In 2014 my husband and me made the decision to change lifestyle, to live more aligned with who we were and our passions. So we started simplifying and make room for more passion and adventure. As a foodie and nutrition scientist I had one of my passions nailed down, connecting the dots between food and health. But there was also trail running. As a lifelong outdoor person I had started running trail a few years earlier as an easy way to get out and connect to nature and just loved it.
I had entered some trail races for fun but my running had no direction until 2014 when I started training with more focus to enter my first ultra-trail race in 2015. The beauty and brutality of running long distances over mountains spoke to me and as it turned out, ultra-trail became my big adventure.
athletic life
Growing up I lived for adventures like free-diving, hiking and skiing. It was all about the love of nature, artistic expression, friendship and the great outdoors. When I started running more, focused competition and racing came in to the picture. To my big surprise I really enjoyed it. My drive for racing comes from curiosity, I want to challenge my perceived physical and mental limits.
In 2016 I entered and won my first big international competition, a 100 km mountain race with more than 6000 m of elevation called CCC. Since then I have competed in some of the greatest and most gruelling ultra trail races in the world. But the biggest mountains I have conquered are the ones within. Ultra trail has made me more resilient and honest and grounded me in a beautiful way.
sharing values
I train and race with my heart on my sleeve and I’m an example that its never too late to follow your dreams. If others find my story inspiring this encourages me to share more of my journey. I want to empower people to not hold them self back, you never know where life takes you.
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020/2021
2022
Mimmi Kotka © All Rights Reserved