X-BIONIC LAKE GARDA 42: LADIES FIRST! WOMEN TO TAKE CENTRE STAGE IN THE 2023 HALF MARATHON

In the previous edition, 47% of those who participated in the half marathon were women, but this year they’re ready to outdo their male counterparts on the course that winds its way along the northern shores of Lake Garda.

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Following on from the success of the previous event, when women represented almost half of the participants in the half marathon, it was easy to hope that this figure might rise to more than 50% for the 2023 edition. And so it has come to pass, with just two months to go before race day, the number of female registrations is confirming expectations.

We won’t know the final figure until Sunday 26th March, when runners from all four corners of the globe line up on the starting blocks of the X-BIONIC LAKE GARDA 42 and the LG21 half marathon, but the little sister of these two events, as we’ve seen, already has many positive aspects to pique the interest of enthusiasts for this second edition too. One of the many is the surprising numbers of women participating: in 2022 it was 47% – the overall total was 37% when considering the two races together – and in 2023, the organizers are confident that these numbers can be even higher.??

THE OVERTAKE. Naturally, during the race, overtaking will be the order of the day, but you’ll hardly see an overtaking manoeuvre quite like the one highlighted by the participation figures: the current data shows that of the athletes who’ve registered for the half marathon, 54% are female. Numbers which, if confirmed once the registration deadline has passed, would make the LG21 one of the few running events where female runners make up the majority of participants. And there’s no reason why, in the coming days, this gap won’t continue to widen, given that from 1st February the registration fee will increase by €10, prompting many athletes to quicken their pace.

ENTHUSIASM IS SKY-HIGH. While gender equality (only numerically, of course) among participants was wholeheartedly welcomed at the end of the first edition, the organizers’ enthusiasm is all the more evident this year:

“We're so pleased to see that we already have a significant representation from female athletes: it was certainly our hope following last year, and to see it becoming a reality fills us with great pride - the words of Patrizia Pederzolli-Deissenberger , head of the event’s organising committee - and our goal is for this to be an event for the whole family, involving mothers, fathers and the little ones with the KIDS RUN that takes place on Saturday 25th March.”

LET’S GET TO KNOW THEM BETTER. Of the nearly 500 female runners who participated in the 2022 edition of the LG21, the age group which saw the highest number of registrations was from 45 to 49 years old. The youngest participant was Cecile Paschke from Germany, who was born in 2003, while Nadia Ghedini from San Marino, born in 1953, was the most experienced female athlete. As many as 35 nationalities were represented: the majority were Italians, followed by the Germans (23%). Lake Garda is a destination that’s well known in English-speaking countries, indeed, over 7% of runners were from Great Britain.

A LAKESIDE RUN. With the experience that the LAKE GARDA 42 promises, the runners will have great difficulty concentrating on their splits: on Sunday 26th March they’ll be spellbound by a route that unwinds through a breathtaking landscape – even more resplendent in spring – dominated by Lake Garda as the course runs along much of the Lake’s northern shore. The half marathon will cross into two different regions, Trentino and Veneto, with the former providing the start line and the latter the finish line, located in Arco di Trento and Malcesine respectively. Limone sul Garda in Lombardy, however, will be the start point for the 42 km event; it’ll be run at the same time as the half marathon and will also finish in Malcesine after passing through Riva del Garda and Arco di Trento.

LAKE GARDA 42 is powered by X-BIONIC? .

More info on the X-BIONIC LAKE GARDA 42 can be found on the website www.lakegarda42.com?