Laudino Mason, aged 79, is running his 40th Venice Marathon

“Laudino is a member of the Audace Noale athletics club; we’ve known him since we joined. He’s one of the club’s mainstays; he’s won many races and still takes part in loads of events, and in his age group he’s always on the podium. He still trains a lot in the mountains, but he was keen to run the 40th Venice Marathon.” This is how the women explain what motivated them to run the race alongside him: “The idea came from Caterina, who thought she’d accompany him as his pacer – that is, to set a steady, consistent pace throughout the race and help him make it to the finish line.” So Silvia G., Caterina, Annamaria, Anna, Federica and Silvia T. – already close friends thanks to their shared love of running – decided to get ready.

“We’d have liked to surprise him,” they explain, “but we preferred to organise things properly, all wearing themed T-shirts and carrying balloons, and we also notified the Venice Marathon organisers, who immediately embraced the idea and helped us publicise the event.” Whilst the women train around their other commitments, Laudino has been training over the past few weeks to tackle a considerable challenge, given that he usually runs 25km on the road, but a full marathon is 42km. “Perhaps he would have done it on his own anyway,” the athletes reflect, “but he gave us the chance to run together for the first time; due to injuries, it had never happened before.”

When the fateful 25 October arrived, with the race starting from Villa Pisani in Stra, the marathon was full of intense moments: “Anna set off with us despite suffering from plantar fasciitis,” they explain. “She was determined to start anyway, knowing she wouldn’t be able to finish the whole thing; she struggled for 3 kilometres just to be there.” Laudino, too, was struggling at times, complaining of a severe headache towards the end; with every passing year, it becomes harder to complete such a feat, but: “Although he struggled more than last year – when he ran the 42 kilometres in 5 hours and 20 minutes – he managed to finish in 6 hours. We feared he wouldn’t make it, but he’s indomitable and was absolutely determined to reach the finish line.”

The Venice Marathon organisers gave the whole group the chance to start at the front – when usually only the ‘veterans’ are given priority over the ‘top runners’ – so the team in blue, accompanied by balloons, was seen by absolutely everyone. ‘Laudino stopped for a few breaks and interacted with the crowd in his usual style: “Madam, would you like an autograph? It’s €20 now, but €50 at the finish line’ or ‘Do you know how good-looking I was at the start? Look at what I’ve become now’ – the women explain – ‘we were leading the way and as soon as he arrived, there was always great cheering and engagement from the spectators’. In Mira, Laudino was greeted and stopped for a photo with a former team-mate, becoming quite moved; and on arrival, between exhaustion and emotion, he didn’t even have the breath to speak.

“Laudino is a role model,” comment the group of female athletes, “he’s always on the ball, but he’s a very humble person who, despite having achieved significant results – and still performing well for his age – has never let this go to his head. He runs purely for the pleasure of it and tries to encourage others to take part; he’s very approachable and friendly, a positive character whom we’re very fond of.” His brother would also have loved to run with him, but due to his irregular heartbeat, he had to give up on the idea.

“We wanted to celebrate him for what he does and for his spirit,” they explain. “We really admire what he does for the team; he’s always there at every race our sports club organises.” The athletes describe running as a way to let go of many negative thoughts; you get tired, but by the time you finish you’re less tired than when you started. Even though it’s an individual sport, it brings people together: “We run as a group,” they conclude. “We’ve run the Valencia half-marathon, the Cefalù half-marathon, completed the Trail degli Dei in Agerola, the Palermo half-marathon, we’ve been to Marrakesh, completed the 100km Passatore race, run the Maga Circe Marathon in Sabaudia; we cover at least a hundred kilometres a month, and running for Laudino has brought us even closer together.”