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Un po’ di cose che ho scritto

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Relentless pursuit

Olympic Trials

World Mountain Running Championship – Patagonia

Don’t mind this

fra_puppinho

Climbing is my thing. Running uphill is like danc

Climbing is my thing.

Running uphill is like dancing in slow motion. Gravity softens the movements and the body blends with the trail and the surrounding environment.

When I run well, what strikes me is how every step is taken with the right amount of energy and the right care needed. Your feet must land in that exact place, on that tiny ledge on a rock, on that tree root, on that seemingly impossible passage. That is the result of endless hours of training, but also of the pure randomness of electrostatic forces holding atoms together in a rock and the friction between your shoes and the ground. No energy is wasted, no movement is superfluous.

It’s cool. I felt the right type of climbing fitness during the training leading up to @goldentrailseries final and I immediately recognized it. It’s such a precious feeling, so difficult to kindle, so sweet to savor.

@nike @nikerunning

Picture: @philippreiter007

#climbing #trail #trailrunning #niketrail #uphill #strength #endure #mountains #elhierro #canaryislands #goldentrailseries #madness #runforgood #trailaddicted #sharethetrail

We ran together the first climb. @stianangermund i

We ran together the first climb. @stianangermund in the front for the first 20’, then it was me taking the lead while we were already building a good gap from the rest of the group.

We reached the top after 45’, the lush vegetation and the black volcanic sand making the perfect setting for my favorite part of the race. The downhill started quite soon: I knew that it would have been my weak point but that if I could survive quite well, I would have chances to make the race hard where the terrain was more suitable to my characteristics. @sylvaincachard @b.przedwojewski @fredtranchand @elhousine_elazzaoui and @andersponny passed me on the steepest part, with one km being approximately a -45% grade on very technical terrain. They made a 1’ gap which I quickly closed on the 1.5km of road along the sea. Maybe the Veniano Loop came into help right there.

With @remi_bonnet in sight, I attacked the bottom of the second climb and soon started to feel fatigued. The relentless grade and the heat were starting to take a toll on me, but I wasn’t the only. Climbing at my own pace i soon dropped Rémi and put Stian into target. I bridged most of my gap on him during the final 150m of elevation and at the top of the second climb, he was in sight.

What wasn’t expected by my side was the comeback of @thibaut_baronian on the second descent. I thought, naively, that the race was going to be between me, Rémi and Stian. Instead Thibo looked quite strong and focused.

I grabbed a bottle of water, a flask and a white cap from my coach as hydration and heat management were clearly playing a crucial role in the development of the race. On the third and final climb I was whining and struggling like few times before. I reached Stian and Thibaut. It took ages to get to the top.

Then it was me and Stian, with him making a small mistake and injuring his leg while he was trying to get back on the right course. Sometimes a race is decided by unforeseen circumstances, and we fear to admit how fate plays a role in sport and in life.

I let myself go over the final 4km of downhill, trying to be lucid and taking extra care in the last dive towards the ocean.

I won.

Sometimes you just need to believe it until the en

Sometimes you just need to believe it until the end.

Today I was the fastest on @goldentrailseries final @theoneraceelhierro - if we run again tomorrow, everything will change. It’s the beauty of our sport!

Thanks to everyone who helped me and shared the trail with me, you are amazing!
My best thoughts to @stianangermund who fell during the final descent. You won the series, you deserved it!

All the love! 🤟🏾

Photos: @jsaragossa @philippreiter007

@nikerunning @corosglobal @goldentrailseries @vert.run @engieitalia

#goldentrailseries #runforgood #niketrail #madness #elhierro #2021 #untiltheend

It’s a pretty sick group of athletes. I think t

It’s a pretty sick group of athletes.

I think this morning we all lived a very cool moment when, for an hour or so, we discussed the future developments of the @goldentrailseries. Each one of us carrying his point of view, his expectations and hopes. We must not forget that athletes are and should be always at the core of this multifaceted and diverse discipline that we call trail running. Without us, there would be no race, no series, no federation or company related to this sport.

Trail running is on the edge of becoming a truly professional sport and being one of the many players involved in this historic passage is quite exciting. I think it’s our duty, as elite athletes, to leave a legacy, to inspire people and leave the sport in a healthier state than when we started. We have a unique chance to create for the next generation a better ecosystem within the sport, from an athletic, environmental, financial and social point of view. Let’s not waste this opportunity. We are making it!

Run for good. Race at the fullest 🤟🏾

@theoneraceelhierro @goldentrailseries final 36km +2800m
⏱ Saturday, October 16th, 10am CET
📍El Hierro, Canary Islands, Spain

Photos: @jsaragossa @philippreiter007

#run #trail #trailrunning #fall2021 #elhierro #canaryislands #goldentrailseries #niketrail #trailculture

I AM FUCKING FIT GUYS, you should be afraid of me!

I AM FUCKING FIT GUYS, you should be afraid of me!

Trying not to break the other wrist (and keeping the healing one safe) is the number one goal for Saturday, the rest will be just about having fun and enjoy the trails on this beautiful island. I know @volletgreg already put some surprises on the course 😂 in perfect @goldentrailseries style. While I have learned not to complain too much and accept the challenges that every trail running course has - pushing where I know I can push, running conservatively where I need - I still want to play my cards on Saturday. I am looking forward to rocking it actually, and then resting like there’s no next season 😍

Fun day of course recognition (only the last 10k to maintain the surprise of the first 25), picnic on the cliffs, little swim in the ocean and @vert.run online meeting (thanks guys for always supporting me!). Three more days!

Photo: @philippreiter007

#goldentrailseries #niketrail #madness #fall2021 #elhierro #theonerace #canarias #kickoftheweek #anysurfaceavailable #downhillmadness #trailrunning #trailaddicted #sharethetrail

#NOBORDERS 📸 @b.przedwojewski

#NOBORDERS

📸 @b.przedwojewski

Ho riflettuto parecchio se pubblicare o meno quest

Ho riflettuto parecchio se pubblicare o meno questa foto.
È appesa nella sala di casa mia a Guanzate, insieme ad altre fotografie di corsa. Ieri mezzogiorno, una delle rarissime volte in cui io e Rita abbiamo avuto il tempo e la calma per ritrovarci a pranzo con le mie sorelle e mia mamma, l’ho casualmente rivista e non ho potuto fare a meno di collegarla ai recenti fatti accaduti a Roma.
Mi sono chiesto se dire la mia su questi episodi, in particolare sull’aggressione alla sede della Cgil da parete di esponenti fascisti. Fascisti. Ho quasi timore a utilizzare questa parola, ma credo anche che le cose e le persone vadano chiamate con il loro nome. Perché il lessico, la scelta delle parole conta, conta eccome, nelle relazioni e nel contesto sociale in cui le usiamo, al contrario di ciò che loro vorrebbero farci credere.

Solitamente non mi piace condividere fatti e riflessioni legate alla politica sui social: non li ritengo una piattaforma particolarmente adatta a discutere della cosa pubblica; direi che ne abbiamo tutti sufficienti esempi. E poi uno mica per forza deve avere un’opinione su tutto. E soprattutto, quell’opinione non dev’essere necessariamente interessante per gli altri, o condivisibile/instagrammabile. Però stavolta credo di sì. E in ogni caso l’attacco alla Cgil mi tocca da molto vicino.

Esiste un’estrema destra apertamente neofascista, violenta, prepotente, ed esiste un’ampia categoria di persone che pur non identificandosi completamente o apertamente in quel movimento, ne condivide i modi, i simboli, il linguaggio, una retorica estremista e violenta che attecchisce facilmente in luoghi in cui esistono tensioni sociali, scarsa cultura, disagio e rabbia spesso alimentata dalle stesse persone “per bene”. Lo vedevo molto facilmente nei ragazzi quando insegnavo al liceo scientifico, lo vedo abbastanza spesso nel piccolo mondo della corsa, l’ho visto perfino stamattina nel passeggero seduto di fianco a me sul volo Milano-Tenerife, nella normalità con cui si rivolgeva in maniera aggressiva e sessista perfino alla sua ragazza, nella disinvoltura con cui accedeva a gruppi xenofobi, razzisti e estremisti sul suo smartphone.

(Continua nei commenti)

All these people running fast 😍 make me itchy t

All these people running fast 😍 make me itchy to race again. Maybe I’ll run one next week 🤷🏽‍♂️

#fallracing #madness #2021 #running #anysurfaceavailable #niketrail #readyforxc #whatamigonnado #goodforyou #workworkwork

Photo: @emmiecoll

8 days to go. Punk run on the infamous Veniano loo

8 days to go. Punk run on the infamous Veniano loop, with the Infamous Bearded Bastard 🤟🏾
For sure, a good omen for more bastonate 🐗

Shots: @glo_87 🚴🏽‍♀️

#infamousbeardedbastard #punkrunning #niketrail #dangerousplaces #thisisnotaboutrunning #ritastyle #pierastyle #sunset #fall2021 #haircut

10 days to go. On Saturday, October 16th I will ta

10 days to go. On Saturday, October 16th I will take part in the @goldentrailseries final in El Hierro, Canary Islands. I currently occupy the 7th position of the ranking - the same one I finished in last year’s Golden Trail Championships in the Azores. This year’s format will be different though, a one day final (37km, 2800m of vert) and not a stage race like in 2020, which was a bit special due to the pandemic.

So it seems like the end of season coincides with running on a volcanic island. It’s cool because nobody is really used to that type of terrain that we will find, all of us elites being “alpine” trail runners. So I don’t know, I am not even sure what exactly I am preparing for. I know for sure that I want to have fun - and this for me most often ties with running fast.

It’s been a quite strange year - I have reached levels of fitness that I had never touched, I have become pretty solid when dealing with some workouts and training blocks, I developed useful athletic qualities for my future, but I have never really found myself the way I was expecting, especially during races. I know there’s still one possibility that can very much influence this perception. I am ready for tapering.
Almost time to let the legs do the talking

📸 @una_grana

#thisisnotaboutrunning #anysurfaceavailable #niketrail #goldentrailseries #borntired #fall2021 #elhierro #onerace #sharethetrail

I think that, eventually, everything came together

I think that, eventually, everything came together in my final big training session of 2021. I have been searching for signs of fitness, efficiency and just feeling at my ease in the mountains for the whole summer, and never actually found what I was looking for.

It might be useless, it might end up in nothing, but I don’t necessarily train for a result, a ribbon or a medal. I run to run.

Being in a sweet spot is both a mental and physical state - and while I feel like my body is pretty close to falling apart (a broken wrist, another latent injury that I’ve been dealing with since February, other small everyday issues..I won’t annoy you any longer) and I need rest, I am still capable of producing efforts that my mind can actually sustain. Today’s long run felt very rewarding - besides the numbers (24,6km with 1800m of vert in 2h21’) because I enjoyed being out there with the elements, close enough to the best physical effort I can produce, far enough from any other human being. It took me back to a very similar session I did before flying to Patagonia, in the fall of 2019, with the same weather conditions and a not so different mental state. It’s not the “flow”, it’s not stuff for mental coaches, which seem to have become even more popular after the Olympics.. it’s something I am not sure how to call but I can tell you it’s pretty damn nice and somewhat familiar. I think writing this down will help me draw the right conclusions at the end of the season and better plan what is next. There is so much energy in what we do with passion and everyday consistency. We must not forget.

All the love 🤟🏾

📸 @ul_fabius © 2019 / 🤳 @fra_puppinho

No cell phone was carried during this session, obviously

#whywerun #milesformiles #niketrail #longrun #forwhatisworth #madness #season22 #uphill #mountainstateofmind #mistytapering #comolaketrailrunning #trailaddicted #sharethetrail

16 settembre 2006 #havingbreakfast

16 settembre 2006

#havingbreakfast

Walking like a bastard just moments before I broke

Walking like a bastard just moments before I broke my wrist! 😱
@redbulldolomitenmann was #madness this year 🤦🏽🙈
No strength and in weakest conditions! A bad fall made my day a perfect one.
Rita ran the race course in a better time than me in training before she started yelling like crazy 😱

#redbull #wrist #rita #sharingmadness #nojoke #brokenbones #goingtohell #niketrail #uphill #alps #bending #walking

Next weekend there is a freaking cool mountain run

Next weekend there is a freaking cool mountain running event taking place on the very very tip of Italy’s heel. Gagliano del Capo, Salento, Puglia, is hosting Trofeo Ciolo, the 11th stage of 2021 mountain running World Cup and a race you should totally want to run.

Yes it’s mountain running at the sea, in one of the most beautiful sceneries of the Italian coasts. I promise, you will not miss the Alps. I have been to Gagliano three times, both to run Trofeo Ciolo (which I won last year) and for winter training camps. The course may look simple but it’s brutal, with steep climbs and technical downhills in the Mediterranean bush and over dry stone walls. The colors, light and scenery are just breathtaking. Competition will be fierce too! I think it’s cool that mountain running crosses over its classic settings and cathedrals to explore new landscapes and types of terrain.

Whatever you decide to do, run, support, share, follow @trofeociolo! And check out my stories for more snaps and info

@weareinpuglia @salento_official_page @wmramountainrun @atleticaitaliana

#ciolo #gaglianodelcapo #santamariadileuca #weareinpuglia #mountainrunning #coast #runners #amazing #mediterranean #worldcup #facile

Just moments before my race took the turn of a wal

Just moments before my race took the turn of a walk for mushrooms 🍄🤦🏽

The Oscar for the most struggle and worst race of the year went in the books with a 1h30’ effort and 8th individual at @redbulldolomitenmann. Fortunately my team was good enough to lift me up to a 4th final position!

I kinda knew it, going into the race, and I had my own reasons for it. Also, three races in a row, including an (ultra) marathon, are too much for me at this time of the year. I was not well prepared for the amount of vert and descents that I did in Germany.

I now feel the need to go back to basics and schedule a solid training block before the final big goal of this year, @theoneraceelhierro in Canary Islands which will host @goldentrailseries final. I hope my body will be good enough to handle the effort - and my mind sharp enough to approach it with joy and courage. Going towards the fall I question my ability to do things with efficiency and care

#nonostante #paininthelegs #madness #niketrail #goodforyou #austria #lienz #redbull #underdog #fall #summerstrust #anysurfaceavailable #30after30

Tag the person you have never beaten in a race thi

Tag the person you have never beaten in a race this year (but that you have smoked at photo shootings) 🤟🏾

All the love @cecemaestri!

South Tirol free running experience + mostly walking and having lunch at the rifugio 🧆

#alps #lienz #tirol #alpine #running #trailrunning #niketrail #madness #anysurfaceavailable #trailaddicted #neabbiamo #solo #vertical #brakes #panda #lake #awesome #fun #summer2021 #comenoi

Shot: @fedecasari11

Keep the dream alive #niketrail #madness #sick #t

Keep the dream alive

#niketrail #madness #sick #traverse #run

Credits:
Content which makes sense @jsaragossa @koastalforest
Content which doesn’t make sense @edo.melloni @fra_puppinho

How to stop at a refreshment point during a trail

How to stop at a refreshment point during a trail race:

- ask yourself should I stop or not? Answer is always that those seconds are worth, in one way or the other. So IDK..
- start looking for a flask in your trail belt or backpack miles before the refreshment point
- swear hard because you can’t fine the flask and because your hands have gotten as sticky as glue with the energy gels left in your pockets
- stop in front if the refreshment table and ask yourself “and now what!?”
- without hesitation, kneel down, open the tap and let the water flow into your throat

#madness #trailrunning #thisishowyoudoit #mountainrunning #backpack #refreshment #chiemgau #germany #goldentrailseries #niketrail #expert #softflask #trailbelt #alps #summit #endurance #endurancesport #energygels #foodporn #ultramarathon

Yelling all the madness out of me! Today I took s

Yelling all the madness out of me!

Today I took second at the 5th stage of Golden Trail World Series at the beautiful @chiemgau_trail_run. A race that has the potential to be come a great classic.I fucked up my race a bit around km 10, when I accidentally lost a shoe in the mud 😂 but in the end, it only made things more fun. Delighted to share most part of the race with @b.przedwojewski who demonstrated once again how strong he is!
Fast trails, forest roads, mud, grass, technical sections, there was a bit of everything in today’s race, as it is the style of @goldentrailseries races. In the end, a solid performance which hopefully will secure a ticket to Gran Canaria next month!

@nikerunning @corosglobal @corositalia @goldentrailseries @chiemgau_trail_run @bayern @chiemseechiemgau

#goldentrailseries #cowmadness #stickymud #laimpenniamo #runningloops #chiemgau #madness #sub3 #downhillmadness #alps #germany #niketrail #unbounded

Photos: @philippreiter007 and @jsaragossa 🤟🏾

As weird as this season has been for me, I’ve ac

As weird as this season has been for me, I’ve actually enjoyed running very little over the past few weeks. Not that I trained up to the point where running was starting to feel like a burden, but it feels good to spend the little amount of energies that I have left over a reasonably low amount of training with mostly easy runs, cross training and simple workouts. I probably got the chance to run the most weekly mileage ever with @glo_87 - we actually trained pretty much the same 😂 and no, I am not afraid to go too slow (even if @glo_87 is super though and can give you a pretty hard time if you are not on your best day!). I don’t care if my easy runs have mostly been in the > 4’30/km zone while during the winter they used to be < 4’00/km on a regular base. I just do what is good for me!

So 30’ after 30’, we’ve got to @chiemgau_trail_run - a taste of the ultra world with its 44.6km and 2600m of elevation - the 5th stage of 2021 @goldentrailseries. I’m sure the course and scenery won’t disappoint, even though I really missed @runpikespeak this year.
I am quite familiar with the beautiful Chiemgau area, being the setting of Hochfellnberglauf, which most of the mountain runner geeks will know - a milestone, legendary race that has made the history of mountain running (and that I ran 4 times).

Catch the live action on Golden Trail Series social media and YouTube channel - I will update my stories with the links. Start is tomorrow, Sept 4th, at 8 am CET.

All the love!

#running #chiemgau #benessere #germany #goldentrailseries #niketrail #alps #chiemsee #hochfelln #marquartstein #alpinerunning #ultra #marathon #trailrunning #mountainrunning #madness

Photo: @theoutdoorfeeling

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