Great celebration - even if we should say” always a bigger celebration” - as tradition. This is what was happened at the Mountain Sport Center in Courmayeur on 17 September to reward the ultra-trailers who took part in first edition of Tot Dret (130km) and eighth edition of Tor des Géants®, that since this year is part of the prestigious 5Legend international circuit.
There was a very crowded parterre and a continue “come and go” to the podium to reward, among music, flags and applause, the first rankings of Tot Dret and - with the same intensity - all Tor finisher (461), starting from the bottom of the ranking.
From this exciting week of the endurance trail - of the Aosta Valley from a geographical point of view but with a worldwide standing and representation, remain a new record of timing: 67 hours and 30 minutes needed to travel 330 km of "steep" path. Record established by Basque Javi Dominguez. There was also a new race, the Tot Dret (130 km), which have been a real and even more challenging competition, with much solidarity and beauty coming from Alpine landscapes, villages and people.
Many foreign competitors have discovered a new and amazing world and promised to come back, to discover with calm places and people, met this time, with a bit of "agonistic rush." An incentive to do even more for the organizers of VDA Trailers and Valle d'Aosta Region administrators, whose leaders, President Pierluigi Marquis and Member of Council for Sport, Tourism, Trade and Transport, Claudio Restano, have always been in the front row in today’s award ceremony. As well as congratulating the athletes, the organizers and, above all, the volunteers, he reiterated the importance of Tor for sport and promotion of tourism in Aosta Valley. He also emphasized the future of close cooperation between the parties.
Today's party ended with the traditional group photo (such a great group!) of all finisher, with hugs and emotion and with exchanges of addresses between people who live in the opposite parts of the world. Because along the paths of these mountains, big friendships are also born. As party ended, a Japanese athlete who was still walking with difficulty, arrived and said: “Sorry, when will it be possible to register for next year?"