Runners Tiidrek Nurme, Liis-Grete Arro win in Viljandi
Top cross-country runners Tiidrek Nurme and Liis-Grete Arro claimed their first win at the Viljandi Lake Run (Viljandi järvejooks) on May Day, a 12-kilometer event that drew elite and hobby runners to Estonia's oldest public race.
Although officially a road race, the course resembled cross-country, especially after rain on Wednesday left it wet, slippery, and soft.
Nurme said: "The run was interesting. It rained yesterday, and the course was wet, slippery, and soft. The bog was deep too; I sank in up to my knees. A race worthy of the Viljandi Lake Run, legendary."
"It's mental — at one moment you're going downhill at a 2:50 [per kilometer] pace, and the next you're knee-deep in a bog and can't get through in four minutes. Then, you have to pick up the pace again, alternating between fields and roads," he went on.
Nurme and twenty-year-old Morten Siht led early on. Siht ran well despite the tough terrain, but 39-year-old Nurme's experience showed as he completed the 12-kilometer course in 37:10, edging Siht by six seconds (37:16). Reigning champion Leonid Latsepov followed 22 seconds later.
Reflecting on his strategy, Nurme said: "He had an easier time on the field; he's lighter. I knew the last one and a half kilometers were my strength, and that's where I made it count."
The top eleven finishers were Estonians.
In the women's race, Liis-Grete Arro battled the tough conditions to take her maiden victory in Viljandi. She finished in 43:37, 24th overall. She said: "As far back as I can remember, today's course was the hardest ever."
"I must mention that I missed the bog crossing and had to turn back. I lost time, but it doesn't matter — a win's a win," she added.
"Honestly, I'm a terrible orienteer; I can get lost on a one-kilometer loop. Today I tried to watch where the men were going. It's a tough course, and I don't recall it ever being this hard in Viljandi," Arro added.
"I ran on emotion, all the time hearing, 'first woman, first woman,' which gave me such a boost! My partner and I have both longed to win this race, but neither of us had managed. It's amazing to finally bring it home!"
That partner, Karel Hussar, finished fourth too, in 37:59, just 49 seconds behind Nurme.
"This event is such a sacred occasion for our family, and winning it brings such a sincere and powerful emotion," she went on.
Helen Bell and Laura Maasik followed in second and third places.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste, Andrew Whyte
