Source: Run4hope 2021 Massigen press office
Extraordinary participation registered in all Italian regions that will fund two research grants for the treatment of childhood cancers and other initiatives. The Italian running protagonist of a
collective redemption in the spring of the restart.
Sunday 30 May 2021 saw the conclusion – at the same time – of the regional running relays of the Run4Hope 2021 Massingen pro AIRC project.
Throughout Italy, sport, solidarity and scientific research came together in a unique and unprecedented event in which participants ran, in the third decade of May, with the aim of contributing to
the scientific research that the AIRC Foundation promotes to combat childhood cancers; a phenomenon that affects around 1,400 children every year.
On Monday 12 July, at the Press Room of the Parlament, the important contribution to the AIRC Foundation for cancer research, collected by the non-profit organisation
Run4Hope thanks to the participants’ donations, was officially handed over. 53,866 euros is the fruit of the generosity of the Italian associations and runners who had the honour of
being the first participants in an event destined to consolidate and grow over the years.
This figure will soon grow considerably, since the event in Molise had to be postponed for reasons linked to the Pandemic and thanks to other charitable initiatives that the promoting non-profit
organisation and some participating associations will organise in the coming weeks.
The official handover of the contribution took place in the presence of Division General Gianpaolo Mirra, Commander of the Italian Army Corps of Engineers, Marco Sicari, Deputy
Secretary General of the Italian Athletics Federation, Niccolò Contucci, Director General of the AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research and Massimo Giammetta, President of Run4Hope
ONLUS.
Run4Hope has been an important moment in the restart of Italian sport in the post-pandemic period and the Italian Army has recognised its high value, as promoting research is the trump card for
curing diseases. We will certainly support the project in the years to come because the great family of the Army is deeply committed to these values. – The words of Division General
Mirra.
For Sicari, – Fidal has welcomed the project with great pleasure and would like to thank the many affiliates who have been protagonists with their many members, as well as their own
territorial committees, which have done a great deal to support the initiative thanks to their recognition. We already support the AIRC Foundation, as we did at the recent Golden Gala, and we will
do so again with Run4Hope.
The President of Veneto-based non-profit organisation, Giammetta, was also extremely satisfied. – The result was remarkable both in terms of fundraising and participation. We have
already raised almost 54,000 Euros to help cure childhood cancers and we will work to grow the event in the coming years, thanking all those who have contributed to the initiative.
We will fund two annual research grants for the treatment of childhood cancers (the researchers will be defined in November, ed.) with the first 50,000 euros and the rest of the collection will
be used for logos. Run4Hope has the merit of having accomplished an undertaking that appeared to be very complicated, not least because of the organisational difficulties encountered at Covid.
Having the Army and the Fidal at our side in pursuing their institutional aims is also a great message that puts research at the centre of attention.
Technology to support research has made great strides, and the challenge is to make the remaining 20% of childhood cancers curable, following the successes of the last 15 years which have
significantly lowered the lethality rate. Contucci‘s conclusions.
The numbers of Run4Hope 2021 -Massigen pro AIRC
In total, around 6,000 km were covered. The Run4Hope baton passed through 19 regions, and thanks to the total of 153 stages, 173 cities and thousands of small
provincial towns were involved, representing the traditions, culture and tourist beauty of our country. For reasons related to the Covid situation, the relay in Molise was postponed, thus
completing the picture of the twenty regions.
An average of 8 stages were organised in each region. The routes were structured in the form of a ring circuit with the same city of arrival and departure (e.g. Lombardy with Milan),
others with departures from different cities but combined arrival in the same one (e.g. Sicily, departures from the Valley of the Temples and from Alcamo, arrival in Messina) and finally in some
cases, such as Puglia and Marche, there were more stages on the same days.
It was precisely the Apulian relay runners who covered the longest distance: 744 km, while the highest average was in Sardinia, with 109 km per stage, ahead of Piedmont with
103 km. The longest stage was organised in Veneto: on Sunday 30 May, in fact, the Verona – Bassano del Grappa race saw the runners cover 114 km.
More than 400 sports clubs and groups, with more than 3,000 runners registered, including the 80 who registered individually, ran or took part in Run4Hope, in full compliance
with the health regulations for containing the virus.
The restart of Italian running also thanks to Run4Hope 2021.
The winter and spring of 2020 saw runners and the Italian running world in the news during the most traumatic period of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the spring of 2021 Run4Hope has become the
first form of collective redemption of Italian running, to mark a psychological and social restart of the entire nation.
The sites of Run4Hope 2021: from the Valley of the Temples to Piazza Unità d’Italia Italian Army in the front row
The whole of Italy is on the move, with running as the protagonist, in the spring of “reopening” following the long winter marked by restrictions due to the effects of the pandemic. In every
region, Run4Hope found many runners organised in mini-groups, in full compliance with current regulations, who trained in their areas in synchronised form with other groups from neighbouring
areas. To carry the baton of hope that moves to support AIRC researchers in the treatment of childhood cancers.
The departures from the Valley of the Temples and the Baths of Caracalla are full of charm and history. Unforgettable departures or passages in Piazza Unità d’Italia in Trieste,
Piazza San Carlo in Turin, Piazza San Marco in Venice and Piazza Bra in Verona. The provincial capitals of Lombardy, Abruzzo, Puglia, Veneto, Friuli
Venezia-Giulia, Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Lazio, Marche, Calabria, most of Tuscany, Sicily, Campania and Umbria were involved, as
were Aosta, Matera, Cagliari, Oristano, Sassari, Trento and Bolzano. Only in Molise has the event been postponed until the summer.
The Italian Army also played a key role in the event, not only sponsoring the initiative, but also participating from north to south in the running and logistical support in many
Italian squares, with many departments under the Command of the Terrestrial Operational Support Forces in Verona activated for the purpose.
#Fraintesa: the special dedication of the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna relay teams.
The Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna relays were dedicated to Francesca Barbieri, a blogger known as Fraintesa, who passed away last April due to breast cancer but is still present
thanks to the commitment of her friends and the large community she managed to create in her professional activities.
The finish locations of the regional relay races on Sunday 30 May.
Here are the locations of the arrivals on Sunday 30 May. Abruzzo, L’Aquila; Calabria, Reggio Calabria (arrival); Campania, Naples; Emilia Romagna, Piacenza;
Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trieste, Piazza Unità d’Italia; Latium events are planned in Rome (Saturday at Villa Borghese – Pincio – and Sunday at the Parco degli Acquedotti), Rieti,
Frosinone in the province of Latina with a special event promoted by Nuova Podistica Latina along the Via Francigena which will embrace Run4Hope and AIRC joining the Abbey of Fossanova with that
of Valvisciolo; Lombardy, Milan at the Biblioteca degli Alberi (near Piazza Gae Aulenti); Marche: Ancona; Piedmont, Turin, Parco del Valentino; Puglia, Bari (Caserma
Picca); Sardinia: Sassari; Sicily, arrival of the two Sicilian branches in Messina, Duomo, at the same time as the arrival in Reggio Calabria of the Calabrian Relay; Tuscany,
Florence; Bolzano, city event, Piazza Università; Umbria: Perugia; Valle D’Aosta: Sunday 30 May from Aosta to Point Saint Martin; Veneto: Vicenza, Piazza dei Signori.
In Basilicata, the relay race took place this weekend between Grassano and Matera.
The Italian Army sponsored and supported Run4Hope 2021 Massigen.
The Italian Army has granted its prestigious patronage to the Run4Hope 2021 Massigen, highlighting the national importance of the initiative, thanks to the solidarity purpose of the regional
relays that will carry the baton from hand to hand, a message of altruism and commitment of AIRC researchers. These are values that are fully shared by the great family of the Italian Army, which
makes courage, professional training, sense of duty, responsibility, tenacity, esprit de corps and self-sacrifice the cardinal principles on which it is based and which inspire every soldier on a
daily basis.
Patronage granted
In addition to the patronage of the Italian Army, Run4Hope 2021 has obtained the patronage, in the sports field, of Fidal – the Italian Athletics Federation, CSI – the
Italian Sports Centre – FIASP – the Italian Federation of Amateur Sports for All, and AIC – the Italian Footballers’ Association.
At the institutional level, concessions were granted by: Unioncamere Veneto, Chamber of CommerceIAA of Vicenza and the Regions: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria,
Piedmont, Apulia, Valle d’Aosta, the Autonomous Province of Trento, Tuscany, Lombardy and Veneto. These were joined by the Municipality of Vicenza, where the non-profit organisation has its
headquarters and where the Veneto Relay Race starts/finishes.
The Lions Clubs International Foundation will also support the event by participating with several clubs in some territorial areas, in particular Veneto, Piedmont and Trentino Alto Adige.
Supporters
Run4Hope has found the resources and energy to take shape and launch the first edition thanks to a group of companies that have decided to link their name and image to the pro-ARC charity relay
race. Main sponsor of the event will be Massigen, joined by other partners such as Löwengrube, Cemes – Salute Group CDV, Se.Fa.Mo, Gruppo Cecchin Costruzioni Edili, Patavium Energia, Roberto
Coin, Autoserenissima and Butterflypunto prelievi.
The focus on childhood cancer care
Every year in Italy, cancer affects around 1,400 children up to the age of 14, but thanks to constant progress in research, today 82% of young patients are alive five years after
diagnosis. While in the 1970s 3 out of 10 children survived a cancer diagnosis, today 3 out of 4 are completely cured. This is an important achievement, but it is not enough because there are
still many young patients waiting for the right answers to overcome all forms of cancer.
The most frequent paediatric tumours affect the blood, tissues and bones, but thanks to the contribution of AIRC researchers many of these forms can now be cured. This is why Run4Hope
Italia Onlus wanted to organise a charity relay race, running all together: to support scientific research and help those who help to heal.
The baton designed by Paolo Albertelli
The baton was designed by Piedmontese artist Paolo Albertelli: its shape recalls the shape of the DNA molecule, formed by two paired polynucleotide chains wrapped around the same axis to
form a helix. DNA is the fundamental basis of life and the baton is the emblem of scientific research and of the efforts of AIRC Foundation researchers, who are engaged every day in studying
new solutions to make cancer increasingly curable.
