It is springtime, and the season of the great international marathons is about to begin. It all comes down to a single race: the Enel Milano Marathon, whose 21st edition will be held on 2 April and will offer, as always, a great celebration of and for the international running movement, which by now acknowledges Milan as one of its capitals.
Several innovations will be introduced in the 2023 edition of Italy’s fastest 42km, starting with the new title sponsor, of course, Enel. We then have Yeman Crippa, gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze in the 5,000 at the 2022 European Championships in Munich and new Ambassador of the event. Another undisputed protagonist of the event is charity, thanks to the Charity Program with the Lenovo Relay Marathon: no less than 92 official NPOs will be involved in this edition. And what about sustainability? This theme is rapidly expanding to include the entire RCS Sport system along with its stakeholders, represented by institutions, sponsors, athletes and the general public. A journey which now sees the involvement of an important partner, NATIVA, the Italian Regenerative Design Company that supports hundreds of businesses in evolving towards regenerative economic models.
The Enel Milano Marathon 2023 was unveiled today at Palazzo Marino. The presentation, moderated by Sky Sport journalist Federica Frola and Italian marathon champion Lucilla Andreucci, featured Martina Riva (Milan City Council), Paolo Bellino (RCS Sports & Events), Paolo Di Cesare and Leonardo Ghiraldini (NATIVA), Lara Magoni (Lombardy Region), Francesco Carelli (Enel Energia), Riccardo Bartola (Snaitech), Alberto Spinelli (Lenovo), Giacomo Giacani (Nestlé Water), Massimo Ambrosini (Italian Diabetes Foundation), Monica Gagliardi (Arcaplanet) and the Sport and Health Legends Filippo Magnini and Luana Pilia.
The race, listed in the international calendar and organised by RCS Sports & Events, will feature elite and amateur athletes from all over the world, on a 42.195 km city course, starting and finishing in Corso Venezia.
It remains the fastest race on Italian soil. The latest victories of Titus Kipruto among the men in 2.05.04 and Vivian Kiplagat (on her third seal in Milan) among the women in 2.20.17 confirm the competitive calibre of the event.
The ring route is also confirmed, with 18 kilometres winding inside the Bastioni circle, the heart of the city, between the areas of Repubblica, Moscova, Parco Sempione, Duomo, Cairoli, Cordusio and Pagano, and a total of 28 kilometres inside the Circonvallazione Filoviaria. The runners will cross the City Life area and the north-west area (Portello, Ippodromo, San Siro, Parco di Trenno, Gallaratese). A complete route, capable of meeting the high expectations of top runners and advanced amateurs, who in recent years have achieved increasingly remarkable chronometric results, but without losing the opportunity to admire a unique city, with its combination of historical and contemporary elements. The runners are scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
Sky Sport is our official broadcaster, airing the Enel Milano Marathon on Sunday from 10 a.m. with technical commentary by Nicola Roggero, Stefano Baldini and Lucilla Andreucci.
Alongside the Enel Milano Marathon, as always, is La Gazzetta dello Sport, whose vertical brand Gazzetta Active, dedicated to healthy lifestyle and sporting practice, offers online advice and insights for running and outdoor sports enthusiasts. The new feature of 2023 is the marathon training plan developed by coach Giorgio Rondelli.
Also present this year is RDS 100% Grandi Successi, whose presenters will provide plenty of extra motivation and support for the athletes.
The presentation of the marathon Top Runners will be held on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. at MiCo in City Life, official entrance Viale Eginardo – Gate 2BIS. Yeman Crippa, reigning European champion in the 10,000m and current Italian record holder in the 3000m to half marathon, is ready to make his debut over this distance on Sunday and will join the presentation on Friday. Another great protagonist will be the Kenyan Dickson Chumba (2h04.32 his personal best), an athlete of considerable experience and countless victories, such as Tokyo, Chicago, Eindhoven and Rome to name a few. Among the most likely outsiders are Ethiopian Solomon Deksisa (2h04.40 Pb) and Kenyan Gideon Kipketer (2h05.51 Pb).
Turning to the women, Ukrainian-born Italian citizen Sofiya Yaremchuk, national champion in 2022 in the 10 km and half marathon is among the big favourites, boasting a personal best of 2h25.36 achieved last October in Frankfurt. Ethiopian Gada Bontu Bekele (2h23.39 Pb) and Kenyan Emily Arusio (2h25.22 Pb) are confirmed. Both, at least on paper, are more than likely to be Sofiya’s most important rivals on the road.
But as usual, the Enel Milano Marathon is not all about time checks and finish line.
GETTING GREENER AND GREENER
The big news is the already mentioned involvement of NATIVA: the company is conducting an analysis to verify the environmental and social impact of RCS Sport by focusing on two of its main events: Milano Marathon and Giro d’Italia. This will highlight both RCS Sport’s virtuous practices and areas for possible improvement, in order to guide future choices. The project, which will be covered in a dedicated Report, involves the entire ecosystem through quantitative and qualitative analysis.
The RunGreen Milano Marathon project has been confirmed for the second year in a row, consisting of a series of activities aimed at improving the event with a view to sustainability. A path that began many years ago: back in 2013, the Milan marathon had already obtained the “Resport” certification issued by the Council for Responsible Sport, as the first environmentally and socially sustainable marathon in Europe.
Once again this year, the German company ClimatePartner is supporting the organisers, with the aim of measuring the emissions generated by the event, reducing them and offsetting the remaining ones, renewing the certification as a “carbon neutral event” issued in 2022. The analysis and intervention activities for emission reduction focus on the energy sources used during the event, both at the Milano Running Festival held at the MiCo, as well as in the start and finish area at the Giardini Montanelli, to maximise the use of energy from renewable sources.
THE MILANO MARATHON CHARITY PROGRAM
Beyond the competitive spirit of the race, the Milano Marathon has been standing out in solidarity fundraising for more than ten years. With around 4.5 million euros collected over time, the Milano Marathon Charity Program is now internationally recognised, being second only to the London Marathon in terms of collection results.
This year the Lenovo Relay Marathon, the team relay race that allows runners to divide the route into four fractions (each between 7 and 13 km long), offers runners the chance to take part only by registering with one of the 92 Non-Profit Organisations – NPOs – participating in the Milano Marathon Charity Program. A total of 13,000 people have registered for the relay, for a total of 3,250 teams and rather significant returns, on the platform of Rete del Dono (the event’s historical partner) alone, to date well over 700,000 euros, a result already close to that of the record year 2019.
Among the most active organisations: Dynamo Camp (65 thousand euros collected), Fondazione Italiana Diabete (58 thousand), Play More! (57 thousand), Fondazione TOG (48 thousand), Sport Senza Frontiere (40 thousand) and LILT Milano Brianza (36 thousand). The collection will continue uninterruptedly over the next few hours for all official NPOs.
Filippo Magnini, Gabriella Dorio, Luana Pilia and other testimonials of the Legend for a Day project of Sport e Salute will also participate in the relay race. The relay runners, as per tradition, will hit the road 45 minutes after the marathon athletes, running exactly the same official race route.
THE MILANO RUNNING FESTIVAL
As in previous editions, the actual race will be preceded by three days of sport and events, from Thursday 30 March to Saturday 1 April. Headquarters will be the MiCo – Milano Convention Center in City Life, home to the Marathon Village, a large exhibition hub where entertainment activities, workshop-clinics, and event and product presentations will take place. An appointment characterised by the union of commercial operators from the world of running, fitness and sports tourism, as well as open to active running practitioners and the general public.
THE LEVISSIMA SCHOOL MARATHON
Among the initiatives of the Milano Running Festival is the Levissima School Marathon, now in its seventh edition. It is the children’s race, along a 3-kilometre route, organised in collaboration with OPES (Organizzazione per l’Educazione allo Sport), which is also open to families and accompanying persons, and which will animate the atmosphere of the City Life district. The initiative also features an educational path aimed at raising awareness among primary and secondary school pupils in Milan on the importance of outdoor activities, which are the basis of a healthy lifestyle, as well as on the values of sport and the marathon. Once again this year, more than 8,000 young people and accompanying persons have registered. Kick-off on Saturday from 9 a.m.
THE DOG RUN ARCAPLANET
Also on Saturday, in City Life, the Dog Run Arcaplanet: the event dedicated to dogs and their human friends, or pet parents as they are now called, in collaboration with Quattro Zampe in Fiera. It will be an opportunity to spend some quality time in the company of our pets while engaging in sporting activity along a route of approximately 2 kilometres. The start is scheduled at 3.00 p.m., at the end of the morning kids’ race, dividing the animals by size starting with the smallest ones; they will run inside the City Life green area. Also joining is Alessandro Ossola, a Paralympic athlete of the Italian National Athletics Team, specialising in the 100 metres.
Registrations are open on www.milanomarathon.en/dog-run/.
THE JERSEYS
Another important innovation in this 21st edition is the technical jerseys made by Asics, Technical Partner of the event: all made of environmentally friendly fabric. The so-called “finisher” will be awarded to the runners who cross the finish line. The official jersey, on the other hand, is the symbol of the first collection of “Milano Marathon” merchandising: a jersey inspired by the most iconic sites of the Lombard capital, produced in a limited edition and sold exclusively, from Thursday to Saturday, at the Milano Running Festival and then at Don Kenya Run in Milan, the official merchandising reseller. Jerseys today worn by Ingmar Cavagna and Cecilia Sabbadini, both ambassadors of Asics’ global FrontRunner community.
The new Lenovo Relay Marathon jerseys dedicated to relay runners and those of the Levissima School Marathon, also produced with a recycled fabric, will also be available.
THE 2023 PARTNERS
Comune di Milano – Regione Lombardia – Sport e Salute.
Media Partner La Gazzetta dello Sport with Gazzetta Active // Radio Partner RDS 100% Grandi Successi // Official broadcaster: SKY Sport.
Enel (Title Sponsor) // Lenovo (Title Sponsor Relay Marathon) // ASICS (Technical Sponsor) // Levissima (Official Mineral Water&Green Partner e Title Sponsor della School Marathon) // Named Sport (Sport Nutrition Partner) // Sn4ifun (Fun Partner) // Toyota (Mobility Partner) // Festina (Official Timekeeper) // GLS (Official Partner) // DANONE HiPRO (Official Partner) // AUTOSTRADE (Official Partner) // BUSFORFUN (Official Partner) // YAMAHA (Official Scooter) // Comune di Cervia (Official Supplier) // Dole (Official Supplier) // // Nuncas (Live Partner) // RCS Academy – Learning Partner // Decathlon – Retail Partner School Marathon // Fruttolo – Official Partner School Marathon // Calypso (Official Timekeeper School Marathon) // Arcaplanet (Title Sponsor Dog Run). NATIVA (Regeneration Partner).
