Rain, cold and … Cetilar at the Asics Firenze Marathon

Epic: this is the best word to describe the 34th edition of the Asics Firenze Marathon, the race that took place yesterday in the capital of Tuscany in prohibitive weather conditions – to say the least.
Indeed, the rain accompanied the start of the 8,970 runners at 8:30 from Piazza Duomo, with departure given by the Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella, and while the raindrops increased in intensity, the temperature dropped suddenly, down to 7 degrees.
Because of these teally tough conditions, many athletes arrived at the finish line exhausted after having used up all their psychophysical resources, then reassured by the post-race massages offered by the team of professional physiotherapists managed directly by the PharmaNutra staff, at work with all the products of the Cetilar line, among the sponsors of the Florence marathon.
Once again, this initiative was highly appreciated by runners, who have shown great interest in a brand that has now steadily entered the collective knowledge of running enthusiasts, as witnessed extensively by the two days of the Florence Marathon Expo where Cetilar’s stand has been one of the most popular.
Talking about the final results of the Asics Firenze Marathon (8,428 athletes entered the official rankings within the time limit), it’s been a battle with a final sprint to the last meter of the straight line between the athlete from Bahrain Zelalem Bacha Regasa and the Ethiopian Tadesse Mamo Temechachu. It ended in a photofinish with a success for the 29-year-old Regasa in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 41 seconds. In  third place, behind Temechachu, the Kenyan Gilbert Kipruto Kirwa finished in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 38 seconds, while the first Italian to reach the finish line, fifth overall, was the athlete of the Fiamme Gialle team, Ahmed El Mazoury, who completed for the first time the distance in 2 ore, 24 minutes and 9 seconds, which the 16th result in the Italian performance. Luca Tocco of GP Alpi Apuane Park finished in eighth place, the first athlete from Tuscany.
For the women’s race, it ended with an all Ethiopian podium. We saw a great duel between the winner Arissi Dire Tunee and the young Sorome Negash Amente (20 years just completed). Between the two, the challenge was shoulder-to-shoulder up to 40 km, when undaunted Arissi Dire Tune managed to maintain her rhythm to win in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 55 seconds, third ever performance in Florence, while Amente foundered, losing about 50 seconds in the last 2 km, and finished in 2 hours, 29 minutes and 46 seconds. At the third place, we find Mesera Hussen Dubiso, while Vicente Maurizia Cunico, the first Italian, took eighth place in 2 hours, 53 minutes and 51 seconds, with Anna Laura Mugno from Orecchiella Garfagnana in tenth place and the first athlete from Tuscany.
As always at the Florence Marathon the focus was high on the competition devoted to disabled people: for the second consecutive year victory went to Christian Giagnoni, athlete from Prato and member of the Giletti Team. He finished the race in 1 hour and 20 minutes, in front of Dario Bartolotta in 1 hour, 21 minutes and 51 seconds and Fabrizio Caselli in 1 hour, 22 minutes and 40 seconds. Among the women, Laura Bassi won in 2 hours, 17 minutes and 31 seconds, followed by Grazia Colosio.
Also of note was the presence in Florence of Alex Zanardi, engaged with his handbike in assisting “Objective 3” athletes in their preparation for the Paralympics of Tokyo 2020.