almost 3 hours.
Avanti's Mikko Ranta-Hakala summed up their performance: “Our race went fairly steadily, with relatively few mistakes, and without any equipment failures. A couple of route choices we might in hindsight have made differently, but that's part of the endless speculation that comes with the sport. On the last bike leg, Tehoketju's team came within sight of us a couple of times because of a small detour we took. That gave us extra energy and we had to push flat out to the end, knowing they were coming hard behind us.
We had challenges with the warm weather and keeping our fluids topped up, which was partly reflected in slightly heavier legs at times. The route suited the team and was clearly divided into legs of a suitable length. It was good that the paddling fell on the daytime this time, which made it possible to dip into the water when coming ashore. The route had also been built with a good amount of climbs and varied terrain."
In addition to awarding ARWS Ranking points, Endurance Quest Lohja served as the Finnish Adventure Sports Federation's 24-hour competition, i.e. the long-distance Finnish Championship of adventure racing. After Lane4 Adventure Team and Avanti Adventure, the Finnish Championship bronze went to Tehoketju Team, with Yrjänä Hynninen, Johanna Yrjärheikki, Kari Poutiainen and Rami Oravakangas.
The Tytyri mine and Lohja's stunning nature sites as checkpoints surprised the competitors
The Endurance Quest race route received an enormous amount of positive feedback from all the competitors. The Lohja tourist attractions in particular – the Tytyri experience mine, the Paavola oak, Neitsytlinna ("Maiden's Castle") and, among others, the Torhola cave and the Karkali nature trail – surprised the competitors with their beauty.
In addition, the first day's paddling leg of over 50 kilometers on the waves of Lohjanjärvi drew a huge amount of favorable feedback. The winning team's Pauliina Pohja marveled aloud at the beauty and variety of the route after crossing the finish line.
"The course was wonderfully built. During the day we enjoyed being out on Lohjanjärvi, and all the long legs had nice surprises – for example, the 50-kilometer paddle on Lohjanjärvi that we'd thought beforehand would be tough had been broken up. Visiting the Paavola oak, the Torhola cave and the Karkali nature trail gave us extra strength in the hot conditions. And even though I've gone running here with the boys, as someone from Lappeenranta I have to say that the people of Lohja have truly magnificent nature and unique experience destinations here," Pohja said after finishing.
Endurance Quest moves up to a World Series Qualifier in August 2027
Finland's only international adventure racing competition, Endurance Quest, was born over 20 years ago when Petri Forsman, who won the sport's world championship in 2001, and EQ's race director Harri Hollo, wanted to create an international competition in Finland. Now held 14 times, the competition has always gathered Finland's best adventure racers for a 24-hour – and in the early years even a 3-day – race. In August 2027, EQ will return to its original concept, meaning the race distance will be around 500 kilometers and the winning time somewhere between 3 and 4 days. At the same time, the event's status will rise to a World Championship Qualifier.
"We have two main missions: we want to offer Finns an international-level race and invite teams from around the world to compete with them,, but at the same time, through our activity, we want to bring more young athletes into our wonderful sport," course designer Lauri Hollo said, summing up the organizing club's thinking for the event.
TOP 3 – ENDURANCE QUEST LOHJA 2026
Lane4 Adventure Team — 20.51.16 Pauliina Pohja, Jaakko Mäkelä, Mikko Sakala and Ville Mäkelä
Avanti Adventure Team — 23.36.05 — Mika Salo, Jani Virta, Emma Juga and Mikko Ranta-Hakala
Tehoketju — 23.49.23 — Yrjänä Hynninen, Johanna Yrjärheikki, Kari Poutiainen, Rami Oravakangas
More information for the media about the Endurance Quest Lohja competition;
Harri Hollo Chair of the Endurance Quest Lohja organizing committee / Race Director. email; harri@multisport.fi
Lauri Hollo Endurance Quest Lohja course designer and Technical Director. email: lauri@multisport.fi
Visit the Endurance Quest website at; https://www.endurancequest.org/
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