Marathon season 2024 is now well and truly upon us and here for the foreseeable, and on Sunday 7th April, a handful of brave bandits put their headphones on, laced up their trainers and tackled the stradas of Milan, Italy.
Bullish about Milan: Pre-race adventures and carb-loading
Milan is a city with bucketloads of beautiful architecture, not least the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II shopping centre. There you will find several mosaics on the floor including one with a bull from the Turin coat of arms. Tradition has it that if you stand on the bull and spin around on your heel three times, you will have good luck. Did we all try it? Yes. Did it work? Read on to find out.
Quite possibly the main appeal for picking Milan as a spring marathon might have been the carb-loading possibilities, and on Saturday lunchtime the FRC gang assembled at a top notch ristorante to sample some incredible pizza and focaccia and discuss race strategies.
Facing the (slightly humid) challenge: Race day in Milan
Race day arrived and with it some pretty challenging conditions weather wise - 20C and 60% humidity - not really what we’ve been used to after a rainy few weeks in the UK! At just after 8:30am local time, our ambitious and crucially for Milan, trendily dressed bandits, along with over 8000 other runners, crossed the start line.
The course winds around the city centre streets before heading out west, through the striking Tre Torri business district and past the iconic San Siro football stadium, with one or two challenging inclines (!) before winding its way back into town, finishing outside the Duomo, the jawdropping cathedral at the heart of Milan.
Three cheers for PBs! Race results and celebration
We’re happy to report that FRC picked up a hattrick of PBs with Gabriel Glencross, Jordan Greenwood and Joshua Hinh all running their little socks off to set new personal best times by several minutes each… definitely cause for one or two celebratory Aperol Spritzes that evening!
Shout out to the support crew: Zoe Greenwood, our Unofficial Cheer Champion
Shout out to cheer squad champion Zoe Greenwood who darted from place to place, covering a hugely impressive 6 miles in non-running gear, and managing to take some fabulous action shots of our runners.
Over to you Manchester and London...
All in all a successful race weekend, next it’s over to you, Manchester and London Marathon runners! Cheers!
Results: Fulham Running Club at the Milan Marathon 2024
Franco Danesi - 3:39:00
Gabriel Glencross - 3:04:44
Jordan Greenwood - 3:14:41
Joshua Hinh - 4:55:41
Report jointly written by Gabriel Glencross and Joshua Hinh while on an adorable adventure across Italy together. Photo credits go to the authors and Zoe Greenwood.
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