Luca Alberto Montanari
«The 100 km of Passatore? For a Faenza native like me it’s not a simple race, but it’s magic.” Gabriele Turroni was born in Faenza in 1989 and, in his baggage, he has already included five editions of one of the most evocative (and tiring) races in Italy. Between Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th May Turroni will run the sixth, with the hope of improving his personal best, which is a memory quite distant in time: «Yes – he confirms – it’s a distant memory because I haven’t run the 100km del Passatore for five years now years. In 2020, Covid was to blame, which forced us to stay at home for more than two months, the following year we moved to Imola with a special edition organized inside the racetrack, in 2022 I was busy at the World Championships of Berlin and a year ago the race was canceled due to floods. The 2024 edition finally seems safe and I can’t wait to start racing…”.
Turroni, how many 100 km have you run in your career?
«There are 11 in total, of which five in Faenza, my home. Since I was little, this has been my race, because as a Faenza native it is deeply felt and it is truly something special. At 25 I started to discover it and run. Being from Faenza lit the flame, then the rest came later. The thought of doing a 100 wasn’t immediately in my head when I started running. But subsequently running became a lifestyle and part of my routine. And therefore, for a Faenza native who runs long distances, it is almost obvious to stretch out and take this race as a challenge. And once you start, you never stop.”
You also participated in the World Championship two years ago, but the Passatore has a different flavour.
«Yes, I also did the World Cup in Berlin in 2022. As beautiful and prestigious as it is, there wasn’t the same warmth. And we are talking about a very large and beautiful city, but Florence-Faenza is something else.”
For what reason?
«Because no race gives me the emotion of the 100 km of Passatore. In Fognano in 2015, on the occasion of my debut, I had many friends with placards to escort me. Seeing my city stop and pour into the square or the streets is something unique. The festive atmosphere that involves the city and that links Florence and Faenza and the entire route cannot be described in words. There are many people who take the train in the morning and follow the race, even though they don’t have friends or relatives in the race, and this makes the race special.”
What was your best performance?
«My best time on a 100 km is 7 hours and 4 minutes at the Berlin World Championships in 2022. At Passatore I still have a high time because the last one I did, as I already said, dates back to 2019. And that day I didn’t I wasn’t even well because I was injured and I arrived walking. The personal time in Faenza was 9 hours and 8 minutes in 2018, but today I’m a different athlete, so it doesn’t matter much.”
Is it more difficult to run or prepare for a 100 km like the one in Passatore?
«Everyone has their own strategy in preparation and management. The first concept is simple: run every day, varying your workouts, with longer or shorter distances. The second concept is fundamental and concerns nutrition. I don’t follow a particular diet, but I have many precautions. The important thing is to be clear about what and when to eat during the journey, you can’t improvise on this. Time and nutrition management are the two most important aspects, then comes everything else.”
Have you ever thought, during a 100km, of giving up and never running again? And above all: have you ever wondered who makes you do it?
«In a 100 km race you can have moments of discouragement, because after all it’s like a metaphor for life. The light goes out, discouragement sets in, but then we start again. At the 60th kilometer you often feel like you’re dying, but then at the 70th you can have a fresh leg and go faster. It’s a bit like life, there are ups and downs, which should not be rejected but faced throughout the entire journey. When I run I know I’m doing something I like, so I know that discomfort is always rewarded with something positive. The important thing is that the goal and the race do not become an obsession.”
What is your goal for this edition?
«I don’t want to go unbalanced and I stay buttoned up (he smiles, ed.). Let’s say improve the 9 hours, a fairly high time, and maybe stay close to my personal best of 7 hours from two years ago at the World Championships.”
