Venice, Italy – Sunday, October 27th there will be the 34th Venice Marathon from Stra to Riva Sette Martiri. Here are 10 reasons to save the date on your agenda.
Venice Marathon – 10 reasons to save the date on your agenda
Summer is coming to an end; the scorching heat seems to be behind us and September is the ideal month to return to training intensively and register for the 34th Huawei Venicemarathon 42K & 10K. Here are 10 good reasons to run a unique marathon in the world and live an unforgettable experience
Venice Marathon Race course
Running the Huawei Venicemarathon means running in art and history, in a course that is unique in the world.
The start of the 42K takes place from the “queen” of the Venetian Villas, Villa Pisani in Stra, a place that for centuries has hosted doges, kings and emperors. For the marathon it opens its gates to accommodate all the pre-race services until it is time to enter the corrals.
The first part of the route develops along Riviera del Brenta in a truly suggestive environment and is characterized by the numerous Venetian villas built in the 18th century by Venetian nobles close to the Brenta river.
The marathon then crosses Marghera, where the old industrial architecture stands in contrast to the art of the various historical and cultural periods of the rest of the race; it continues in the center of Mestre, with the exclusive passage “inside” M9, the new district of the multimedia Museum of the ‘900; it runs for over 2 km inside the San Giuliano Park, which overlooks the lagoon and from where the 10K starts, and finally reaches Venice via the Ponte della Libertà. The athletes run along the panoramic Fondamenta delle Zattere, admiring on the right the Giudecca island and its imposing Church of Redentore and the high bell tower of the Basilica di San Giorgio which offers a breathtaking 360° view of the lagoon. On the left, however, the athletes pass in front of the majestic Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. The long Fondamenta delle Zattere ends at Punta della Dogana, where the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal meet in the San Marco Basin, here runners take the 166-meter floating bridge which connects the Punta to the Royal Gardens of San Marco and gives the athletes the suggestive sensation of running on water. At this point, runners will enter Piazza San Marco passing between the columns of Saints Marco and Tòdaro, thus crossing the monumental entrance of the Serenissima. The “lap of honor” in the shadow of the Campanile and the Basilica of San Marco is one of the most anticipated moments of the marathon. The athletes will then return to the basin along Palazzo Ducale and then cross Ponte della Paglia, from which you can admire “Ponte dei Sospiri”. The race course continues along Riva degli Schiavoni along the San Marco basin and reaches the finish line in Riva Sette Martiri, near “Gardini della Biennale”, which host the various pavilions of the biennial exhibition of Art and Architecture where all the post-race services.
Services and organization
One of the main aims of Venicemarathon is to offer the highest quality services to the athlete before, during and after the race. For this reason, Venicemarathon is an event with a limited number of participants. There will be more than 2000 volunteers involved in all areas of the marathon to ensure efficient services. Runners have only to run.
The value of the race packet
All the participants will find in the race packet a unique technical T-Shirt, made by the Italian functional clothing brand UYN with the most advanced technology and materials of excellence. A T-Shirt of the line “Visyon”, whose value is more than 80 €, made in the male and female version with fit and specific colours, which give excellent results in terms of ventilation and temperature control. Even 10K participants will find in the race packet a beautiful technical T-Shirt designed by the Finnish brand Karhu, with a soft and breathable fabric and a very lively orange colour.
Tourist opportunity: sport, art and culture
Venice and the Brenta Riviera can become an opportunity for tourism, especially combined with Huawei Venicemarathon. Thanks to the agreement with Villa Pisani all participants will have the opportunity to visit the Villa free of charge; runners’ relatives and friends can visit it with a reduced price, during the long weekend of the marathon. Thanks to the partnership with Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia runners and runners’ friends can also enjoy discounts in the city’s museums.
A team of Pacers alongside the athletes of the 42K and 10K
One of the most important services of a marathon is carried out by pacemakers, who help people achieve a goal and make a dream come true, leading them to the desired time to the finish line. The Venice Marathon Pacing Team, coordinated by the trainer, journalist and writer Julia Jones will help, both 42K and 10K, become real companions of travel, able also to offer psychological support and right motivations to cross the finish line at Riva Sette Martiri.
The marathon as increasingly sustainable event
Running Huawei Venicemarathon means consciously participating in an event that for years has been committed to environmental sustainability and the territory in all its forms. It is no coincidence that Venicemarathon has been included in the “Zero Waste Blue” project promoted by the Veneto Region and the actions, that the organizers will implement, will mainly focus on the concept of recycling, on the recovery of plastic thanks to collaboration with Corepla (National Consortium for the collection, recycling and retrieval of plastic packaging) in order to create new products that will be used in the 2020 edition, on recycling, on the digitization of processes, on removal of architectural barriers and on incentives to use public and rail transportation.
Many advantages for runners who travel by train
This year thanks to the partnership with Trenitalia, the “official carrier” of Huawei Venicemarathon, there will also be many advantages for those who decide to reach Venice by train. All participants will benefit of a 30% discount on all “Frecce” (Freccia Rossa, Freccia Argento and Freccia Bianca) and all “Intercity” that connect directly, or in connection with, the stations of Venezia S. Lucia and Venezia Mestre, and 50% discount on all regional trains. Moreover, on the day of the race, regional trains timetable will be adjusted to allow runners to take the last shuttles that from the Mestre station go to Stra. Finally, Trenitalia will reserve a special discount on registration for all those traveling by train.
Bus Express Experience
Another service that Venicemarathon makes available to athletes traveling alone, with friends or with sports groups is the “Huawei Venicemarathon Bus Express”, a very advantageous package completed with travel, overnight, bib and many other all-inclusive services. The bus will pick up athletes or the sports group at some Italian station, carry them in all the marathon-related trips (expo, start of the race, etc.) and take them home on Sunday evening. These are the cities involved: Bologna, Florence, Mantua, Modena, Parma, Ravenna, Riviera Romagnola (Rimini, Riccione, Cattolica) and Udine.
Alì Family Run
In the rich program of Huawei Venicemarathon, in addition to the 10K, there is also space for families with Alì Family Run: the amusing solidarity and promotional races of about 4 km that take place on the 4 Saturdays of October before the marathon in Chioggia, San Donà, Dolo and Mestre. The last race is organized on Saturday, October 26 at the San Giuliano Park in Mestre, one of the largest urban parks in Europe, where Exposport Venicemarathon Village is located.
Solidarity with Alex Zanardi
The 34th Huawei Venicemarathon will, as always, be a solidarity marathon for those who love to run for others and combine sporting action with practical help, including the involvement of friends and relatives. Venicemarathon Charity Program offers the possibility of choosing a NPO participating in the initiative, marrying the project and helping it grow with donations.
The 34th Huawei Venicemarathon is an event organized by Venicemarathon, with the collaboration of: Huawei, Sara, UYN, Karhu, BMW, RDS, Pro Action, Ventura, San Benedetto, Air France, Alì, Rio Mare, Banco BPM, Nuncas, Dorelan, Bavaria, M9, 1/6H, RaceOne, Pica, Trenitalia, Zuegg, Palmisano, Melinda, Interparking, Castellano Vigilanza.
Huawei Venicemarathon will be one of more than 100 qualifying events for the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Rankings for the 2019/2020 series. Runners aged 40 and above, who complete two of the qualifying events, will earn age group ranking points and a chance to compete at the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships in 2021. Both the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Huawei Venice Marathon fall inside the second series so this is a great opportunity for all our Italian and international runners who love ‘points races’.