Venice, 28 March 2023 - Five thousand moving lights will illuminate the Venetian night, up and down 51 bridges and 16 kilometers long, on Saturday 1 April, on the occasion of the seventh edition of the CMP Venice Night Trail, the night trail organized by Venicemarathon with the fundamental support and patronage of the Municipal Administration of Venice, of the Port System Authority of the Northern Adriatic Sea and titled again this year by the prestigious CMP brand of the F.lli Campagnolo group.
The night race in the historic center of Venice is reconfirmed as an extremely popular event, with registrations closed well in advance due to bib numbers sold out and the large number of foreign athletes from 32 countries.
On the other hand, only thanks to the CMP Venice Night Trail will athletes experience the charm of running at night, wrapped in darkness and silence in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and accompanied by the sweet melody of the waves that caress the banks of the canals. Athletes will have to wear frontal torches that will illuminate calli and campielli, in a truly magical atmosphere.
The departure is scheduled for 9 pm from the Maritime area of the Port of Venice, more precisely from the Cruise Terminal 123, where the CMP Village will be built with all the pre- and post-race services and where the athletes can easily leave their car a few meters from the starting and finishing line. The spectacular route will enter the most typical areas of the city, touching points of great charm such as Piazza San Marco, the Accademia bridge, Punta della Dogana, the Fondamenta delle Zattere and the Giudecca Canal.
The event was presented this morning at Ca' Farsetti in Venice, the Town Hall. In addition to the top management of Venicemarathon, Piero Rosa Salva, Stefano Fornasier and Lorenzo Cortesi, the 'hosts' were present, the deputy mayor and municipal councilor for Sport Andrea Tomaello and the municipal councilor for Territorial Promotion Paola Mar, the Planning Director Strategy and Development of the Port System Authority Antonio Revedin and Paola Gazzola and Nicolò Rossignoli of CMP.
"The seventh edition of the CMP Venice Night Trail finally restarts without restrictions and with extraordinary vitality - declared the president of Venicemarathon Piero Rosa Salva - The success of this trail is linked above all to the spectacular and unique nature of its route, designed to be fascinating and at the same time respectful of the fragility of Venice. We have limited the members to 5,000, however achieving an extraordinary result and I would like to underline how the growth of this event, as it happens for all our events, has always been gradual and compatible with the city. This success is thanks to the invaluable collaboration with the Municipal Administration, the Police Forces, the Port Authority, the sponsors, but above all the many volunteers deployed along the route".
Deputy mayor Andrea Tomaello spoke of great competence and organizational ability, recalling how last year, in truly prohibitive weather conditions, the organizational machine showed great readiness and speed in reacting to an unforeseen and emergency situation: "It is of a very fascinating run and route because you rarely have the opportunity to run at night and especially in a city like ours. We recommend that athletes wear head torches, but there will be no shortage of volunteers and security personnel. In fact, our thanks as municipal administration go to the perfect organizational machine of Venicemarathon which, once again, has been able to create a sporting event that respects the city and is in harmony with it".
"It is a perfectly integrated race with Venice - added the commissioner Mar - and which proves to be further proof of collaboration between city institutions. Once again a quality appointment has been organized and loved by both sportsmen and citizens and as the Department that deals with the promotion of events in the area we can only be proud of this moment of celebration".
"The Port System Authority, in coordination with the Port Authority, the Guardia di Finanza, the Border Police, the Customs Agency and the VTP terminal has worked again this year to enhance a strategic place of interaction between city and port" - underlined Antonio Revedin, Director of Strategic Planning and Development - "For this reason we express our full satisfaction in welcoming, at the Marittima areas, the collection of bibs and race packs, the departure and arrival of the athletes who will participate in the seventh edition of the Venice Night Trail.Furthermore, also in the 2023 edition, the athletes will cross the port waterfront between San Basilio and Sant'Andrea, until they return to the Marittima, thanks to the varco specially opened by the Customs. These are all areas in which AdSP is investing energies and resources to develop the infrastructures and assets of the port state property with a view to authentic and positive connection with the city".
The general coordinator Lorenzo Cortesi then took the floor and discussed the value, in terms of appeal, that the event is achieving and the strong commitment of the company in terms of sustainability: "The quality of the CMP Venice Night Trail is growing rapidly and it is an event that has become very attractive to big brands. In addition to CMP, which immediately believed in us and has been by our side for 5 years, we underline the important media partnership of two prestigious publications such as Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport and above all we announce the entry of Honda with which we are launching the project ' Honda illuminates Venice' in a logistically perfect container like the Cruise Terminal 123, where the CMP Venice Village will be born, open this year for two days. We have also proceeded to reserve 1,000 free parking spaces for athletes thanks to the collaboration with Park For Fun. Along the way, we will set up the intermediate refreshment point in the Giardini della Biennale and many volunteers will make sure that the athletes throw their waste in the appropriate containers".
Among the sponsors, Nicolò Rossignoli of CMP spoke: "Marrying this event means combining the competitive aspect with the inclusive one, where everyone, even beginners, can try their hand at a demanding distance, but within a stimulating context full of charm. We believe very much in this event and this year too we have created the technical jersey that all the athletes will find in the race pack".
The presentation was concluded by the vice president of Venicemarathon Stefano Fornasier who provided some technical details: "The CMP Venice Night Trail, precisely because of its specificity and the date on which it takes place, represents an important and highly appealing early season event for trail specialists. On the other hand, 51 bridges to tackle strongly recall the idea of demanding mountain climbs. Among the members, we are currently announcing that of the winner of the last three editions, Nicolò Petrin, but we will shortly communicate the complete list of top runners".
The prestigious Japanese car brand Honda, 'Main Partner & Official Car' of the event, therefore sets out to 'run' alongside the most important running events in Italy and does so starting from Venice with the project 'Honda illuminates Venice '. Not just a slogan, but an excellent opportunity reserved for all participants in the race to test the new range of hybrid vehicles and receive a free headlamp, an indispensable object for illuminating the darkest and most evocative stretches of this fascinating nocturnal trail. The Japanese brand will therefore be present at the CMP Village, on Friday 31 March and Saturday 1 April, to welcome enthusiasts with test drives and give away a head torch.
The 7th CMP Venice Night Trail is included in the calendar of promotional events of the Municipality of Venice "Le Città in Festa" 2023.
In addition, important companies will run alongside the 7th CMP Venice Night Trail such as: CMP, Honda, Alì, the Port System Authority of the Northern Adriatic Sea, Pro Action, San Benedetto, Palmisano, Bavaria, Diabasi, Park For Fun, 3BMeteo, Interparking, Lacomed Sport, Manifattura Falomo and the media partners Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport.