This article first appeared in
One of the participants in this year's 100Km Del Passatore in Italy was
Odino Soligo, a 77-year-old runner from Canada. This is his story.
By Odino Soligo
Ultramarathon World
Faenza, Italy (UW) - On
May 30th 1998, a hot and sunny day, at 2:00 p.m., I, a 77-year-old man from Thornhill,
Ontario, along with the other runners, gather in Piazza della Republica in Florence to
pick up the race information. The first hurdle was already accomplished as it was an
incredible achievement to have a race with about 3,000 participants starting in the very
heart of Florence, Piazza della Signoria, at the peak of the tourist season when the
visitors are admiring all of what is displayed in that square.
At 2:30 a vehicle carrying the statue of Il Passatore, a Robin Hood type bandit of the 19th century, leads the procession of 3,000 runners through the narrow streets to the starting point. Prominent among the giant statues in Piazza della Signoria is Michelangelo's David, who seems to be exhorting us to go out and slay our own "Goliath", the 100km run to Faenza.
We waited there until 3:00 p.m. at which time the gun went off. An avalanche of runners rushed down the street in the direction of the Duomo, Florence's beautiful cathedral and bell tower, Santa Maria del Fiore. The many tourists in that area did not know what was going on, and they were surprised, to say the least, to see such a torrential flow of spirited people running so hard for no apparent reason.
Soon we started to climb up to Fiesole, one of the most exclusive residential neighborhoods of Florence. We climbed to an elevation of 518m (1700ft). At the 35km point we had descended to 195m (639ft). Then the big ascent - we started to climb to Passo Colle di Casaglia which is at an elevation of 913m (3000ft). It was the halfway mark. As I started to descend the night descended with me. With the halfway mark behind me I started down the road with renewed vigor.
Through the night the temptation of giving up did cross my mind. Also during this time I was acutely aware of all the pains that my body was feeling. The road traveled east, and at about 4:00 am I could see the dawn of the new day. I looked down at the road and I noticed that I had passed the 90km mark. Now I only had one more hour of suffering and of tribulation to go.
The road, which up until then had been winding and of slow decent, straightened out and I could see the ancient town of Faenza in the distance, my final destination. As I entered the city and the daylight increased, I could see the finish line. I crossed it and was immediately presented with a well-deserved finishing medal and three bottles of local Passatore wine.
I was one of three Canadians to participate in the race. The other two were Esmond Mah and Greg Bohuslawsky. All three of us are from the Toronto area. The following are our race results:
* Greg Bohuslawsky came in at 14:14:47 in 485th place out of 975 finishers.
* Esmond Mah came in at 13:44:21 in 424th place.
* Odino Soligo came in at 13:58:48 in 457th place.
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