MARCIALONGA AND THE 'S' FACTOR

The well-known CeRiSM puts Marcialonga ‘to the test’
Next January’s athletes might participate to a scientific study
Vintage coloured Marcialonga on the eve of the 2015 ski-marathon
Marcialonga runs for charity with the Stars


Marcialonga embodies the past and the present of cross country skiing in Italy. Now it is time to look ahead, to the evolution of the discipline. Marcialonga is being put under the scientific lens by the Italian CeRiSM (Sport, Mountain & Health Research Centre) and the new Marcialonga Science project aims to evaluate and measure the impact of the double poling technique on muscles, fibres and heart of some athletes during and after the event, scheduled on 25 January 2015.
In recent years, CeRiSM (www.cerism.it) has devoted much of its research activity to cross country skiing. Hundreds of skiers are tested each year, several projects have been developed on the Nordic discipline and results have been published in important scientific journals of international standing.
The Marcialonga Science project aims to evaluate muscle fatigue of upper and lower limbs, in medium-to-high level cross country skiers who will be selected from the ranking in the last edition of Marcialonga and who are asked to voluntarily perform a few tests for specific muscles using the double poling technique. Tests will be held at the XC Stadium in Val di Fiemme from 19 to 23 January 2015. During the Sunday’s race, the heart rate will be monitored and once the race will be over, an eventual neuromuscular test will be taken in order to determine the extent of specific muscle fatigue. The results of the study will be presented at the International Congress on Science in Nordic Skiing scheduled in Finland next June, and at the Mountain Sport Health Congress in Rovereto (Italy) next November.
On the eve of the 2015 ski-marathon, the Marcialonga Story promo event will once again take the floor, better yet…the snow, and all participants will experience the true spirit of XC skiing, wearing original equipment (dated pre-1976) and racing an 11k-long competition from Lago di Tesero to Predazzo town centre. A Register of vintage cross-country skis has been created in order to collect information, data and pictures of skis crafted in different years, and is available on www.marcialonga.it. Entries are open, cost 30 € and include a super vintage race packet with a pair of winter socks, a unique cotton bib, a shoulder bag and a box of Rode wax.
Next year’s Marcialonga will be also supporting the Italian Association against Cancer L.I.L.T.: in fact the Marcialonga Stars event on Saturday 24 January aims to draw attention to cancer fight and raise funds for new machineries needed at the Proton Therapy Centre in Trento. Everyone is invited to the Marcialonga Stars event and donate.