XXI^ Mezza Maratona del Castello

The Mezza Maratona del Castello is a half marathon in Vittuone, west of Milan, run in early February as the Lombardy road-racing season begins. It starts from Parco Lincoln and sends runners through the town streets, with Atletica 99 Vittuone organizing the race. The event has reached its 21st edition, and one reported field brought together about 900 runners, from experienced local competitors to people using the race as an early-season test. The race is closely tied to local logistics and volunteer work. In one edition, the usual footbridge near the finish was unusable, so the organizers moved the finish to a side street just before it and had volunteers rebuild the arrival area there. The speaker Davide Dacc described the new setup as an “andirivieni,” and some runners thought they had reached the line before realizing they still had more to run. Past reports also describe the Vittuone morning as cold, damp, and misty, with fog lifting from the fields before the 9:00 a.m. start.