Florence to Faenza 100km Ultramarathon

News Release / 13.03.2013

If you want to make your Italian experience unique, let us introduce you the ultramarathon "100km del Passatore". On May 25-26, 2013 in Florence – the cradle of the Renaissance – an extraordinary race comes to life. It is quite unique because the only thing it shares with the other competitions is the number of kilometers you have to run: one hundred. In fact, for the past 40 years the ASD 100km del Passatore club have organized an extraordinary crossing of the Appennino mountains, from the region of Tuscany to the region of Emilia Romagna, close to nature and the typical Italian towns.

The starting line is in Florence where you collect your bib number, eat a sandwich and warm up your muscles surrounded by magnificent pieces of Italian history and culture: the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral with the Brunelleschi's Dome, Piazza della Signoria, the Neptune statue, Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery... that day you will look at them with different eyes, because they won't be just a typical tourist destination, on the contrary they will support you before the start.

More than 2,000 athletes gather along the main street of city centre, via dei Calzaiuoli: top runners like the multi-awarded athlete Giorgio Calcaterra; ultramarathon amateurs; handbikers and, above all, spirited supporters of the "100km del Passatore". This route really seduces everyone, even if you will face some of the hardest hours of your running career.

Let's have a look at the route! It is a route full of challenges. First of all, the Appennino's altitude changes. After only 5 kilometers from the starting line, the slope to Fiesole, a small Tuscan town, reaches the 8%. Soft slopes and downhills characterise the next 10 kilometers up to Vetta Le Croci (km 23). From this moment even the typical Italian spring temperature will test your endurance, but the organization provides you refreshment and sponge areas every five kilometers thanks to the work of hundreds of volunteers of every age.

The route crosses slowly the villages of Polcanto and Faltona, giving you some shade and relief to your muscles. Reaching Borgo San Lorenzo (km 35) the altitude gap gradually decreases coming back to the starting level (195 meters above sea level). So we now enter the marvellous countryside of Mugello valley, among the rolling hills, the tall cypress trees and against the background of mountain peaks and passes. Silent waters, a delightful countryside, friendly, peaceful, with hard-working people and healthy food. Through the fascinating old Faentina railway line that takes the visitors into the Mugello area, you can admire the land of the Medici dynasty, some historical villas and an awe-inspiring landscape.

The route from Borgo San Lorenzo to the mid-point will leave you breathless, not only because this moment requires one of the strongest efforts of the race (uphill running 15%), but above all because you enter the core of the Appennino Tosco-Romagnolo mountains, surrounded by uncontaminated beech, chestnut and oak woods, by vast meadows at times interrupted by juniper bushes or by the outcrop of stones.