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About Be Sisu Fit & Marjaana
Be Sisu Fit Inc. was established in 2016 by Marjaana Rakai, MSc, who wanted to guide everyday athletes to reach their very best.
"Be The Best You Can Be" has been Marjaana's motto ever since her teenage years when she trained to become a professional athlete in Cross-Country Skiing.
The idea behind this is to ditch comparison to others and to your previous standards.
As a former high-level, but "failed" athlete, comparing myself to me in my youth is straight-up stupid.
As an athlete in my 40s, with a life that is so much different with challenging aspirations, dreams and demands, comparing my present performance to that of my teens or 20s, would not be productive or fair.
Therefore, Be The Best You Can Be will hopefully guide also you to your best Today and Tomorrow.
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I am your coach in endurance sports. I coach xc-skiers, runners, triathletes, and strength and conditioning clients of all ages around the world.
I was born and raised in North Finland, where I used to ski during the long, dark winters and run track during the short mid-night sun summers. I left Finland in 1998, heartbroken, injured, having to quit racing in XCskiing and headed to the mecca of skiing, Norway.
I've been a student of sports all my life, and being part of sports has literally saved my life when I experienced the biggest challenges in my life.
I am a mom who runs, skis and tris. I don't identify myself as a runner, skier or triathlete because when life takes away one of my greatest sources of fulfilment, I can be lost. Success is never linear and injuries happen. I've learned my greatest lessons through the mess of injuries.
Since 1998, I've been an expatriate, living in 6 different countries on 4 continents. I've been blessed with a loving husband and 3 wildly amazing children. I speak a few languages and strive to be a good person to others and to the environment.
I value honesty, courage, health and openness. With me as your coach, you will get a good listener who geeks out about your training, and educates and motivates you to elevate your fitness so that you can achieve your wildest dreams!
ABOUT ME
The transformation from a tired mom who did not run to an Ironman podium...You'll learn all the lessons I did- and more.
Education & Certifications
I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to study under some of the world-renowned exercise physiologists and biomechanics at the both University of Alberta and the University of Calgary in addition to the high quality of teaching at my home university of Norwegian School of Sports Science, which repeatedly is scored in top 5 Universities in Sports Science in the World.
My MSc thesis, "Kinetic characteristics in competitive slalom skiing" gained a podium presentation at the American Society of Biomechanics Annual Conference in 2009. I loved doing research and the process to make it understandable for the coaches and athletes.
I am an eager learner and I love sharing my knowledge. I strive to learn more all the time, but with this ex-pat life that we've lived since 2009, has made it challenging to pursue my dream of Ph.D. Maybe one day.
Before Covid, it was difficult to find online quality learning opportunities, and university-level courses are still a bit hard to find without breaking the bank.
Some of my future goals are to actually take Canada Nordic Coaching Certifications. As of now, I need to be in Canada in order to be able to do that, so it has been put on the back burner.
I have my regular podcasts and newsletters that I enjoy, and I will share some of those for you to learn as well.
Norwegian School of Sports Sciences
Certified Personal Trainer
Community Trained Coach
Certified Women's Coaching Specialist
Level 1 Accredited Coach