At the Greifensee Run, Joey Hadorn ran the half-marathon distance for the first time as part of the Swiss Championships and after an impressive race, suddenly found himself standing on the podium next to Abraham Tadesse again as the second Swiss winner.

Your debut in the half marathon was more than successful. With an impressive time of 1:07:49, you ran amid the elite road runners as an orienteering runner. How did you find the race? 

I felt I was in very good shape and aimed to achieve a time of 3:20 per kilometre or finish the run in 1h 10 min. The ranking was always of secondary importance. 

Shortly after the start, I found myself in the chasing group again and realised that we were running much faster than I had planned. But I felt good and attempted to keep tagging along with the belief “I have what I have”. And since the slump didn’t materialise, somewhere between the 14th and 15th kilometre I started to slightly break away and believe I could make it. Three kilometres before the finish, I put all my eggs in one basket and ran full of euphoria and, thanks to the support of the numerous spectators, finished as the second Swiss.

This year, you dominated the Junior Orienteering World Championships, won mountain runs and have now successfully competed in a half marathon. In your eyes, what are the keys to success?

• Solid foundation: right from the start I was on the go with my parents a lot without realising that I was training. I have thus laid a large solid foundation, upon which I can now fall back on.
• Winter training: my training always has a lot of scope during the winter months, which provides a good basis for the season. During the season, I can then focus more on the intensity and benefit from my winter training.
• Continuity: due to the fact that I have rarely or never been sick or injured, I was always able to train and build up my performance over the years.

What does a typical training week look like?

I lay the foundation for my success during the winter. I train up to 24 hours, whereby a third of my training consists of running units and two thirds consist of core strength, bike training and cross-country skiing units.

I train very intensively during the summer: every second day will see me doing interval training or participating in a competition. In between I do continuous runs for a maximum of 60 minutes, work on my running technique or do core strength training. Added to this are several kilometres on the bike because I am always out and about on my bike. 

What do you find appealing about orienteering? What speaks in favour of a running carrier?

Map reading adds to the appeal of orienteering. Finding the balance between your physical limit and a clear head is challenging and exciting at the same time. And it’s a great feeling when everything goes well.

When running, you don’t have to concentrate on other things, you can simply just run. I find the great interest from spectators and the media enthralling, not to mention of course the possibility of qualifying for the Olympic Games. This would be a longer but more appealing path.

Do you have a secret tip you would be willing to share with us?

Two to three years of continuity lead to success. You therefore not only need to pay attention to your training throughout the entire season, but also your health to ensure there are no interruptions due to illness or injury.

Foto: ZVG