Indro Neri

This picture dates back to 1995: since then many kilometers were covered by the soles of my running shoes, but this image remains one of my favorites. I was born in 1964, so I no longer have that young look to begin with. I started running in 1973 by participating to an event that no longer exists, held in the small charming Italian village of Lucolena, on the Chianti hills near Firenze. It was a small fun run organized within the local Chestnut Fair, and upon my arrival I won a bag of chestnuts as the youngest participant. That was the begining of my inseparable relationship with running and food. I almost never train but I run each Sunday by participating in every possible moving event, whether in Italy or abroad - races, walks, hikings, with a special consideration for the refreshment points along the courses. Among the events in my running career that I cherish with most affection, are all the "New York City Marathon" editions I took place in, the "Ta-Ju-Ta" ultramarathon from Tarcento to Tarvisio crossing the Yugoslavian (now Slovenian) border. In Slovenia I took part in the last edition of the race "Il volo della rondine", sixty kilometers long, on the verge of being cancelled a few minutes before its starting time by the organizers due to bad weather. Then I am also fond of my participation to the "Trofeo gambero d'oro" backward run, to the "Maratona Alpina" across the tunnels opened in the Italian Alps by the soldiers during World War I, and to a breath-taking marathon in Crater Lake, Oregon, around the crater of this famous American volcano; where I arrived last, as usual. I am a professional journalist with several books on my resume, all about running and food.