Capodanno di Corsa San Giovanni Valdarno 2026
/1. 49th Capodanno di Corsa
I think that it is great to do new races, it is also great to do new distances. I’ve always liked the races where it is just whatever the loop around the town is so I was delighted to find a 13.5km race on New Years Day about the same distance from Florence as Mitchelstown is from Cork in a town called San Giovanni Valdarno. The ideal race, no expos, no queues, no sold out 12 months in advance, sign up on the day if you like, perfection.
2. Sub Zero
I think that it has been over 15 years since the last time that I ran a race in sub zero temperatures. That time was the All Ireland XC in Derry when there was a thick layer of snow on the ground for the race. There was no snow in Italy but it was ridiculously cold. Dry cold, cold which is good for running fast but not for standing still.
3. Music Hall
I think that the registration and number collection was very efficient. I had been in contact with the race organisers on Facebook to send them our medical certificates. All we had to do was queue up in the music hall, collect out numbers and the generous goodie bag which contained all my favourites, wine, coffee and pasta. We even got a running singlet all for the very low entry price of €10, yes €10 for a race.
4. Partenza
I think that the start line was very atmospheric. The advantage of having a loop or two loops of the town is that the start line can be in the best spot possible which in this case was the centre of the town in front of the main square framed by a large old building with impressive arches that you only see in Italy. I warmed up by jogging up and down the main street in my Pumas as it was too cold to be changing shoes. A local club seemed to have exactly the same purple and white singlet as my Glanmire A.C top so I exchanged confused salutes with my new clubmates. Before the start we were all huddled together like penguins before being walked up to the start line where the mayor fired the starting pistol to get us underway.
5. The Man in The Van
I think that races with a man in a van are my favourite. This race had a very excellent man in a van, the van drove off in front of us with the man in the van with the boot open videoing and doing commentary on the race. We would occasionally get too close to the van at which point he would shout at the driver to go faster. We followed the van for about 2km until he pulled over to video the rest of the field, before overtaking us and resuming the coverage. I made sure to make my move to the front every time the van appeared as it is the age of social media and it’s important to be seen.
6. YouTube
I think that this must be one of the most well televised races in the world. After entering the race I found the videos of the previous editions on YouTube. Before Covid the race seemed to have a contingent of Kenyan runners who would dominate. This years race was the 49th edition making it the longest running race in the locality. Luckily for me I appeared to be the only foreign athlete on this occasion.
7. Podium
I think that my favourite thing to do on holidays is to get on the podium in a local road race. After the first 5km lap around the town I knew I was in with a great chance as the group at the front had been whittled down to three of us, me and two athletes from a local club with green singlets. I led the race going through the line for the first time as it isn’t too often than you get to lead a race in Italy while running over a red carpet. The second lap was a larger lap of the town to make up a total of 13 km or so. With 3km to go the man in the van was back to see the group further distil down to just me and one of the two green singlets.
8. Sprint
I think that I knew I was in trouble if the race came down to a sprint finish. I have never out sprinted anyone so I decided to try and go from a kilometre out. I picked a point just before a sharp right hand turn into the long finishing straight. Initially I had some success but I knew from the lack of heavy breathing from the pursuing green singlet that it was only a matter of time before I was defeated. Sure enough with 100m to go the afterburners were initiated and I was left to sprint home on the red carpet happy enough in second place four seconds behind the winner.
9. Hot Tea
I think that one of the best things about racing in Italy in winter is that once you cross the finish line they always have hot lemon tea as a post race drink. There is no better post race drink. I think it is just the Lipton stuff warmed up but it is so good in sub zero temperatures. I had a nice cup of hot lemon tea while I discussed the race with the winner who is aiming for a 68 minute half marathon in Florence at the end of the month. I warmed down by running out to Rhona and finishing the race with her. I told her they had the hot tea at the finish to motivate her.
10. Spider Baby
I think that the local organisers were delighted to have an Irish person on the podium. They were very interested in interviewing me. I had learned some Italian sentences quickly from google translate so that I could make some attempt at an interview but they also had an excellent translator who had spent two months working in a hardware shop in Cork. It was great fun and a great way to spend New Years Day. After the interview we had a nice coffee and vegan croissant in the local bar. The Italians know how to organize races to perfection, I suppose after 49 previous editions they have had plenty of practice.
