Not content with his exertions of last year, a race of a mere 600 km across Alaska dragging a sled laden with all the necessities for self-sufficiency in this extreme environment, 24-year-old Alex Bellini, a native of Edolo living in Aprica, is this year to undertake an adventure-race three times as long.
In fact, 1,800 kilometres is the length of the Alaska Ultrasport race 2003, starting date 23 February: only two other Italians will be taking part along with Bellini, but there will be many other athletes from every part of the world. This competitive foot race will last about 27-30 days, depending on the weather, which will determine how far the participants can travel in a day.
As we said, this is not the first race that Alex has run in Alaska: in February 2002 he took part in the same event, over a distance which however was two thirds shorter than this year’s. The Italian extreme racer brought back from that experience a whole lot of memories which he shared with those who heard one of his talks at the Aprica Conference Centre last summer.
Alex will be sending reports and photos from this year’s race, for which he has been training hard for months, to update the pages devoted to him and his adventure on the Internet portal www.apricaonline.com. He will also be personally keeping up to date his online diary on the site. The pages already devoted to the Alaska race will soon include “Il Muroâ€, a forum to which anyone can write and in which Alex will be able to reply.
Bellini is at present negotiating with potential sponsors of his adventure, to the tune of several thousand euros. Last year his sled carried, among others, the label Aprica-Valtellina, while this year the race may be run under the colours of ApricaOnLine, with stickers on his sled and his hat. Alex welcomes all potential supporters, including trade sponsors, in the online pages devoted to him on Iditarod Trail Invitational, or directly at his e-mail address alexbellini@apricaonline.com
