300 Strong at the Bocconi Run

There's a line in front of the organization tables. Those who have already registered pick up their number, while several people are registering at the last minute, only now certain that there will be good running weather. The first edition of the Bocconi Run is a complete success. It was organized by the Bocconi Sport Team and hosted around 300 athletes including students, faculty, staff and alumni in an 8-kilometer run from Via Roentgen, around campus, with a finish line in the middle of Parco Ravizza.

The race kicked off at 10am sharp with the Milan City Commissioner for Mobility, Transportation and Environment, Edoardo Croci, present with the athletes itching to come in first, elbowing each other out to get the glory. Two categories of runners competed, one including only "students" and one lumping together "faculty, staff, alumni and Master students," with winners for both men and women named in each category.

First place overall went to Simone Spessot, with the outstanding time of 28'05". Simone, a 27-year old alumnus from Trieste and a member of Running World, graduated from Bocconi in Business Administration in 2005. When he crossed the finish line, he made his effort look easy, and he's a true athlete who trains hard to focus on his objectives. "The idea to have this race is truly interesting, it's a nice route, difficult just the right amount, with the right balance between turns and straight runs," he says. "As for me, I'm getting ready for the marathon in Florence at the end of November, and so I'm running 100km a week." The second place overall and first place in the student category went to Andrea Munini, a 22 year-old from Udine, with a time of 28'49". "I've been a competitive runner since the last few years of seconday school," he says, "mostly 800m and 1500m, and now I train on the street and therefore run longer distances." Fast mid-distances is also is also the specialty of Vanessa Fusar Imperatore, a 21 year-old student from Crema, who came in first overall among women with a time under 31 minutes. Vanessa, a member of Arvedi in Crema, competes on the track at a national level. "This isn't my kind of race," she says, "but I regularly train with runs at this distance. The route was also pretty hard, with straight lines at the beginning and then lots of turns at the end. It was a great race." The race lived up to its expectations, even if the distance of 8 kilometers wasn't the best distance for everyone. So says Maurizio Dallocchio, the marathon expert who was able to finish the Bocconi Run in 32'30", a quicker time than he himself had predicted. "I think the most important thing is that this event continues throughout the years. It should become one of the University's 'classic' activities. About my performance? I'm satisfied and I know that those who placed first kept up a pretty breakneck pace." Two of the people who came up with the idea behind the race, Carlo Favero (38'30") and Stefano Zorzoli (42') had slower times, but they were still satisfied. Another faculty member, Debrah Meloso, won the non-student female category. "I'm definitely happy with my achievement," she says about her impressive time of 38', "but my true objective, which I achieved perfectly, was to beat my colleague Favero." The President of the Bocconi Sport Team, Alessandro Ciarlo, recognized the winners and fixed a rematch for next year. "The Bocconi Run will become a fixed sporting event that students can anticipate, just like the Bocconi Sport Days," says Ciarlo. "I was particularly impressed by participant enthusiasm and the party-like atmosphere. Even the City of Milan has encouraged us to repeat the race next year."