Make money doing the work you believe in
Western States wasn’t the story I would have written for myself.
I wish it had been easier, less painful, more aesthetic, more joyful, less stressful. But that’s the reality of our experiences most of the times: they are messy, they force us to question ourselves and our choices, they put us through uncomfortable situations, they challenge us in ways we didn’t imagine or plan.
Two days after the race, I wrote these words:
While my 2025 CCC experience, in retrospect, felt like the perfect preparation and result, my first ever Western States was the opposite: I had to hold together all the uncertainty, the missing pieces, the discomfort, injuries and struggles to produce something good. Most of the time our experiences are a lot more similar to my Western States this year, with CCC being the exception. Deep down, we’d love to believe that we are the kind of people who are always capable of putting everything together and delivering, but the reality is different. CCC may have been an outlier, as difficult as it is for me to admit. Western States feels like a better representation of the paths that normally lead to an outcome, regardless if it’s positive or negative.
We decided to tell this story. It absorbed all my time and energy, it required everything I was capable of in order to get through it and share it with you. It’s also something I’m so grateful for, thanks to the people who made it possible.
ONE STEP AT A TIME will premiere in Chamonix on Thursday, August 27th at 4:30pm, after my race at OCC
I’d love to have you there and share it with you ☺️If you’d like to come, you can register through this link:
There will be popcorns :) I hope to see you there!
Special thanks to Hoka, Enervit, Coros and Vibram for making it possible
And to Damiano Levati, Daniele Molineris, Filippo Solaro, Damiano Ballarin, Tito Tiberti and Gloria Giudici for helping me tell this story
