THE VATICAN STATE
Città del Vaticano 11km 58min
- The Holy Run - Not everyday you can run the perimeter of a whole Country! This time it was possible to do so as I ran into and around the smallest country in the World: The Vatican State. During the months of December and January, through some researches made on the internet, I managed to get in touch with the Comando of the Vatican Gendarmerie, who, after some emails and phone calls, allowed me to cover the distance I was planning to run into Saint Peter's Square. I wanted to run exactly 12 laps, (same as the number of the Apostles in a symbolic way) starting and finish it at the tall egyptian obelisk right in the middle of the Square. So it started on the 13th of February at 6:30am, when it was still dark, wearing an outfit representing the Vatican colors. Lap by lap I witnessed such a beautiful sunrise coming right infront of the Cathedral. All the fine marbles faded into a pink color and it became such a surreal and magical moment. At this time, I can say I had the entire Vatican State just for myself, empty of people and no noises. By 7am, few tourists were already queueing and started noticing me. Even on my prelast lap, the italian police recognized me, knowing my name and where I was born and wished me good luck for my project. Totally loved it. After the 12 laps were done, I left the Square and met two Swiss Guards who allowed me to take a photo of them. A total of 3.5km to run the whole perimter of the State and terminate it again in the middle of Saint Peter's Square. This was't really a training but so far it is one of my favorite runs of this project.
Thanks a lot to the Gendarmeria Vaticana who allowed me to realize my wish.
