24Nov 24
Milan 21, here’s how a medium becomes a large medium
The details always make the difference. Or good ideas. The eleven thousand who ran the Milano 21 this morning will have appreciated various things about this half marathon which now has the makings of a major event in a city where running has always been complicated. The setting of the Fair which hosts the village works for prestige and functionality; the choice to run in the center and not hide the runners in the peripheral streets works with the aim of disturbing the slow flow of the city’s Sunday rituals as little as possible; From a technical point of view, the fast and smooth route also works with the only real difficulty being the long stretch of cobblestone that leads from Largo Augusto to Piazza del Duomo: a couple of kilometers of real suffering for the use and consumption of the many foreigners in the race who were thus able to appreciate the fashion streets, the Scala theater and the cathedral. The date works, because a winter half marathon in Milan is always an event to put on the agenda, just as the Milan Marathon actually was years ago, which was unfortunately then moved to the spring with various important concomitances. But what works above all in Milano21 is the sense of respect that those who organize have for those who run. And this can be seen precisely from the details or good ideas. An excellent idea was to bring the bag storage inside the Mico exhibition space, a huge area which generally hosts fairs and exhibitors, where the marathon village was convenient in recent days but above all where the eleven thousand participants who, after the effort of the race, they found a warm place to refresh themselves and change. Which is no small thing, in fact with the cold it was this morning in Milan, it’s a lot. An added value that makes a half marathon a great half marathon. The rest is news. Two absolute protagonists who delivered two excellent final time trials in a half-final season. Among the men, the Valle d’Aosta Xavier Chevrier who won with a time of 1:03’21”; among the women the blue carabiniera Joanna Epis who closed his performance in 1:12’48”. In the 10 km first at the finish line Alberto Mondazzi in 29’45” and, in the women’s field, the Slovenian Klara Lukanwith 31’04”. Finally, it is worth mentioning the clumsy attempt by a group of activists to Latest Generation who tried to block the athletes at the finish line by unfurling a banner but who were promptly stopped by the policemen who were guarding the route and above all the half marathon of Daniele Sironiwho received a heart transplant five years ago due to a heart problem. He reached the finish line in 2 hours and 12 minutes, so mission accomplished. Now his next challenge will be to try to reach the end of a half Ironman. Which in his case is not a detail but certainly a great idea, the same one that has allowed him to get his life back in recent years.