Takes your breath away

Turin is renowned for both winter and summer sports, with many varied activities practiced along the River Po, on the high plains covered in woods and vineyards and among the spectacular mountains all around.

The city enjoys easy rail and air connections, with several low-cost airlines servicing the airport. Hotels are plentiful with accommodation to suit all. To find the best accommodation for your stay in Turin the official list will have something suitable whether it be luxury or family hotels, tourist residences, bed & breakfast, hostels, camp sites or mountain huts.

The first marathon run in Turin was back in 1897, one of the first ever held after the inaugural Olympic Marathon at Athens in 1896.

Turin was renovated and modernized for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and although less well known than other classic Italian tourist destinations Turin is interesting for its culture, history and gastronomy, and it is a place waiting to be discovered by those with a passion for running.

The Turin Marathon Gran Premio La Stampa celebrated its 26th edition on 18 November, complete with its new IAAF Gold label status. Over 4000 people from 39 countries gathered at the start line as the Italian anthem played prior to the 09.30 start. To welcome the passage of runners, music, flag-waving, performers’ shows and 100 percussion players spread out along the course and helped to support the pace and the rhythm of the run.

The marathon route is a circuit which starts in the impressive Piazza San Carlo and finishes in the Piazza Castello, the heart of Turin. The runners follow the route alongside the river Po on the wide streets that still follow the underlying structure of the Roman roads. Runners then circle through the small municipalities of Moncalieri, Nichelino, Grugliasco and Collegno. Recent changes to the course have led to some very good times being achieved by all kinds of runners. Many times, travelling around the world, we meet people who have set their best time in Turin.

The winner of the women’s race, Sharon Cherop, was one of those elite runners who were unable to run in the New York City Marathon after its cancellation following the havoc wrought by the storm ‘Sandy’. She found a welcome in Turin and her expectations were not disappointed; she ran a course record of 2:23:57. Local Piedmontese runner Valeria Straneo took third place while another Italian, Emma Quaglia, improved her personal best by three minutes in fourth place, demonstrating how fast the new Turin Marathon’s course is.

Stratorino, the 7.5km race dedicated to the charity Foundation Specchio dei Tempi – La Stampa, allowed to 10.000 runners to experience a completely traffic-free city centre in an alternative way.

This year’s Turin Marathon also provided a testing ground for new technology. The three-hour television programme on RAI Sport, implemented by the race organization, used broadband multichannel modems and LTE connections in order to send television images. Drones were used for aerial views. This method of working saved the organisers the expense of helicopters and aerial bridges between cameras and television studios.

The race also hosted the final demonstration of the SkyMedia Project. This was part of the FP7 Programme of the European Commission in which new multimedia architectures were explored and trialled in order to produce immersive experiences for runners and spectators of live sport and other cultural events.
The next edition of the Turin Marathon will take place on Sunday, 17 November 2013.