All in BY F R A N C E S C O “ PAC O ” G E N T I LU C C I P H OTO S PAO LO SA R TO R I
Whenever you hear talking about Varese, you have the impression that it is becoming one of the hottest Italian areas for running. Until some time ago, you could only hear talking about Courmayeur or Cortina because of the races hold there, but nowadays Coronavirus has razed the competitions to the ground and there are only small realities formed by people, so Varese for many runners has magically appeared on the Italian map. There is excitement, there are the right features and there are trails. But what is really happening in Varese? We asked Manuel Crapelli, “the frontman” as well as the local of reference for this group of riders.
aks of about 1200m, with a good variety of routes, not particularly difficult and generally well maintained thanks to the volunteers of Anima Trail and some individual initiatives. There is also a very crowded cycling trail that runs along Lake Varese, about 27km long. In short, there is something for all tastes and for those who start running in this ares, at some point it is inevitable to go up to the Sacro Monte passing through the approximately 2.5km gravel road of the Via Sacra which is completely uphill. When that happens, curiosity triggers and leads people to go beyond the square at the top and continue on trails.
Manuel, tell us a bit about what’s happening in Varese and surroundings e why is this city becoming one of the reference points of running in Italy? It's true, I also believe that in the Varese
area and its surroundings in recent years there has been great excitement both for running in general but above all for trail running. I'll try to explain a little historical and empirical analysis. This has always been a land of sport: cycling, rowing and basketball even before football. Today running is also a protagonist, I think for a set of logistical, geological, infrastructural aspects and above all because it is a simple thing. Varese can be reached quickly and this leads many people from the province, but also from Milan, to move here to experience the mountains and go trekking, and some of these also end up starting to run. Lately this trend has exploded. It is a pre-alpine area, we are about 400m above sea level and only 2km from the city center start the trails of the Campo dei Fiori park, leading to pe-
How did you start running? I was born as a
cyclist and for years running has been only part of my winter preparations. I competed on road bikes from the Junior category and I stopped shortly before moving to U23. Beautiful years, always travelling for competitions and training camps. After cycling and before discovering trail running, I was a boxer, I competed in more than 50 matches. I would talk to you about boxing for hours, it's a wonderful, complete and complicated sport. I think it is very difficult to explain it,
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