After this past weekend, Yngvild Kaspersen can add a runner-up finish at The Rut 28k to her growing trail running resume. In the following interview, Yngvild talks about what her strengths are out on the trail, what she was focused on in the race, and why she’s pleased with how she ran at The Rut this year.
For more on how the race went down, check out our results article for The Rut 28k.
[Click here if you can’t see the video above.]
Yngvild Kaspersen Post-2016 The Rut 28k Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Bryon Powell of iRunFar with Yngvild Kaspersen after her second place at The Rut 28k 2016. How are you?
Yngvild Kaspersen: Really good now, thanks.
iRunFar: Were you a little tired earlier?
Kaspersen: Yeah, it’s a hard race with the altitude and…
iRunFar: What was the hardest aspect of the race?
Kaspersen: For me, I think it’s competing in the altitude, but I really liked the course of the race. It’s an amazing race.
iRunFar: What was your favorite part of the course?
Kaspersen: Maybe I really liked the ridge up to Lone Peak and down from Lone Peak and also the first downhill and also the runnable part in the beginning.
iRunFar: Pretty much all of it worked for you. Do you consider yourself best in climbing or descending or flat?
Kaspersen: I don’t know really. It’s hard to…
iRunFar: How did the race start for you? I think Megan [Kimmel] was ahead?
Kaspersen: Yeah, I was prepared she’d be really strong today, so I wasn’t trying to follow her. For me, it was important today to have good feelings running because I had some struggling with that this summer. I just wanted to get back to my good feelings. Today it was much better. I was really happy about that.
iRunFar: Were you in second the whole time, or were you with Laura [Orgué] at all?
Kaspersen: I was with Laura for a bit. She passed me, and then I passed her. I got the gap that’s…
iRunFar: Where did you pass her on the course?
Kaspersen: It was in the uphill to the first…?
iRunFar: You passed her on the climb?
Kaspersen: Yeah, but I know she’s not feeling really good right now, so…
iRunFar: Ah, she’s known to be a very good climber.
Kaspersen: I know but she’s been sick lately.
iRunFar: Maybe not her strongest… but that was still a great performance for you. Were you pleased with how you did?
Kaspersen: Yes, because I ran one minute faster here than last year.
iRunFar: That’s great because I know the winning men’s time was a good number of minutes slower. You’re improving. Does that feel good?
Kaspersen: Yeah, that’s really important. That’s more important… to see that you have a faster time is more important than to run faster than the others. You want to see improvement.
iRunFar: Because you can’t control how other people run, but you know how you’ve run.
Kaspersen: It’s better to compare yourself to you than to the others.
iRunFar: Is this the end of your season, or do you have some other races planned?
Kaspersen: Yeah, I will do Limone for sure, and then I will see.
iRunFar: Is that the middle of September?
Kaspersen: No, it’s October.
iRunFar: No racing between now and then?
Kaspersen: I don’t know yet.
iRunFar: Will you head home to Norway?
Kaspersen: After this, I will go back home to Tromsø.
iRunFar: Do you work there or go to university?
Kaspersen: I study a little bit.
iRunFar: So part-time running and part-time studying?
Kaspersen: But now it’s been much more running.
iRunFar: Are you part of the Salomon Young Guns program?
Kasperson: The program…?
iRunFar: I know there’s been like a camp where they…
Kaspersen: I’ve not been to the academy.
iRunFar: So you’re just running for Salomon generally?
Kaspersen: Yeah.
iRunFar: Congratulations on your great run here. Good luck at Limone.
Kaspersen: Thank you so much.
