– I have seen rally cars driving along the track here. Wait a minute… What? Yes, this was the story Trine Lyrek told when she came driving with her dog team to the checkpoint in Neiden. The veteran was not at all surprised by what she had seen along the track at the Finnmarksløpet 1200. Then her daughter Hanna and the rest of the handling team realized that more sleep was needed here. Trine Lyrek takes a drink break at Neiden 1, completely unfazed after talking about rally cars along the track. The veteran was happy to have a good dinner, but looked somewhat tired after 556 kilometers behind the sled. The experienced dog handler from Alta is far from the only one who hallucinates while competing over the Finnmarksvidda. Especially on the long stages along the river ice, where it is mostly just white on white, the strangest things can appear when the eyelids become heavy. Drove sled in New York Adventurer Jens Kvernmo is used to being out on long expeditions, but not as trained to compete – and especially not with little sleep on board. When he was a little over halfway through the 600 kilometres, however, he felt how the competition affected his body and mind. During an interview with news’s reporter, he could not quite find the words and put his sentences together. – Now I’m so tired that I can’t think properly, Jens said at the Levajok checkpoint. – How much have you slept during these two days? – It feels like I’ve slept for fifteen minutes, but I think I may have slept for an hour and a half. CITY TOUR: During the Finnmark race, Jens Kvernmo drove a dog sled in the big city of New York. He thought, anyway. Photo: Finnmarksløpet Kvernmo said that the dogs did a good job and that for long periods, especially on the river road, he remained very still on the sled. Then a whimsical track appeared in front of the driver. – I was on top of a skyscraper in New York and drove a dog sled, not many people have done that, laughs Kvernmo and adds: – It happens quite a lot when you are tired. It’s almost like an exciting blue trip – suddenly you’re in the Sahara, on top of a car or above a skyscraper. Locomotive trotted past One who is, however, used to the fact that strange things can appear after many hours out in the track, is the world champion Harald Tunheim. Although he has taken part in the Finnmarksløpet 27 times in total, he is also affected by lack of sleep. When he had covered the long stage between Levajok and Karasjok, which is 83 kilometers only on the long Tanaelva, he began to feel the fatigue. – In Levajok, there was also only one hour’s sleep, and then you start to dawdle. On the flat river, not much happens, so I fell asleep on the sled, Tunheim told Karasjok. – Up the Tanaelva I began to see a railway, and a locomotive with many wagons driving up along the river bank. Then I had to blink a little extra with my eyes – and then it disappeared. TIRED: At the checkpoint in Karasjok, the world champion began to feel how little sleep affected his body – and his head. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen Nordvåg / news Tunheim and the team continued up the river ice. The dogs ran at a steady pace, and the musher bobbed off again at the back of the sled. Then he woke up suddenly. – Suddenly I see a sled next to me that is passing by. I croak and think “Steike, what is this?”. Quite early on, Tunheim had a solid lead over the other competitors in the 600-kilometer race. The first in the lane will always feel chased by the competitors behind. – But then it turns out that it is only the shadow of my own sled, Tunheim laughed at his own visions. You thought maybe this was enough hallucinations in one go? No, then. The experienced driver has experienced more during the 600-kilometre long competition. Or maybe something is wishful thinking? – I fell asleep, and then I see a cabin on the right side of the track. It had a nice balcony, and there are lots of people standing there in nice summer weather. They shouted “Harald, Harald! Come here and get some chocolate!”. – But when I really looked, there was nothing – it was just a hallucination, Tunheim concludes as he shakes his head at his own visions.
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Trine Lyrek, Jens Kvernmo and Harald Tunheim see hallucinations in the Finnmark Race – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
