MARCIALONGA IS A FAMILY MATTER

MARCIALONGA IS A FAMILY MATTER
3 interviews with families connected by this big event

Marcialonga is a real family matter!
Over the years, the passion for this Granfondo has involved lots of boys and girls who have then become fathers and mothers, involving their own kids. Time after time, these kids also grew up surrounded by the enthusiasm of the event and keep passing on the family tradition.
We are going to tell you the story of three families in which entire generations take part in Marcialonga as athletes, volunteers or supporters and where the boundary to the event is very special.

A family on the run

We are talking about the family of Luigi Delvai, one of the legendary senators who took part in all the editions of Marcialonga. Since the last edition, when his eldest grandson turned 18, they are 3 on the run: his son Edy, his grandson Patrick and him. But not only that. Luigi’s daughter is taking part in the race with her husband too, and the other grandchildren are involved in the Young, Mini and Baby formats, having in total 10 active competitors within the same family!

 

What does Marcialonga mean to you?

Luigi. Marcialonga is a lifestyle. It is commitment, sacrifice, respect but also satisfaction. I can still manage to arrive within the first 2000 participants. In the past, it also meant rivalry with other competitors and senators. Now my age has changed and so I think about getting to the finish-line, but I can still fight pretty well. Every time I arrive to Cavalese I tell myself: “This is over, let’s think about the next one!”.

Edy. First of all, it is a personal challenge, but back in the first editions I took part in it was also a challenge with my dad. I remember that when I passed through the villages people would tell me: “Your dad has long passed by!”. Over the years the gap was reduced, and I managed to catch him even if he always has a better seeding. With the time I stopped seeing the race from an agonistic perspective and started to face Marcialonga with a different and more relaxed philosophy, focusing less on time but still putting a lot of effort.

Patrick. What an effort! Last year it was very hard. Besides this, it means to keep the family tradition put up by my grandfather. Marcialonga is the race that all skiers dream of doing.

How do you live Marcialonga’s eve at home?

Luigi. Marcialonga’s eve is my melatonin. I don’t miss an event, from Story to Baby and Young. The telephone keeps on ringing: you compare personal choices on waxing, I have always been waxing my skis by myself. It has already happened that I put on a certain type of wax and then woke up in the middle of the night to change it. At home I prepare everything, have a normal dinner and when I go to bed I am very tired. This is why I consider it my melatonin!

Edy. Marcialonga’s eve is a tour de force. I always go to Lago di Tesero in the morning to find ski men and experts so that I can try to “steal” suggestions regarding the wax to put on the next day. Before preparing Patrick’s and my skis, there are the kids of Minimarcialonga and Young to think about. When it is evening we are very tired so have an early dinner and go to bed.

Patrick. Everyone is nervous, above all my mum. In the morning I go to school and when I come back she starts telling me to get my stuff ready and to not forget anything…what an anxiety!

Some words to describe the other two…

Luigi. Patrick is a boy with good qualities but still lacks confidence and cannot fully exploit his potential. Edy is a big satisfaction, as my daughter Michela is. They followed me in the sport, in the Sport Club Stella Alpina and passed down values and passion to their children.

Edy. Patrick has good skills but cannot handle them yet because he is too stubborn. Dad, on the contrary is the tenacity in person. He has an incredible willpower.

Patrick. Dad is like a bomb, that can explode both in a positive but also in a negative way; then it’s a problem. Grandpa, on the other side, is a big example.