«Names of women and men who have laid the bricks to build the athletics of the future. An affectionate dedication to many little great heroes, saints of fatigue. A small sin of pride dedicated to myself ». These are the words of Franco Arese, the most suitable to illustrate the meaning of «The faces of the race», his calendar of 2022, different from all the others. In each of the 365 of the year a company from the near or distant past in middle and cross-country skiing, from 800 to the marathon, from that unforgettable August 15th (1971) with Franco Arese himself European champion of 1500 meters in Helsinki in 3’38”43, to January 16 (1965) with the Australian Ron Clarke, the new world record holder of the 5000 meters in 13’34”8, or from 17 March (1973) with Paola Pigni and the Finnish Pekka Paivarinta cross world champions in Warengem in Belgium on May 6 (1954) with the British Roger Bannister becoming the first man under 4 minutes in the mile with a time of 3’59 ” 4 in Oxford, or again on June 27 (1973) when Marcello Fiasconaro sets the world record of 800 meters, 1’43”7 in Milan. And, of course, that January 24 (1982) with Rita Marchisio from Roata Chiusani of Cuneo who triumphs at the Osaka Marathon with the Italian record of 2h32’55 ”.
Franco Arese with the calendar “The faces of the race” (PHOTO DANILO NINOTTO)
Every day a feat of a great character, every month a giant photo of a legendary champion of middle distance or cross-country skiing, from Stefano Mei, Paula Radcliffe, Emil Zatopek (the “human locomotive”) to Luigi Beccali, Paavo Nurmi (“Nobody like him “), Keino Kipchoge, Alberto Cova. Yesterday (Wednesday 29 December) Franco Arese delivered a copy of “his” calendar to the mayor of Cuneo and president of the Province Federico Borgna and the municipal councilor for Sport Cristina Clerico: a gift to symbolically involve the whole city and the whole province to which Arese (like his brother Piero and the whole family), first as an athlete, then as an entrepreneur and president of the Italian Federation of athletics, has always remained deeply and concretely linked. In his magical 1971, in which all the Italian records from 800 to 10,000 meters bore his signature, the newspapers of the time commented on him that “Franco Arese had made the Italy of sport run”. After the magic in speed with the gold medal of Livio Berruti on the 200 meters at the Rome Olympics in 1960, that special conquest: a European title «with which I indicated a path that later became hospitable for many blue middle-distance champions, capable of winning everything. Names of women and men who have laid the bricks to build the athletics of the future ». As Franco Fava writes (former athletics champion, now a journalist), “there is a common thread that unites today’s successes – with the five Olympic gold medals in Tokyo 2020 on the track, on the platform and on the road – to that long sprint half a century ago of Franco Arese on the straight of the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. Not only his continental title of August 15, 1971, but also the way of interpreting athletics, with the passion and dedication for running and for fatigue (Who does not remember his public training sessions on Viale degli Angeli in Cuneo? Ed), strongly contributing to the spread in Italy of running at all levels, at all distances and at all ages. Because just winning a title isn’t enough to inspire entire generations. Franco Arese has succeeded ».
The work by journalists Fabio Monti and Gianni Romeo (creative direction of Valentina Ricci for Get Started), is not commercial: «The 2022 calendar“ The faces of the race ”is given to those who love athletics, continuing to think that without it there is no sporting culture».