HEROES--Marco Olmo

In life I’m a loser, I was born poor, as I am still poor now. I run to revenge myself. I run for vengeance.
MARCO OLMO

Marco Olmo is a remarkable individual. Born poor, he left the countryside for the blue collar work of a cement factory. He began running at age 26, but he did not achieve success with running until he reached his fifties. At age 58, he won the Ulra Trail du Mont Blanc or UTMB against competitors half his age. He repeated the performance the following year at age 59.

Olmo is a simple man. He is self-effacing and humble. But he has a tremendous ethic when it comes to training and competition. His age seems to make him tougher not weaker. The fact that he accomplishes what he does at his age is testimony that getting older is not necessarily a reason to lay down and die. Olmo is a man who lives in defiance--of aging, of humble origins, of the elements of nature, of his own exhaustion. This is what makes him a hero.

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