An endurance trail of 330 km and 24.000 metres of elevation gain, run in a time between 67 and 150 hours in tough conditions and with little sleep, is an extreme challenge not only for the physic but also for the brain. That's why the Italian Army, thanks to a partnership with VDA Trailers, will use the preparation and the participation itself for Tor des Géants® as a training for the missions.
Twenty-one militaries, divided in two platoons composed by ten people plus a captain, will participate in TOR departing on 8th September, with the wild cards provided by the organisation, to train and test different aspects of the life under the army as the capacity to elaborate information in difficult conditions, management of the sleep, tolerance of pain: a mental and physical training that was born from the project “Over the Top – Cognitive Training”.
In 2018, Lieutenant Colonel Vincenzo Zampella and Lieutenant Colonel Giulio Monti took part and finished the Aosta Valley's endurance trail. The cognitive training, used by the two officers, has been a fundamental tool to achieve this undertaking. Monti, in 2017, had withdrawn at few kilometres from the arrival, from there he started again to accomplish the objective.
To prepare for TOR, the twenty-one militaries will take part in Gran Trail Courmayeur 105 km on the next 13rd July. The partnership between VDA Trailers and the Italian Army, represented in Aosta Valley by the Alpine Training Centre of Aosta started with the first edition of Tor des Géants®. From 2010 until today, in fact,
the camp-beds, available in the life bases, have given a well-deserved rest to all runners: an indispensable supply for one of the most tough and challenging races in the world. With the new partnership, the armed forces will give a fundamental logistical support, also in terms of security, for the realisation of the competition, through the use of resources and personnel, during the TOR.