I am not a runner – I always hated it, running after a bus made me fight for my life and was not able to run for 1 minute straight. So imagine this: a person like this signs up for a 5K run. It is a true story, though and I earnestly started to train for it, which I surprisingly didn’t hate. But what made me do all this? Well, Ferrari!
Last September, I saw an ad about the Enzo Ferrari Memorial run, which normally wouldn’t have interested me, but then I learnt that it goes through not only the factory, but also the Fiorano test track. Even though I have been to Maranello, and did the factory tour which included Fiorano as well, it was from a bus through the windows. So the opportunity to feel the asphalt below my feet and see it with my own eyes was not something I was willing to pass. Even if it meant that I had to run 5K.
So I signed up. There were also different distances: a 10K run and a half Marathon that went from Maranello to Modena. I trained in earnest and kept receiving all Italian emails, which I decoded when I got 3 or 4. Some of them were just ads, others were useful.
Anyways, the run was set to happen on Sunday, but I decided to go and grab my race number and starter pack a day before just to have a feel for where everything is and not to have to rush on Sunday. It ended up being a great choice, because even though most of the event was set up, the crowd was not there, so I could take pictures with all the Ferrari staff to my heart’s desire. As well as pick up my number and pack.
In the big activity tent you could get a haircut or a massage (to me it seemed to be a bit weird to be in your underwear and getting a massage in a space with a ton of people, but each to their own), buy some running shoes, or my favorite: customize your T-shirt. I waited for about an hour for it, but I ended up with a T-shirt that says Carhappylady on the back, so in my opinion it was 100% worth it.
On the day of the run, I was a bit nervous, because I knew that even though I improved a lot, I am still unable to run 5K. It didn’t help that the 21K and the 10K started earlier and I didn’t even see anyone walking.
But when it was time for the 5K? I think people signing up for 10K or 21K are the actual runners and the “5K runners” were the tourists, like me. I hardly even saw people running. They started walking, and once we reached Fiorano, there was no more pretending that this was anything else than a Ferrari sightseeing walking tour. Everyone started taking pictures and videos, stopping at different spots. I think Ferrari anticipated this (how could they have not?), because in one corner, they very nicely lined up their different cars, and you know that Shall gas station? The current F1 car was on display there!
Once we left the track, we walked through the factory, where you really couldn’t see much – only the names of the buildings and the roads (named after champions), and at the end, the wind tunnel. After that, it was a bit underwhelming, so I decided to do some actual running, not letting all my training go to waste.
At the finish line, everyone got a medal saying that you completed the race and also some water and bananas. I collected my bag from the storage and that was pretty much it. I loved it. This was the first event like this, but I suspect that this is going to be a tradition and if so, then I might make it into a tradition of mine as well. Especially that I liked my couchsurfing host in Modena and also there are so many things to see in Motor Valley that I still haven’t seen.
Would you like to be notified if there will be a run like this next year?
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