It’s been a little while since we’ve done an interview but we’re still doing them. Here is an interview with Kristian Bergstrand who we discovered via Twitter. Read on to learn how Kristian got started in joggling and what he thinks about the sport. He is the first Swedish joggler that we’ve found.
JYAJ – Tell us about yourself
My name is Kristian Bergstrand and I live in Helsingborg, Sweden. I am 29 years old and work wihin the field of GIS,
i.e. Geographical Information Systems. When I´m not working, I love music, books, chess, lindy-hop, squash, boardgames and of course juggling/joggling. I don´t have a website for the moment, but I’m available on Twitter (follow bergstrand).
What is the story of how you learned to juggle?
I started juggling back in -96, because I had a friend that could juggle and I thought it looked cool. Now I have clubs, torches, rings, diabolo… but I don´t spend so much time juggling, unfortunately.
When did you start joggling?
A few years after I began juggling, I read about joggling in Charlie Dancey´s excellent “Encyklopædia of ball juggling”. But I didn’t try it out until June this year (2011).
Why did you start joggling?
I was going to run a 10 km race – “Malmömilen” – and wasn’t sure of my condition, since I had only been out running once during the last 10 months. In the race there would be a prize for making the most joyful appearance. So, I thought that I could hide my bad condition through joggling and have a chance of winning the special prize! I didn’t win the prize, but I ran at a decent time.
How many joggling races have you done?
Just one, but more to come!
What are some of your most interesting joggling stories?
While joggling Malmömilen, I found myself running beside an old friend. Because he can juggle, I offered him to try out joggling a few meters. So he did, and I think we managed to swap the pattern from me to him and then back, without a drop.
I also got some indirect appreciation via the hashtag of the race on Twitter from ppl who were impressed of the joggling!
What kind of training do you do? How fast do you run?
I´m only joggling once a month, but I intend to do it more often in the future. My average pace is 5min 45sec per kilometer (approx. 9.2min per mile).
Do you eat a special diet?
No. Before the race I actually ate some bread with herring, due to bad planning…
How long do you think you will keep joggling?
Until I´m six feet under ground!
Do you have any advice for would-be jogglers?
Don’t be afraid to test it out! If you can juggle solid, then it shouldn’t be any problems.
Where do you see the sport of joggling in 10 years?
I think that there is a quite big threshold to the sport, i.e. you have to learn to juggle first. In Sweden I don’t think that the “trendy winds” are blowing towards more juggling/joggling – therefore I don´t think that the sport will be any bigger 10 years from now.
Any last thoughts?
Joggling is great for arm-exercise and you will get better at juggling. Also, the rhythm is quite nice and makes running funnier!
Thanks Kristian! We can’t wait to hear more about your joggling adventures.
See our interview page to read more interviews with running jugglers.
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