Parkinson&Sport

World Parkinson Day, Parkinsonauts on TV and in the race.

While the whole Parkinson’s world was celebrating “World Parkinson Day”, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of James Parkinson, Marco Ramelli and Roberto Ripani, two representatives of the Parkinsonauti Team, were engaged in the first race of the year and also in the history of the Team, the 4th Duathlon sprint City of Foligno, memorial Danilo Pascucci

It was a great success, between TV, social channels and the platform, hundreds of people followed the program and connections with guests from all over the world. In the coming days, we will create video content in both languages ​​for each guest and topic, to facilitate viewing.

We PARKINSONAUTI lived it like this, alternating Parkinson & Sport , following the event we had scheduled in the morning on Well TV that you can watch, here in Italian and here in English and remotely encouraging our athletes who were preparing to compete in their first race of 2021.

https://youtu.be/jIfxfxXMvL4

For Marco it was the second participation in an endurance race, after the relay at the Romeo and Juliet marathon, in Verona last February 2020, the last sporting event in which we took part just before the lockdown.

While Roberto Ripani, Parkinsonaut triathlete, founder of the T. & NT group, is now a regular at the FITRI competition fields.

Marco’s story

It is exciting for me, even today after a few days, to rethink all the emotions of such an important day. I want to tell you about the commitment and determination I put in place to prepare my first official duathlon sprint distance race: 5 km run, 20 km. bike, 2.5 runs.

I come from swimming, I started cycling for a year and running is not really my favorite specialty, my point of arrival will be triathlons, where the initial water will give me more pleasure, but from some part you have to start, so here I am in Foligno.

The preparation

I got on a racing bike 2 months ago, after having undergone a functional evaluation test by Alberto Schivardi, the coach of us parkinsonauts. Since that day I have been following a specific training program for my goals and characteristics, combined with a specific food plan designed for me by Dr. Ferrigno. Since I have been training constantly, the results have been immediately evident for me and also for my knees, in the last year I have lost almost 15 kg. My willpower, the desire to finish and the certainty that the preparation gave me were fundamental to lead me to the starting line.

The spirit of the Parkinsonauti Team

The rest was added by my fellow adventurers, Roberto with his experience helped me in the preparation of materials, procedures, up to the final moving surprise that I will tell you later and Antonella, with her sweetness, encouraged and supported me, as well as transforming herself into a cameraman for the occasion, documenting the day of sport and friendship.

We are all giving our best, to confirm that parkinsonauts can really do everything, we must continue to want it all the way, and for this reason being united makes the difference. The compact team of the Parkinsonauti Team of Parkinson & Sport presented itself in Foligno, with Roberto Ripani from the T. & NT group and his wife Patrizia, myself, Marco Ramelli and Antonella.

The race

The race was very tough, all with the wind in my face, I gave everything in the first 5 km. of running and cycling, then I found myself in the final leg of running without petrol.

 

And here the team worked the miracle: Roberto, my partner and mentor of this sporting enterprise, who was waiting for me after having brilliantly finished his race, stripped off the windbreaker that protected him from the cold and started running again. With the permission of the race judges, whom we thank for the affection shown towards the parkinsonauts, we made the final lap together, encouraged by everyone until the finish line. 

These are the parkinsonauts, maybe we have never met before, but if it comes to helping a partner in difficulty we run another 2.5 km without thinking too much. On social networks, we received encouragement and support from the other teammates of the group who, with Stefano Ghidotti, were participating in World Parkinson Day.

This is me, despite a pain in the left calf since the second kilometer, in spite of the cold and the wind that always seemed to blow against, I have never considered, not even for a moment, the possibility of stopping. I finished 4th in category out of 6 and 130th out of 173 entrants.

 

We ended up with a party prepared for us, in the trunk of the car, by Patrizia and Antonella, due to anticovid measurements there were no tables or chairs, no hot coffee, much less showers, but sweets from all over Italy brought by Roberto and Antonella were very good. 

For me, last year, duathlon was a dream, now that I have achieved it, I have understood even more clearly that dreams can come true, as many times as you really want.

Parkinson’s already knows it, it WILL NOT STOP US, ever!

Roberto’s story

One week later the emotion experienced in participating in the 4th Duathlon Città di Foligno memorial Danilo Pascucci with colors of the T. & NT group is still strong With the friend and athlete of the PARKINSONAUTI TEAM Marco Ramelli, with the support of my wife Patrizia and the very gritty Antonella, who is not frightened in front of anything, we brought our testimony, precisely on 11 April on the day of World Parkinson Day.

My first Duathlon went like this:

Starting in the dark, it was the first experience in this specialty. In the first fraction I tried to keep up without forcing too much, keeping a conservative attitude, the race was still long.

 

Then I got on my bike and I said to myself: “I have 20 km without problems! “And so head down and legs down until the arrival in the transition area with the legs a bit ‘woody, so much so as to fear not being able to see the finish line.

Then I gathered my strength and with determination I left for the final stage, little by little the quadriceps melted, 2.5 km are not many and at the end of the race I said to myself that maybe I could push a little more.

Our message

Parkinson’s also affects young people, sport is of great help, our presence in the Triathlon and Duathlon competition fields from now on will want to affirm this important concept. Marco and I threw ourselves into this duathlon with courage also for this purpose, as well as to have fun.

 

Our friend Dario Daddo Nardone, speaker of the event and the race judges, supported us throughout the day, and so we were able to leave our message to those who saw us struggling along the track. Even if life trips you up and you find yourself on the ground, you can always decide to get up, perhaps with the help of someone who holds out his hand, because sharing is a great value, TOGETHER we go further.

The appointment with the PARKINSONAUTI TEAM is for the next event this time TRIATHLON to heal us by doing sport TOGETHER.

Stay connected, other sporting events await the Parkinsonauti Team and we will be ready to tell you about them.