EVA TOSCHI

BY CESARE MAESTRI PHOTOS ANDREA SCHILIRÒ

Eva Toschi's whole life has been revolving around one summit: the mountain. She left the city to explore the Alps in a van, climb, ski, run as much as possible. Now she lives in a hut in Santa Caterina Valfurva and, when she is not around to practice outdoor sports, she sits in front of a keyboard and writes, especially about all the things she loves .

Hi Eva, tell us something about yourself! My name is Eva, I was born in Rome 30 years ago but a few years ago I left the city and drove around the Alps in a van to live practicing my passions. Now I live in a hut in Santa Caterina Valfurva for most of the year, but when possible I continue to travel and explore. On a professional level I aspire to define myself as a writer, and I work mainly in the outdoor field. I started running many times, for different reasons. The first was in middle school, in cross-country competitions. Then for years I no longer ran except for athletic training aimed at tennis, which I practiced at a competitive level. In 2015 I started running again to dispose of the toxins accumulated during climbing days and to organize the chaos in my mind. Finally I began running again because I wanted to do something that would allow me to get involved without having to be tied to anyone else. I'm the type of runner who doesn't like to train but who eventually gives it all, who loves to spend many hours on trails, who loves sharing moments with others but who reflects a lot when I’m alone.

You love practicing different outdoor sports, what connections exist between them and which of them do you love most? A few years ago I would have said that the thing I love the most is climbing. Now it depends. All the disciplines I practice have in common that they take place in a natural environment, but the biggest connection they have is the state of mind they take you into. Skiing, mountaineering, climbing and mountain running in different ways lead to exploring remote parts of yourself and, for better or for worse, make you understand who you really are.

What are your favorite trails? Since I moved to Valfurva I love running close to home. I just put on my shoes, walk out the door and I can do everything, run any distance. At the beginning I ran a lot in Val Masino, and I thought I liked technical trails, with a lot of difference in altitude. This is because I thought I could move better on that type of terrain coming from other disciplines where there is a lot of difference in height. Then I opened up to what was not easy for me and I discovered that I like much more running on "runable" trails: fast single paths in beautiful places. Finally, I love running on my home trails and on those that allow me to meet new places and new people.

When and why did you start running in the mountains? I started running on the trails when I was wandering with my van and I wanted to practice a discipline that would take me to the mountains without needing someone to go with. For me, sharing in the sports I practice is very important, which is why I didn't want to compromise and go to the mountains with anyone I met while touring. Back then I felt very lonely and needed to cultivate this relationship with myself through a sport.

What feelings do you experience running surrounded by nature? I feel everything and I feel nothing. Extremely connected to the environment yet I distinctly perceive my human limits. I feel present, finite, fragile and, rarely, invincible.

This year we haven't had many opportunities to travel away from home because of the pandemic. What do you feel about running in places close to you that you may not have known before? During the first lockdown it was crazy for me to have trails behind my house without being able to reach them. So, paradoxically, I got to know better the 200 meters of road in front of my home and I did al lot of repeats there. Once we were allowed to move around our town I felt finally free: I rediscovered beautiful trails that the previous year I took for granted.

How important is the feeling with the shoe? It’s very important. To run well, you need to feel as one with the shoe. When you get the right feeling, you even forget wearing it.

You’ve recently run with the new Nike Wildhorse 7, any feedback? Wildhorse 7 is an excellent companion for my daily runs. I feel protected and safe on all terrains and it gives me a sense of softness and fluidity when running. I love it and I will test it more this spring/summer!

What will be the first thing you’ll do once the pandemic is over? I will go climbing and running far from home. I was used to wandering a lot, the first thing I want to do is take the van and go to meet friends that I haven’t been seen in the last months.

Any future project? I don't have a particular project in mind, even though I have a lot of works in progress. In general, let's say that I want to improve myself first of all as a person, then in everything I do: I want to become a better writer, a more complete mountaineer, a more aggressive skier, a faster and more persevering runner.

All the disciplines I practice have in common that they take place in a natural environment, but the biggest connection they have is the state of mind they take you into.