Waqar Naseem Wamiq
FAMOUS runner and adventurer Jukka Viljanen from Finland aims to cross the Empty Quarter (Al-Rub’ Al-Khali) of Saudi Arabia in November. The Empty Quarter is the world’s most contiguous sand desert.
[caption id="attachment_59908" align="alignright" width="300"]
Jukka Viljanen ready to cross the Empty Quarter.[/caption]Viljanen will be dedicating his expedition to Saudi Vision 2030.
Born in 1963 in Helsinki, Viljanen currently lives in Espoo, Finland. He holds a university degree in business and is engaged mostly in mainly corporate and motivational speaking. He also works as a freelancer, sales and marketing consultant to the Finnish outdoor magazines “Juoksija” (running), “Hiihto” (skiing) and “Pyöräily&Triathlon” (Biking&Triathlon). He is happily married to Kirsi.
Viljanen is a passionate adventurer and has participated in various events in some of the world’s most challenging environments. In 2007, he took part in the North Pole Marathon and the North Pole Bike Extreme. These events took place on the drifting sea ice between 89° and 90° north, just a stone’s throw away from the geographical North Pole.
Viljanen ran successfully across the Sahara Desert during January and February 2012. His latest attempt was to run across the icecap of Greenland. Unfortunately, the team had to abandon the expedition, since one of its support members got sick.
Viljanen exclusively talked to Saudi Gazette at the residence of Finland’s Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen in Riyadh, recently.
Excerpts from the interview:
SG: On behalf of Saudi Gazette we welcome you on your visit to Riyadh. Have you been to Riyadh before?
Viljanen: Thank you Saudi Gazette. Well, it’s my fourth visit to Riyadh. My first visit was about two and a half years ago.
SG: What got you started for adventures?
Viljanen: I am into adventures for the past 10 years. Before that I was active in sports i.e. running. I participated in marathons of 42 km, 50 km, 100 km or even more. I wasn’t very much into marathons, I don’t know why but you need to follow your heart. I was still searching for something. Then all of a sudden one day when I was exploring an American website and I saw a picture of a person who was running somewhere out of this world. It was like a man running in space; his head, face and shoes frozen. I mean he was totally frozen. He was running in the North Pole. At that particular moment I decided that one day I will also run in the North Pole.
SG: You’ve been to the Sahara Desert and the North Pole. Which one was more difficult?
Viljanen: The most difficult trek was the North Pole. It was full of snow, there was nothing except snow. It was a completely different world. The terrain was really very difficult. My one snow shoe weighed about one kg. I remember that I could not feel my toes at one stage, but it was very rewarding. I realized that I’ve potential and here I am because of my North Pole experience.
SG: When did you decide about the Empty Quarter expedition?
Viljanen: It was four years ago. When I was in the Sahara Desert I made a decision that I will run across the Arabian Desert, the biggest sand desert in the world which is Empty Quarter, it became a passion for me.
SG: What is the objective and ultimate goal of your announced expedition of Empty Quarter?
Viljanen: Our expedition would like to promote Saudi Vision 2030. As an expedition team we like big challenges. I am doing the same thing as Saudi society would like to do to promote Vision 2030. We are pushing new boundaries. People think this is impossible. I had been told many times that you will not succeed. We want to show the world that it is doable, even though it has not been done before. Vision 2030 hasn’t been done before. We need to dream big, we dream it, we plan it and then we do it, so everything is doable, the Empty Quarter and Vision 2030 have never been done before. The Empty Quarter is doable and Vision 2030 is doable.
SG: How did you plan it?
Viljanen: First I contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland. They directed me to the former Finnish ambassador to Saudi Arabia. I met with him and presented my case to him. He introduced me to the present Finnish Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen in 2014. Since then the process continues, the Saudi government is very supportive.
SG: How did the idea of the Empty Quarter come to your mind?
Viljanen: I am very passionate about the sand dunes; they energize me. I love the desert, it calls me, the nature calls me. It becomes a challenge for me since it has not been crossed yet. I want to make it with my team and I am passionate to create a history by crossing it successfully.
SG: Is it going to be a solo run or a team expedition?
Viljanen: I’ll run alone but with the team, our crew is of 13 persons, I am the only one from Finland and all other team members are Saudis. We all are passionate about it, our goal is one i.e. to cross the Empty Quarter. Everyone has its own job, we’ve team leaders, drivers, chef, helpers, all are very skillful people. Mohammed Al-Khamis and Ady Al-Khamis are the team leaders. They had been to the Empty Quarter before. We are like a family and all are an important part of the expedition.
SG: Running is a unique discipline, do you feel some difficulty running on ice capped mountains and sandy deserts?
Viljanen: It’s not difficult for me. I like it, and it’s my passion.
SG: Have you visited the area?
Viljanen: We are planning to do a preliminary route survey but I won’t be involved with that. I want it to be an adventure for me. It will be a 36-day expedition of about 1,800 km. We will mark 36 camps. I’ll run for 50 km a day with a short breaks of water only. The mapping will be completed by October.
SG: What are the starting and finishing points?
Viljanen: We will reveal the route just before the expedition and upon completion of the route survey. It is still not yet finalized. It will be a full crossing of the Empty Quarter starting from west and heading toward the north probably. But we will remain inside Saudi territory based on the expert route mapping.
SG: What time of the day do you select for this running?
Viljanen: Just before sunrise so I can look at my steps. I anticipate I can cover 50 km in 5 to 6 hours, and then we will camp, socialize and plan for the next day.
SG: What will be your next goal after the expedition?
Viljanen: I’d like to speak to the Saudi people after the expedition. I’ll be here to share my story. I’d like to write a book after my expedition about different subjects that people should raise their bar and they should have new goals in their lives. It cannot be achieved sitting in the comfort zone. People have lots of potential but they don’t know, we should motivate them to become a role model for others.
SG: Anything you would like to say about Saudis?
Viljanen: I am amazed by the hospitality of Saudi people. I visited many families, and I am really overwhelmed.
SG: We wish you all the success. Good luck!
Viljanen: Thank you.
