Comacchio warms up its engines. The Half Marathon is back

The event capable of uniting is back with a renewed route and a new medal sport, and gentle cosmetics, history and culture of the lagoon city. In fact, the 10 edition of the Comacchio Half Marathon over 21,097 kilometers, and the Comacchio 10 kilometers in both the competitive and recreational versions, to which is added the "Dog's & Run", the "six-legged" race with dogs.

The first press conference of the event was held yesterday at Palazzo Bellini, aimed at illustrating the new route and the effigy that will appear on the medal, with the president of the organizing association Ravenna Runners Club Stefano Righini, the Sports Councilor Emanuele Mari and the Commander of the Local Police of Comacchio Paolo Claps. Present, among others, the former Olympic marathon runner Laura Fogli, and the President of the Running Club Comacchio Mario Ferioli.

The goals of this edition are ambitious: "We are raising the bar - said Councilor Mari - aiming for three thousand registrations, which would mean almost doubling those of the first edition, four years ago, which was already a success. I would like to thank, in addition to the organizers of Ravenna Runners Club, all the local associations that in an integrated manner have shared the project and the new goal that we have set ourselves".

The president of Ravenna Runner Club, the association that has been at the helm of the event for the second consecutive year, reported that this year "having more time to prepare all the management, promotional and organizational aspects, we have chosen to modify the route to give the members of both distances the opportunity to admire the beauty of the area. The new beautiful medal also honors Comacchio and I am sure it will attract numerous runners and others, curious to learn about this fascinating area".

The new route will see the start and finish area confirmed in via dello Squero, the passage on the valley embankment and then enter the city center. The 21 kilometers will, in fact, touch the Loggiato dei Cappuccini, the Basilica of San Cassiano, the Pizzetti bridge; then, the runners, around the 13th kilometer, will pass under the Clock Tower and then run along the Ponte degli Sbirri passing in front of Palazzo Bellini and on the Valle Molino canal before returning to via dello Squero passing through Via Marina.

Also presented was the medal, designed by the artist Riccardo Buonafede, which sees a union between history and nature, recalled with the depictions of the monumental Trepponti and a heron, one of the aquatic birds that populate the Po Delta Park. An event, therefore, that promotes not only sport, but also the peculiarities of the territory.

Valerio Franzoni