Results at the 11th edition of the 2011 Milan City Marathon

More than 10,000 runners have participated to the 11th edition of the Milan City Marathon.


At this link you can find the results at the 11th edition of the Milan Marathon: 2011 Milan City Marathon Ranking.

Results for this week three big running events in Italy: Stramilano half Marathon, Treviso and Ferrara Marathon

During last week of March 2011, three major events are relevant for International runners willing to run in Italy.

First of all, the second largest half marathon in the country, Stramilano, takes place this morning at 10:45am from Piazza Duomo. This is the 40th edition and more than 5,200 runners participated to the competitive race, a figure that is 35% higher than previous year, where however Stramilano faced competition with Scarpadoro in the nearby Vigevano. The result was interesting from a performance perspective: 31 athletes finished before 70 minutes, and the Kenian winner Kisorio Mathew Kipkoech just reached the finish line 3 seconds after 1 hour from the start. On the other side, around 50,000 took part to the non competitive one.

Moreover, the 8th edition of the Treviso Marathon took also place. Almost 3000 runners have enrolled to this  edition, and 2186 completed the competition. Clearly Treviso has a downhill route, allowing the possibility to generate personal best. The Maroccan Nasef Ahmed won in 2h13:06 seconds, while the first Italian Francesco Bona who represents the new Italian running hope for the 2012 Olympics Games in London, arrived third and improved his personal best by 2 minutes. Finally, after 1 year stop, the Ferrara Marathon started back with a different route, inside the city that has been declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The athletes had the chance to run inside the Castello Estense, very closed to the finish line in the center of the city. 636 runners completed the 26.2 miles in Ferrara, with the Kenian Biwott Zakayo Kipsang arriving in 2h25:06 seconds.

Since few readers are interested to see the full results, you can find below this morning results:

Stramilano 2011 Ranking

Treviso Marathon 2011 ranking

Ferrara Marathon 2011 ranking

Results at the 17th Edition of the Rome Marathon

Today at 9 am in Via dei Fori Imperiali, Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno gave the start to the seventeenth edition of the Rome Marathon started. 

Mr Alemanno has evoked a "feeling of solidarity with the people of Japan and in l'Aquila that we must never forget".

On stage, before departure, the Italian flag and Japan hit by earthquake and radioactivity. 

At the start of the race, to which about 16 000 athletes took part, there was also ambassador to Tokyo. 

It is interesting to notice that the four Km non-competitive race, more than 100 000 runners participated to the event.

The Kenyan Kiptolo Chumbe Dixon won the Rome Marathon with a time of 2h08'44. Chumbe, representing the 10th Kenian winning the competition, arrived before the Ethiopian Amda Siraj Gena (2h09'21") winner at the 2010 edition, which was followed by fellow Dawit Shami Abdulahi (2h09'42") and Tekeste Nekatibeb (2h10'17").

At this stage, we cannot comment on the final number of runners who arrived at the Coliseum. We will update the article with statistical analysis later on.

Since few readers are interested to see the full results, you can find below the ranking for the 17th edition of the Rome Marathon: 2011 Rome Marathon Ranking.

Rome Marathon 17th edition on internet

At 9:00 am this Sunday March 20th, the most important Italian marathon will depart. If you are not one of the 16000 runners that will participate to the competition, you still have a chance at least to see what you missed. The Rome Marathon can be watched on Internet through the Broadcasting from the Italian Television, at the Rome Marathon Live Internet link.

Sixteen thousand marathoners at the 17th edition of the 2011 Rome Marathon

This article is freely adapted from several press releases of the Rome Marathon.


After a significant effort to promote the event and with the Road Race IAAF Gold label, the Rome Marathon will depart on Sunday March 20th 2011, 
in via Fori Imperiali.


16,188 runners enrolled from 84 different countries, of which 9,147 are Italian, while 7,041 are international runners. Sixteen thousand runners represents a new high record for the Rome marathon, 5% higher than the previous edition.
This figure also represents the highest number of participants ever for an Italian marathon. 

On the international enrollment side, France confirms its first place with 1335 runners 
(+6% more against 2010), ahead of Germany, England, Spain and the United States. 
In the top ten foreign countries, Canada entered at the sixth place, while Denmark (tenth).
Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland are completing the ranking.



This year’s edition is labeled “Road Race IAAF Gold Label” for the first time. The IAAF Gold label is the most prestigious label awarded by the International Association of Athletics 
Federation. With this award, the Rome Marathon entered the top 16 marathon list, while last year it was the 17th largest competition in the world.


Both participants and the international media have always defined the route of 
the Rome Marathon “the most scenic in the world”.  The 2011 course is he 
traditional one, turning in via Ostiense after the first kilometers and back into the 
city centre at the end. The start line is in  via dei Fori Imperiali;  the route 
continues on to piazza Venezia, turns into via del Teatro Marcello, via dei Cerchi, 
via Ostiense, St. Paul’s Basilica, viale Marconi, Porta Portese, then stretches on 
all along the Lungotevere towards the Synagogue, the Ara Pacis, piazza Cavour, 
St. Peter’s Square near the Vatican; then back to the Lungotevere and to Foro 
Italico, one of the legendary places of the 1960’s  Rome Olympics. The route 
continues toward the  Mosque,  via Ripetta,  piazza Navona,  largo di Torre 
Argentina,  via del Corso, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna, the Trevi 
Fountain, piazza Venezia, via di San Gregorio, (where the finish line of the 1960’s Olympic marathon was), the Colosseo, and, finally, the finish line in via dei Fori 
Imperiali. The route stretches along more than  500 places of high historical, 
archeological, religious and architectural significance.  


The Rome Marathon has probably organized the best world pasta party,
in cooperation with "Gragnano in Corsa", a superb pasta-brand from Gragnano (Naples), the world's capital of pasta. The pasta party will take place at the Marathon Village on Friday 18 and Saturday 19, from 11am to 7pm.

1 week before the 10th edition of the Verona Marathon (and half marathon)

From the website of the Verona Marathon, you can find an interesting article describing why it is interesting to run the Verona Marathon next week, Sunday February 20th. This is one of the first important running event and more than 7,000 runners will participate, either to the marathon (expected 2,000 runners at the finish line) or to the Half Marathon (expected 4,000 runners). Both events are in the top 10 in Italy, with the half marathon in the podium (the website indicates in 2010 the Giulietta & Romeo half Marathon was second after the Rome-Ostia, but they were closer with StraMilano). If you are competing in Verona next week, you can take a look at the Verona marathon course or at the Verona Half marathon course. Due to the number of runners, there will be corrals at the starting line, with 4 different colors (yellow for top runners, orange for the first grid, green for the second and light-blue for the last one). The organization has foreseen refreshements every 5km, starting at km 15th, with 6 different tables, the first for the top runners, in the second one runners can find still waters, in the third one Gatorade, in the fourth one hot tea, in the fifth one bananas, in the last one biscuits. There will be pacemakers from 2h45, every 15 minutes till 5h, plus the 6h pacemakers. The Marathon will start at 9am, while the half marathon at 10:15am.
If you are interested to understand how the marathon looks like, you can read the Verona Marathon live experience.

‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ is undoubtedly one of the most renowned Shakespearean lines. Thanks to the major British poet, the city of Verona has become the city of love and passion, where the most famous love affair of all time was set. However, since 2001 Verona is also the place every runner loves. In the last ten years, in fact, Verona has been hosting the Verona Marathon, an amazing and exciting international running event across the old city centre and the city’s suburbs. The 10th edition of the 42,195 km running race is taking place on 20th February, 2011 and it will kick off and close beside the Verona Arena, the Roman amphitheatre worldwide known for the large-scale opera, music and theatre performances hosted there since ancient times. The 2011 Verona Marathon event comprises also the Romeo and Juliet Half Marathon, along a stunning course that touches some of the most beautiful corners in the heart of Verona. Both races are IAAF (International Association Athletics Federation), AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races) and FIDAL (Italian Federation of Athletics) officially recognised races. Last year’s Romeo and Juliet Half Marathon ranked third among Italy’s most popular half marathons with almost 4.000 participants.For those who aim to take part in the 2011 Verona Marathon event in a funnier and more relaxed way, the Family Run non competitive race brings together youngsters and families on a 13, 7 or 4 km course, exploring the beauty of Verona.Registrations to the 2011 Verona Marathon and the Romeo and Juliet Half Marathon are already closed. Entries for the Family Run event will be open until Sunday 20 February (fees: €5,00 – free children under 10 years of age).In 2000 Verona was listed as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO Committee and for the tenth time next February it’ll be invaded by runners of every level and nationality. Last year, over 6.500 people took part in the event. One of the targets for this year’s competition is to break this record, and the organizing committee led by Verona Marathon GAAC 2007 ASD along with the Verona Municipal Sports Bureau, is confident to welcome to their city a huge number of competitors and running lovers next month. Because Verona has always been the perfect place for every kind of …lovers.

2010 ranking for Italian Marathons preferred by International Runners

The objective of this website is to provide useful information for international runners, who would like to participate to Italian Marathons. In the last 2 years, we have provided several rankings, with the goal to give a sizing on the Italian marathons and half-marathons. 
The interesting ranking below provides information on how many international runners participate to Italian Marathons. The key idea is to indicate how prepared is the organizer of the different races to take care of international requests. No surprise: there is a strict correlation between the complete ranking and this one. Around 10,000 international runners decided to compete in Italy in 2010, this represents 22% on the total number of runners participating to Italian Marathons (the february edition of the monthly magazine "Correre" indicated that 34,100 were the number of Italian runners participating at least to 1 marathon). The top 3 marathons, Rome, Florence, and Venice captured more than 80% of the total international runners in Italy. However, it is worthwhile to notice that at least 2 marathons have higher ranking for international runners. First, the Trieste marathon has more than 28% of international runners: only Rome, Florence and Venice have better percentages. Second, Palermo marathon at the end of November, with incredible weather above 15 degrees, is able to attract an high number of international runners and has a ratio of 27%. 

Below you can find the ranking for the top Italian marathons, based on numbers of international runners. Please note that the ranking refers only to the most recent marathon, while former edition might have got higher participations. 24 Marathons had more than 10 international participants.

TOP TEN:

1. Rome Marathon: international runners 4550
(Mar 21 2010, Ranking Rome Marathon 2010)

2. Florence Marathon: international runners 2118
(Nov 28 2010, Ranking Florence Marathon 2010)

3. Venice Marathon: international runners 1350
(Oct 25 2010, Ranking Venice Marathon 2010)

4: Lake Garda Marathon: international runners 404
(Oct 10 2010, Ranking Lake Garda Marathon 2010)

5. Milan City Marathon: international runners 402
(Apr 11 2010, Ranking Milan Marathon 2010)

6. Trieste Marathon: international runners 175

(May 2 2010, Ranking Trieste Marathon 2010)

7. Turin Marathon: international runners 153
(Nov 11 2010, Ranking Turin Marathon 2010)

8. Padua Marathon: international runners 127
(Apr 25 2010, Ranking Padua Marathon 2010)

9. Verona Marathon: international runners 123
(Feb 21 2010, Ranking Verona Marathon 2010)

10. Carpi Ferrari Italian Marathon: international runners 114
(Oct 10 2010, Ranking Ferrari Marathon 2010)

TOP 20:

11. South Tirol Marathon: international runners 103
(Oct 3 2010, ST Marathon 2010)


12. Treviso Marathon: international runners 77

(Mar 27 2010, Ranking Treviso Marathon 2010)

13. Palermo Marathon: international runners 52
(Nov 21 2010, Ranking Brianza Marathon 2010)

14. Reggio Emilia: international runners 39
(Dec 12 2010, Ranking Reggio Emilia Marathon 2010)

15. Piceno Marathon: international runners 34
(May 16 2010, Ranking Piceno Marathon 2010)

16. Mugello Marathon, international runners 33

(Oct 30 2010, Mugello Marathon 2010) 

17. Lucca Marathon: international runners 28

(Oct 25 2010, Ranking Lucca Marathon 2010)

18. Messina Marathon: international runners 27

(Apr 25 2010, Messina Marathon 2010 Ranking)

19. Custoza Marathon: international runners 19

(May 10 2010, Ranking Custoza Marathon 2010)

20. Livorno Marathon: international runners 19

(Nov 14 2010, Livorno Marathon 2010 Ranking)

TOP 30:

21. Naples Marathon: international runners 16
(Apr 18 2010, Naples Marathon 2010)

22. Trasimeno Lake Marathon: international runners 13

(Mar 7 2010, Trasimeno 2010)

23. Colle Marathon, from Barchi to Fano: international runners 11

(May 2 2010, Collemar Marathon ranking)

24. Placentia Marathon: international runners 11 

(Mar 7 2010, Placentia Marathon 2010)

3 Italian Downhill Marathons and implication on your performance

Treviso Elevation (minus 96 meters, 315 feet)

The IAAF defines "downhill marathon course" a competition where the course has a negative elevation between departure and arrival. At first cut, these types of competition should allow the average runner to perform better. The real question is therefore how much do such courses affect performance? Unfortunately the answer is surprising: not as much as you might think. Actually, it depends: in reality it is not the difference between departure and arrival that makes the difference, but the percentage of positive and negative elevation on the 26.2 miles course. 

Moreover, gain and loss depend on runners speed: every 100 feet (30.5 meters) of elevation descent speeds runners by 3.6% of his or her average one mile pace (2% grade/mile), while elevation gain would slow down runners by 6.6%, which is almost double the gain got from the descent. In other words, descent does not give back as much as ascent take away. 

The most famous downhill marathon in the US are St. George Utah Marathon in October and the Tucson Marathon in December. In Italy there are actually 3 marathons that are classified by IAAF as downhill, Treviso, Carpi and Collemar. The most popular is Treviso marathon (see the elevation profile on top). With more than 2000 runners, Treviso is the best organized event, with great local participation in the course. To see how the marathon experience looks like, readers can look at the Treviso marathon live experience link. The event takes usually place at the end of March and it is supported by Asics.

Carpi marathon Elevation (minus 100 meters, 330 feet)

The Ferrari Italian Marathon departing from Maranello (Ferrari's headquarter) and arriving in Carpi (Modena) is competing with Treviso both in the organization and in the performance of athletes. Details can be found in the Carpi marathon live experience. 

Finally, the Collemar Marathon is more a local event, with limited foreign runners, but it represents a truly great experience, with wonderful countryside, great food and outstanding organization. It does not provide great advantage to runners in term of performance, since the first part of the race is partly upphill (see below). Details can be found in the Collemar marathon live experience.
All Garmin tracks for the top 10 Italian marathons are available here.

Collemar marathon Elevation (minus 310 meters, 1000 feet) 

More than 2000 runners at the 15th Reggio Emilia Marathon

More than 2000 runners have already enrolled to the 15th edition of the Reggio Emilia Marathon. Among them, there are athletes from Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Greece, Slovenia, Morocco, Kenya,  Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
Although few runners from abroad are coming to this event, the best organized Marathon in Italy is pretty much an Italian event. More than half of the athletes are coming from 2 regions only: 550 runners from Emilia Romagna, 500 from Lombardy.

To learn more about this fantastic event, readers can check the 2009 Reggio Emilia Marathon live experience.

Garmin track on top 10 Italian Marathons

Below you can find the Garmin links to the top 10 Italian Marathon, that has been requested by several readers. Please note that few marathons (eg. Florence) have changed their tracks.

1. 2010 Rome Marathon Garmin Track
2. 2009 Florence Marathon Garmin Track, will change in 2010.
3. 2010 Venice Marathon Garmin Track, might change in 2011.
4. 2010 Milan City Marathon Garmin Track
5. 2010 Treviso Marathon Garmin Track: negative elevation!
6. 2009 Reggio Emilia Marathon Garmin Track
7. 2010 Padua Marathon Garmin Track: very flat race, might change in 2011.
8. 2010 Verona Marathon Garmin Track
9. 2010 Turin Marathon Garmin Track
10. 2010 Lake Garda Marathon Garmin Track
11. 2010 Carpi Marathon Garmin Track, negative elevation!

2010 Brianza Marathon: a live experience

This post describes a live experience for March 21st 2010 Brianza Marathon and gives you insight of what it is really look like. Below you can find a translation from the original Brianza Marathon live experience. The Brianza Marathon is in the top 50 of the Italian ranking (number 31) from the number of participants, and it is included into the Seregno 100 kilometers competition. The site is not yet translated in English, since the large majority of Runners is local. 2010 Brianza Marathon winner's was the Kenian Weldon Kirui in 2h33:34. 221 runners reached the finish line, and another 170 completed the 100km competition. This is 21% less than previous year, mainly due to overlapping race the same day.

This is my third competition in 2010, but my first marathon. The first two races went very well, a 10k and half marathon closed with two Personal Best. I start therefore confident to win my third consecutive personal, which is 3 years old and is represented by 3h48 minutes. I want to run the first 30km in 5 minutes /km and then see what happens in the last 12km. During the week I checked the weather forecast, hoping to find a good day to run this marathon. But rain falling the same day of the marathon could have changed my hopes and dreams. I meet with 11 runners, including Maria Luisa, who will be running in the asphalt to prepare his travels in the deserts. Giancarlo, Dalba and Giorgio make a very long run to prepare for the marathon in Milan. Lele is at his first marathon. We warmed up with Clod running in circles at the kiosk. A light rain makes the air cool and damp, but the temperature of 9 degrees Celsius is ideal. Marathon starts at 9. Instead of running, David and Dalba started flying toward galactic time and we follow the pacer Lugi, which today is Lele’s pacer. During the first 5 km a small group of runners is formed around Lele who did not stop talking. It seems we are the pacers of 3h30.

At the 7th km, the group will unravel when Lugi increased his pace to 4'45 "/ km. I stay with them for less than a km and then greet them. The legs go round and even if I set to run more slowly, I decided to keep a 4.52/km step. I run then alone: just in front of me there is only one runner at 200 meters distance. At some point I do not see him anymore, and I start having the fear of getting lost in the streets of Brianza. Fortunately, the service is impeccable and every intersection is manned by volunteers. 

At the 24 km mark, I turn and I see Mac about 50 meters behind me, I urge him to join me but his face does not seem very convinced. Meanwhile, I keep the pace and enter inside the park of Monza. The roar of the engines on the famous Autodromo Nazionale Monza breaks the silence of this peaceful path, notwithstanding the ongoing roads used by cars. I got the impression that there is a complete difference between the Brianza Marathon and what happens at the same time at the half marathon at the Stramilano. Here, however, the drivers were calmly waiting at intersections, as if they were waiting for the elevation of the auction of a zero crossing.

At the 33 km mark, we are under via Tagliabue and we enter the city of Desio. Now I try hard to keep up and slow down a bit. I'm beginning to see the finish line of 3h30. Just doing maths, if I can turn going forward at 5' / km, I should close under the 3h28. At the 35 km mark, my forces are gone, my head begins to turn around, but I do not give up. To give relief, I swallow a handful of sugar cubes at the refreshment point; this hopefully gives me some more energy. I slow down a couple of seconds every kilometer that passes. We are in the end, I try to accelerate but I can not. I then meet Andrea who encourages me to keep up and he informed me that I am beating Vitto.

Then here is the finish line, and at this point I am driven by the cheering of my friends. I have made it. My friend and runner Ciaci, says that I finish in 3h27. I forgot to stop the Garmin. This was a good race, I am very satisfied, and indeed I believe that I can run in 3h25 next times.

I would like to give a round of applause to the organization that handled all flawlessly. Collect bags, showers, race packet and volunteers, just to frame a marathon. In addition to my PB, today also Lugi Dalbo, Titian, David, and Maria Luisa celebrated their personal best. It looks like that the Brianza Marathon allows to run faster, due to its flat race.

2009 Trieste Bavisela Marathon: a live experience

This post describes a live experience for the 2009 Trieste Bavisela Marathon and gives you insight of what it is really look like. Below you can find a translation from the original 2009 Bavisela Trieste Marathon live experience. Trieste Marathon is in the top 20 of the Italian ranking (number 16) from the number of participants, and it is very international in term of partecipants. As reader, you might also be interested at the 2008 Bavisela Trieste Marathon live experience.

As one very inspired writer could hardly create a plot so lively as it was my last week, it would be equally difficult for me to predict a surprising ending of this story as well. Let's abandon the seriousness of everyday life and let's dream about the emotions that the marathon can give us, marathon that always requires effort, sacrifice, dedication, but most often rewarded with immense satisfaction that are not necessarily linked to the fastest time. 


The Trieste Marathon has now reached its first decade and, although unable to take off as  participation (544 arrived yesterday), it is one of the key events of my spring. The classic distance is flanked by the 42 km relay marathon, the Marathon of Two Castles which kicks off from Duino Bavisela and non-competitive part of the Castle of Miramare. 


The confluence of this diverse group of athletes running different distances happens on the promenade, crossing Barcola to see its culmination in the arrival in Piazza Unità d'Italy. The whole event is organized at best, this year there was a small change in the route with the decision to place the arrival at the Piazza in the opposite direction. This requires a C-shaped ride that does not convince me, because it does not allow free flow of human tide at certain times which could be potentially very large. 


Let's talk about my race. Tension is written on my face, I must admit, since I have placed great expectations at the Trieste Marathon. It was the ultimate goal of a 4-month preparation period in which I ran 5 beautiful marathons (Salento, Barcelona, Rome, Treviso, Vienna) that had to be only intermediate steps. In the morning I have told my friend Mark Grimaz that every second in this race was essential, the clear objective was to be able to run at 4 minutes /km. Marco was really surprised, because he knows that my relationship with race and marathon is almost never dependent on the result. I am physically prepared and psychologically ready with nervous energy that I need to unwind. Also the weather conditions are optimal: hazy sky and acceptable temperature. 
Ritual photos with friends, dressing and then I start to make even a slight warming (unusual practice for me before a race long distance). In the starting area I see Fabio Marri, it takes little to make him long and interesting talk but today's goal is to run. I am strangely relaxed, wandering in the start area to greet people all around the places, I get together with friends, I am aware of new converts. The starter ends the waiting time, we all should let our legs go, making sure however they can support us until the arrival at Piazza Unità. I did not get influenced from somebody starting at full throttle, I hope that Marco stays at my side, since he has good feeling in pace management. A couple of miles flying by in a flash at a rate slightly higher, we are around 3'50'' at km; madness or perhaps a gamble. The Marathon is a faithful companion, but woe to disrespect, mistreat especially in the beginning, it presents the bill. Today the bill can be seen at the Miramare Castle when runners finish its descent. I make the choice to continue on high pace, feel that the heart beats faster than usual but in life sometimes it is necessary to take risks, to get involved, groped fortune, revealed, come out. It can happen to remain scorched but can also happen to bring home a surprise. 


I run in groups or at least never isolated, I give a tribute to the fallen of World War I during the transition from Shrine Redipuglia, I noticed the split at the 10km marks with 38min24sec (average 3'50''per km). I am now at stake at this time, since slowing down now would be useless, the only choice is to persist in this tactic. Along the way the little public crossings in these villages is very warm, somebody is calling me by name (I'm wearing a tank top custom), I am however highly concentrated and I only reply with a nod. An athlete that is at his first marathon is running alongside me, we exchange a few words and warn of approaching the tough uphill stretch that starts at km 19. 

The uphill path determines the increase in my focus, I hide myself from the world. My attention goes into managing the shortest path in the curves, always choose the direction that allows me to do less road, slightly increase the pressure to compensate for the slope and lose as little as possible. The split at the 20 km mark was still good at 4'06''. In the town of Duino, I have to turn right to reach the carpet that marks the half marathon, noticing that in the parallel street there are friends departing for the half marathon. I then receive many incitements from friends ready to go for the relay marathon. The transition to half is 1h21:49. The confluence of the two races brings me a delighted surprise, I find myself alongside those that run on my own pace. I found among those individuals Cristian Gerussi with whom often I "fight" in short races and who has been repeatedly "to my tow "in his attempts to break down the wall of 3 hours. I do not have the courage to ask him to keep me at least once but as often happens in life the feeling of working more explicit requests and I will make the side and go. With two people, the climb is completed faster and better, until the 25 km I have lost only about fifteen seconds. The village of Aurisina marks the end of fear but also the awareness that in the next km of downhill we can not save ourself. I am surrounded by friends participating to the half marathon, and I let myself following the freshness of their rhythm. I look at the split: 3'49'', 3'51'', 3'55'', then again 3'40'' at the 34km (full downhill), 3'43''to Miramare. I am only missing seven kilometers at the end, the dream begins to become concrete, a look on the right, the horizon is something indefinite, sea and sky come together. On the descent I reached some runners, while I see other individuals among the half marathon runners. 

I stand as a goal to reach a girl who is ahead in the half, it is a slow but steady comeback, while at my side the beauty of nature is nurtured by the trail of rose colored Bavisela participants. I embrace many inducements, I recognize someone but I am obviously tense, concentrated, I give up even the hint of feedback. 



I feared that the flat path would have brought a marked slowdown chrono and instead I notice that at each mark the chrono is always less than 4 '/ km. My exploit is almost made but with my insatiable wonder, I ask my legs to make the last effort. I start to shoot a friend of exercises a couple of years ago, my gesture is in no way a gesture of defiance but to become a stimulus, a means to reach the highest possible goal. I reached him at the 40th km, I run side by side, escapes some "touch", he redeems; I proceed with my pace and I overtake him.  I understand that this butt will be a harbinger of an increased pace in the last kilometers, "touches" become "healthy elbow" as a middle distance race, we are now in Piazza Unità, the mark 42km, with an eye split (3'44''is the result of the fight). Now the exploit has finally been accomplished, I return after four years to enjoy time for framing. I enjoy it at least in these last 200 meters, greeting the audience cheers, and there is a gesture of anger at the bad luck. With me under the banner, the announcement of the speaker making public my joy and my final time. I finish my 156th marathon with a time of 2:43 '55''in 17th absolute position. I would not have even seen in a mirage, but this time is real, it is there on that clock and I enjoy it. In the moments after the marathon I receive compliments from many people. I share this satisfaction with all those who have crowned their dreams and those who, for one reason or another, must defer to the next.

2008 Florence Marathon: a live experience

This post describes a live experience for the November 2008 Florence Marathon (or Firenze Marathon) and gives you insight of what it is really look like. Below you can find an Italian translation from the original posting on the 2008 Florence Marathon live experience. Reader can also check the 2009 Florence Marathon live experience. The next 2010 Florence Marathon is scheduled on the 28th of November 2010.

At 8:30am, my brother Luke and Elena accompanied me near the start of the 25th Marathon of Florence, Piazzale Michelangelo. We are approximately 7,000 competitors.


I got the strange impression that Bavisela was already crowded. Actually, Firenze cannot really be compared to mountains competitions.
It is cold, with lots of annoying drizzle. I avoid warming up, because I then need to stop for few minutes in the cold before the departure.


After greeting Luke and Helen, I enter the 3 hours 40 minutes corral, that is the time that I intended to do. Let's hope so but, unlike Bavisela, in Florence I do not know the way, I did not even bother to look on the map of Florence. This was an impromptu marathon and will be so until the last!


At 9:20am, with the live Rai, we go! We wait for 2 minute before passing the real starting line, we walk, then, little by little, we find the space and begins to run. The cold, little by little, disappears.


The first kilometers are on a beautiful run down. I keep a fairly sustained pace (for me at least), running to the left, on a pedestrian street that runs alongside the main road, via Nicolo Machiavelli, that leads, down, up to Porta Romana. I would like to visit the Boboli Gardens, but today is not the case. It will be for next time.
The long and beautiful descent is over, we then start the tour inside the city.


The people, by the roadside or from the windows, participates actively in the marathon, cheering and encouraging the athletes. And this one is the big differences compared to the known Bavisela. In Trieste, there was much of the route in quiet areas with few people, with the exception of arrival in Piazza Unità d'Italia. Here in Florence, however, the presence of people encouraging the runners is practically constant. This helps both the race! Thanks!


The Virtual Trainer Garmin Forerunner informs me that I am ahead of time that I set. Here, in a hurry, I set the units of measurement in miles and I forgot to set the alarm for every km, which has always proved to be of some use. Patience. I forget to look at my GPS and I run with my feeling, trying not to massacre them too.


I skip the first refreshment: I do not feel the need, with the Florence moisture I do not feel the need to drink and snack. Time and kilometers pass, arriving at 21th with a time of 1h44, well, a normo-athlete like me!


A little at a time, I reach the pacers for the three and a half hours, just before a refreshement. Well! Too bad that, after the refreshement, I can not reach them and I was hoping that I could increase the pace, but a series of red flags, they put me on alert. I do not want to end up like the previous marathon after finishing, I was destroyed. I could not get up and I was dizzy. Never more so.


I reached the fateful 30km in Via Magenta, with a time of 2.23h.
The most boring run will reveal to be the Cascine Park: the refreshments with lots of energy bars, energade, bananas etc. enliven this tedious tract. Boring perhaps because I felt the fatigue. In the distance I see the pink balloons of 3 hours and thirty, but: nothing, I just can not reach them.


The last miles, the center of Florence, are the best. Applause and encouragement of the public are getting stronger, runners feel the adrenaline! Beautiful!
I pass the finish line with a 3:28:23 RealTime: a good result for me! I congratulate myself. "Bravo David!"


I feel tired, but not destroyed. Someone else competitor stumbles, dragging his legs. Like me in the previous marathon. Mistakes we learn.


Immediately after the line comes the most annoying part: the delivery of chips. We are herded like cattle into a narrow street cordoned off, sweaty and tired in the cold,  luckily that several volunteers are doing their utmost to give us the profits sheets "Heat", which we repaired properly cold.
I had not anticipated all of this mess: I can not find Luke and Helen. I enter a bar located upon arrival (after having received the 5 euros for the security of the chip), I got a coffee and I requested a free of charge phone call. Call home (one of the few numbers I know by heart). "'Hello, this is me. I arrived earlier than expected ... Luke alerts direct to go home, ok? .. yes, well ... everything! "


Ahead of schedule. Small satisfaction! After I give myself another hour or satisfaction, in fact, two: two nice kebab in a row, just to replenish the protein. And in the evening at home in Trieste, I cornered Steaks. So much of my desires of vegetarianism.


It is 4pm and the time to take the train back to Trieste. At the station you immediately notice the marathon ... who is wearing the jacket of the goody bag, medal and those who, like me, is teetering slightly, cursing every step.
By train I sit next to another runner. Rumor is a little bit, until the classic question: "What time did you?" - I rejoice: 3.29h. The runner in front of me, not very young but definitely in shape, from Bologna, said to me: 2.50h. Oh my, I said: six training sessions per week give great results. It is for sure better than my 3 fickle training sessions!


What can I say: beautiful Florence, the beautiful location and impeccable organization. To be redone! See you next year, Florence!