Adidas Runners PolimiRun Spring
It has been an intense three-day event the one of adidas Runners PolimiRun Spring and The Running Lab, that last week saw one of the most attended 10K run on the Italian scene. More than 13.000 registered participants, including 560 athletes for the agonistic race, who competed on a 10-kilometre course starting in front of the Polytechnic in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci and finishing at the Bovisa university campus of Milan, where in the coming years a new campus will be born with areas for wellness and sports. But beyond the numbers, what is striking is the average age of participation: by far one of the lowest in the running calendar.
PolimiRun confirms the interest of Generation Z for running and the right intuition of adidas, sponsor of the event, in wanting to support them and in wanting to satisfy their needs and inclinations. The challenge of the German company is to increasingly engage this new generation of runners, study their interests, evaluate their needs and identify strategies capable of satisfying them.
There was a great news for this 2023 edition, thanks to Adidas’ The Running Lab, a village of more than 400 square meters entirely dedicated to experiences at the service of all running enthusiasts, which constituted a real thematic laboratory. Over 6.000 running lovers passed through the village between Friday and Saturday, and everyone was able to take advantage of the many services made available by the brand. Guided group trainings dedicated to different targets and needs, personalized consultancy by qualified coaches, advanced analyzes of all running metrics, product try-ons, thematic workshops and many other proposals entertained the participants and provided them with various opportunities for further study and assistance.
The enthusiasm and feedback aroused by the possibility offered to the participants in the race to test the footwear during the competition, and then return them once they have crossed the finish line, was very significant. The availability of shoes to try on quickly sold out, with a rather lengthy wait that helped confirm the accuracy of the intuition and the proposal.
In this context, with the exceptional participation of the Italian marathon record holder Iliass Aouani and with the aim of giving concrete voice to the requests of these newbie runners, an unusual talk has taken place. Moderating the confrontation between two factions of journalists and university runners was Rachele Sangiuliano, Olympian volleyball champion of the Italian national team and today a motivational speaker and sports commentator. Issues of great interest emerged, which forced the media to reflect on the probable need to partially rethink their narrative and their way of talking about running.
Adidas Runners PolimiRun Spring and The Running Lab have highlighted new perspectives for the running movement, confirming the value of a positioning choice for the German brand and its intention to take up a new generational challenge, placing itself at the service of an always new public and which today requires adequate responses to one’s needs and a rethinking of the traditional paradigm.
The following day it’s time to run. At 8.30 in the morning, more than 13.000 participants lined up on the starting line, but immediately there was no doubt about the name of the winner: Italian athlete Iliass Aouani, adidas ambassador and Italian marathon record holder with 2h07.16, who takes home the victory with an excellent 28.31. Behind him, almost a minute away, is Nekagenet Crippa with 29.22. For the third and fourth place, Pasquale Selvarolo and Daniele D’Onofrio arrive arm in arm, both credited with the same time of 29.49. As for the women’s event, favorite Valentina Gemetto wins with an excellent time of 33.29, after running together with Nicole Reina (who fell behind after the seventh kilometre, however concluding with a time of 33.47). On the third step of the podium Sara Galimberti with a time of 34.13.
