Ossigeno

120 121 u n d e r p r e s s u r e u n d e r p r e s s u r e the emerodrome and the art of running. an interview with stefano baldini #under pressure curated by Federico Tosi From the union of the Greek terms ἡμέρα [pr. hēméra , tr. 'day'] and δρόμος [pr. drómos , tr. 'he who runs'], in ancient Greece the emerodrome was the messenger trained to travel long distances in a short time and independently, in order to deliver important messages from one city to another. The emerodrome par excellence is Pheidippides, Athenians soldier and hero of the fifth century BC: legend has it that he ran from the plain of Marathon to Athens [42.195 km] to communicate the victory of the polis against the Persian army. It was 490 BC and, by the chronicles of Plutarch and Lucian of Samosata, Pheidippides’ venture has become one of the symbols of the sport par excellence : the marathon, queen specialty of every modern Olympics, evocation of fatigue and stoicism, example of efforts as of the values of sports practice. This tale, in this story, crosses with Ancient Romans and the meaning that Latins gave the term luck, conceived as ' fate' more than a reward event linked to chance. This to say that luck can also be seen as a spinning wheel, but it is up to man to be ready both in time and in the ability to jump on it. Luck, as Latin would have defined it, has been grabbed in 2004 by the marathon runner Stefano Baldini all by himself, conquering right in Athens the Olympic Gold. He built his fate on his own, while good luck came, in that edition of the Games, indicating him as winner at the finish line. In 2004 Baldini did not win an Olympic marathon – yet an epic result – but he conquered The Marathon , the original one, running for 2 hours and 10 minutes on those 42.195 kilometers connecting the city of Marathon with the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens. Baldini won the marathon in the land where Olympic Games were born, along the route that Pheidippides had travelled before him. Talking about metaphors of life, marathons can be like exams. Everyone faces obstacles on the ground of their own paths. Here, Stefano Baldini teaches us to run overcoming verbs and terms proper to this topic; lesson blossoming out of it has a universal scope. Here it applies to running, but motivation and practice are common elements of every success, of every balance. What is the story of the runner Stefano Baldini? From which characteristic or impetus did he understand that this was the road? Everything stemmed from my family, from three older brothers who start before me to do athletics and compete in that phenomenon of running on country roads, burst in Italy back in the '80s. I was the smallest and the most puny, but also the lightest and the quickest. I loved this feeling of freedom that running gives you – in addition to the pleasure of competing, which has always surpassed that of training, even when the level has risen up to the world one. Running really became a way of expressing and growing in the world, through travels, competitions, opponents and training/adventure companions. Let's frame the runner. Now that attention to one's body and well-being has become a widespread culture, common feeling is that those who run do not only change physically, but also mentally. What characteristics stand behind a person who chooses this kind of physical activity? First of all, there is the mood for confronting yourself, even before than for confronting an adversary. The fact that you have nothing except your own body you can rely on teaches you quickly, at any age or any ability to perform, to recognize sensations and signals, as to manage your own strength. There is a true mind/body connection that no other sport makes so profound. Running is the most democratic and accessible sport existing. What do we need to detoxify ourselves from, in order to start running? We need to detoxify from fear of making a poor showing, of being ashamed of how limited we are at the beginning, because everything will be compensated by the satisfaction of small initial goals as of meeting many other people who, just like you, have decided to spend a little more time in a standing position, instead of staying perpetually seated. Back to basics: posture and concentration. We have to talk about body first, and mind right after. In short: how to run? In general, running attitude foresees an upright position posture, with shoulders perpendicular to the pelvis and to the placement of the foot. Shoulders should be relaxed, you should keep a 90-degree elbow’s angle and hands not completely closed in fist, in order to keep the arm muscles relaxed too. Placement of the foot is conditioned by the speed that we can express. If, walking, we tend to take ground pushing forward the heel to complete the step, with a rolling on the plant and on the tip of the foot, the faster we run and the more the support must involve the whole flat of the foot, with a final push of the step on the tip. Every time we lean on the heel, we will tend to brake our speed, thus being forced to spend energy to start again. I am talking about a range of speed starting from 15 km/ h up, for already trained athletes. Consequently it will be fine, especially in the beginning, putting the heel on the ground for first. What is a classic mistake that you notice about the others, through your eyes 'spoiled' by your profession/passion? Expecting everything at once, then exaggerating, investing in first workouts all we have not done for years. Gradualism, at every level, allows the runner to cultivate patience of small improvements, real providers of passion and desire to move regularly. Another classic mistake stands behind the choice of the shoe that, especially at the beginning, must be recommended by an expert. For this reason I suggest you to go to a specialized shop, nowadays everywhere equipped with simple technological tools to check your sole support and to recommend the right shoe for everyone.