“As long as the heart beats, you have to live life to the fullest, while remaining with your feet on the ground.” And she, Silvia Furlani, an athlete from Udine who has lived with multiple sclerosis for years, thanks to her will to live and her desire to look beyond, will be at the start on Sunday at “Del Riso. .. The Marathon ”, to reiterate her message of hope.
Silvia is 62 years old and discovered she was sick with multiple sclerosis when she was not even thirty years old. Since then, she has never stopped: marathons, half marathons, trails. In Italy, and beyond. She once even risked her life: «In 2006 I got lost in the Libyan desert. I wandered in the dunes for 13 hours, then they recovered me, ”she explains. In 2017, you covered the 125 kilometers of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Kilometer after kilometer, Silvia brings with her a message of positivity, determination, courage: «Without sport I don’t know how I would have done it, it was my lifeline. I never stop, a race every Sunday. This year I have already run several half marathons: in Jesolo, where I suffered from the great heat, in Verona, and many others. I fight the prejudice that multiple sclerosis patients are doomed to immobility », Silvia says with a smile.
A woman who is a symbol against prejudices on disabilities: “The life of a disabled person – she remembers – is not better or worse than that of a” capable “, but only different and we need to bring messages so that a new mentality ready to welcome diversity emerges in all fields of life “.
And Silvia takes this message around Italy and the world: «My disability – she explains – does not set me limits, on the contrary it has made me grow a lot. It gave me a new awareness, an extraordinary strength to face life. Therefore I never stop in front of difficulties, but I go forward calm and determined ».
Sport to convey hope to people who are confronted with multiple sclerosis, but also to those who face a challenge every day: «I have always liked running and since I was a young girl I have been doing sports because it makes me feel good. Sport makes us better because it puts us in touch with our tenacity and brings out all our determination ».
Thanks to this perspective, Silvia is able to attribute to the pathology the appearance of a special traveling companion with whom to establish a relationship of peaceful coexistence: “Through the race I always face and overcome obstacles with enthusiasm” she says.
And it is no coincidence that she was awarded the title of ambassador of the smile. “I am very happy to bring my message to Santhià too – concludes the runner – and I invite everyone on Sunday morning to join in this race – a symbol of hope”. –
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