MARCIALONGA LEGENDS: COUNTDOWN FOR THE MARCIALONGA "SENATORS" PROJECT

“44 Marcialonga races for 10 incredibly strong skiers”: the 15th of October the Marcialonga Legends project has begun with the aim of enhancing what the 10 Marcialonga “senators” represent and will represent in the future, i.e. the history and memory of Marcialonga. The Organising committee decided to gather these ten skiers, who took part in the legendary Italian skiing-marathon every single year, in order to tell about the incredible experience of these men, that on the 29th of January 2017 will participate in the race for the 44th time, for a total of 2,918,5 km: “An extremely valuable human heritage that we decided to celebrate with a photograph and storytelling project, with their faces carved by the passing of time”, says the Marcialonga team.
The location of the first day of this “journey back in time” was Maso delle Coste in Predazzo (Trentino region - Italy). The convivial meeting gave the opportunity to live the splendour of past times again, with skis made of wood, traditional wool and cotton clothing, when the race of 70 km from Moena to Cavalese, passing through Canazei, was a totally new and almost legendary enterprise. In the last 50 years, cross-country skiing has radically changed, but has kept its original spirit: The challenge with yourself, with other competitors and the effort, in the beautiful winter landscape of the valleys of Fiemme and Fassa. Styles and techniques have changed, as have materials and clothing, from classic style to skating, to kick double pole. The hosting valleys have changed as well, as have the Marcialonga organisation, increasingly focussed on every single detail, and weather conditions, with mild temperatures and a reduction of snowfalls that force the organising committee to spend more and more time in the preparation of the track.
Marcialonga starts again from these 10 “senators”, from the race history, in the awareness that this journey will offer great emotions to cross-country skiing lovers, especially to young skiers who will take part for the first time in one of the world’s most renowned skiing marathons, with the hope of reaching the goal of these ten legendary skiers. The appointment is for November when the stories of Costantino Costantin, Ivo Andrich, Luigi Delvai, Armando Zambaldo, Giovanni Mariani, Aulo Avanzinelli, Odillo Piotti, Marco Aurelio Nones, Luciano Bertocchi and Fabio Lunelli will be shared with all Marcialonga enthusiasts.