On June 12, when the “6 days of Pantano” (a 6-day, non-stop running race run on a ring route of a little more than 1 km (0.6 miles) was over, I organized an hour-long live video streaming on Facebook to answer some of the many questions you asked during the race.
I wanted to give my English-speaking followers a quick run-down of what we talked about because many of you could find the answers interesting.
By the way, the race has been a (personal) success with 601 km (373 miles) covered. The very thought makes my head hurt, but there you go…
I’ll start with a comment by Lino Ravanello who said, “Without mental strength, none of this would be possible.” I bet we’d all agree with Lino. Mental strength is an essential factor to get through this experience, as it is, in general, for all kinds of human endeavors. The way I see it, mental strength is just the ability to not give into the temptation of an immediate reward in order to get a greater reward in the future. That goes for racing, for work, for everything. This is a trait that sets us apart from animals, which are driven only by instinct. It lets us dream, plan and then keep going until we reach a goal that might be quite far in the future.
Cisto Il Was there really retro running? Yes, there was really retro running, which is a discipline that even has world championships. And it’s a great complementary workout for regular runners too because it develops better balance between the front and back of the body (usually poorly developed), which helps us improve our upright posture, balance, and neuro-muscular efficiency. Several runners in the 6-day race used back-running to keep going while resting the muscle areas constantly stressed by traditional running.
Riccardo BearGrylls Bassilichi How did you resist the temptation to keep on stopping in the bungalows? Sometimes I beat the temptation, and sometimes I didn’t. What I did was to set a goal (100 km; 62 miles) every day, divide it by two and then set two intermediate goals to reach: 50 km by 12 pm, 50 km by 12 am. It would all go well until I got close to my intermediate goal. Then I’d start feeling like I was practically there and the thought would pop up along the lines of, “Come on, I’ve already done 45. The other five I can do later with the other 50.” That was the start of the real challenge to resist the temptation to stop early… I was always so tired that 5 km seemed endless to me, and at the same time, I was always too optimistic about being able to make up the distance in the next running session. I soon learned that you never make up lost kilometers, unless you make superhuman efforts in subsequent days. I learned to resist the temptation of the bungalows by concentrating on the fact that those kilometers would never be made up again. And then my wife was there, breathing down my neck until I got to 50! She was merciless, especially because she knew it wasn’t a matter of being tired.
Gianluca Ruggie How did you prepare for your latest adventure? It’ll make you laugh, but I prepared for this latest “adventure” almost exclusively doing yoga. I took three yoga classes a week for three months. I have to say I really felt the benefits, especially in mobility and joint flexibility, plus it increased my ability to concentrate. Of course, I ran as well, but in five months of training, I did no more than 15 hour-long sessions on the treadmill, 10 45-minute sessions of slow running on mixed terrain, and three long sessions no longer than two hours. I chose a holistic approach because I remembered the intense training in 2011 when I crossed the United States, which caused me some serious physical problems. I wanted to avoid injuries and interruptions, as well as mental overload before the race. In hindsight, maybe it would have been better to strike a balance between these two different approaches. You need to put in some miles to give your body the chance to adapt to such long distances. But you also shouldn’t underestimate the physical and emotional balance part, both of which can be pursued with yoga.
Marco Dalla Rosa What kind of diet did you keep? I’ve been keeping a vegan diet for years (no meat, no dairy, no animal-derived products with the exception of fish, which I still eat). For a 6-day race, it might not be the perfect situation because every now and then you get cravings during the race that you want to satisfy (a bit of cheese, a hardboiled egg, a cheese pizza, cured beef or ham…) or because the organization makes meals that don’t always meet your needs. That being said, my diet included: breakfast with “German” bread with peanut butter and marmalade, muesli with rice milk, and a mug of coffee. Snacks every 30 minutes until lunch with almonds and bars of Goji berries and Maca, or cut bananas and peaches. A lunch of pasta with tuna, plus a drink (like a milkshake) composed of pea flour, almonds, and rice. I suggest this product for everyone, even non-vegans, because it is practical and well-balanced; it’s the future of food (see Huel). The afternoon snacks were much like the morning ones. Dinner was sometimes based on pasta or pizza with tomato sauce and another serving of Huel.
Elda Adele Marchegiano I would like to know how you handled the need to go to the bathroom during a long race. I have a small bladder, but if I stopped every time, I might as well throw in the towel.
It’s very easy to manage intestinal urges. When you feel them, you go relieve yourself in the nearest toilet. I know some women after childbirth might have trouble holding their urine for very long. According to an expert whom I contacted about this, the best exercise seems to be strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, which become laxer with childbirth.
Francesco Geraci How much weight did you lose in six days? It might be surprising, but I only lost 1 kg (2.2 lbs) in six days. The system of supplements and rehydration was so well followed that I managed to maintain my weight, despite the intense heat.
Paolo Catena I think your wife Francesca is the true champion (no offense). It can’t have been easy for her to keep your courage high seeing you in such difficulty. She’s my real strength. Knowing she’s by my side makes me feel safe, although she’s always very demanding of me. My complaints don’t soften her up easily… You might have thought she helps just with gentle words and petting me, but she actually raps by knuckles when it’s needed. After all these years, we both realized that, when it’s needed, that’s the only thing to wake me up!
Christian Vigneri What a great experience you had and that you allowed us to experience vicariously. I wonder if you’d consider doing it by bike some day. I love biking, but I don’t think I’ll ever do something like this on a bike.
Gianluca Rebeschini In this and your other endeavors, you really got to know yourself thoroughly….what’s your biggest flaw? Sometimes learning the truth leads you to learn things you don’t want to know. The biggest flaw that I realized I have is that I complain a lot, really a lot. Who would have thought it? I’m so good at engaging in physically/mentally strenuous activity, but I am also very good at complaining. When I enter into that mind state, I become like a pressure cooker that’s always muttering. But it’s in this muttering that I find new strength and courage to keep going.
Simone Peccenati What is returning home like after an adventure? Do you end up getting absorbed right away in the pace that society sets and have the memories and feelings you brought home from the experience you just had fade faster than you’d want?
The pace of society is often different from the one you create during an adventure. That’s true and it can be difficult to realign them. But you have to. When I get back from each adventure, I always try to give myself some time to recover, a few days or a few weeks, depending on the situation. But getting absorbed back into the hectic pace of daily life doesn’t mean that the memories fade. Actually, it makes them even more enjoyable.
Roberto Alessandro Poggi How difficult was it mentally to always look at the same view?
I too thought that running the same kilometer would be mentally challenging. But I found out that each time around was never the same, because even if only by a little bit, my mind state was always different, which made the experience different every time around.
And that’s it. I really hope this post was useful to you all.
Sending hugs until next time.
Alex
