IVAN CAMURRI AND HIS SPECIAL SPORTING STORY
Today we meet one of the CimAlp testers, Ivan Camurri who shares with us his special “sporting story” from which we can draw a message of great strength.
Let’s start Ivan!
My name is Ivan Camurri, I am 34 years old and I live in Alagna Valsesia. I started running when I was a child. It seemed natural to me because my mom is Gisella Bendotti, one of the pioneers of skyrunning who has competed all over the world. She still holds the ascent and descent record at Capanna Margherita from Alagna.
My best years of victories and podiums
My passion for trail running was born about ten years ago when I started training a little more seriously to try to lengthen the distances and maybe achieve some results. I have always been very competitive and in addition to love for nature, I run because I like the atmosphere of competitions, trying to improve to reach a goal!
Between 2017 and 2018 I had the best results: I won the Trail Oasi Zegna, the Trail Monte Soglio, the Valsesia Trail and I grabt the podium of the Monterosa Walser Trail, Bettelmat Ultra Trail and Trail Monte Casto. I touched 800 ITRA points!
During a race I also met Agnese, my wife, I love her so much. It is not easy in this world to find someone who has the same passions as you have, but it is truly wonderful!
How in a moment my life changed….
I was at the peak of my athletic shape when something turned my life upside down! I felt tired, the more I trained the less I performed, and in the last two races I had to give up. I got sick and the diagnosis was terrible: acute myeloid leukemia.
The hardest challenge to overcome
At first I didn’t want to believe it, why me? After crying a bit, the desire to overcome this challenge immediately came out, head down like the sport I love taught me! I passed difficult months, I did 4 cycles of chemotherapy that demolished my body, I lost 15kg, I was locked in a hospital room for 5 months, with filtered air, filtered water, without even the possibility to stretch my legs.
I would never have done it without the people who were close to me, first of all my wife Agnese! At that time she wasn’t my wife yet, we got married in the hospital! I know, it wasn’t the wedding of our dreams, but it was intimate and brought a lot of hope and even more desire to fight! Also because 5 days after the diagnosis, we discovered we were expecting a baby! Life is strangely wonderful! In the darkest period it tears my heart apart with the best news !! Thanks also to that little baby on the way I battled at my best. After the bone marrow transplant, thanks to my mother (yes, she gave me life twice!), I was finally out of the hospital!
The first months were difficult, after 5 months in bed I had no muscles, I struggled to climb the stairs and I was always tired. But slowly and with the help and love of my wife and of Francesco, my baby, I started to recover! Obviously, even now after nearly two years, I am still not at 100% and my weakened immune system has made me contract COVID too. I fought to overcome this battle as well as there were two hearts waiting for me at home!
My Mantra is “never give up” especially what you love!
So despite all what has happened to me, a few months ago I started training again, with extreme fatigue and at a really slow pace, but when for 20 months they tear away from you the thing you love most, when you go back to it you feel something unique and indescribable! I will probably never be able to achieve the same athletic results as before, but I still want to try it because my Mantra is “never give up” and the hope is to get back to competing with my wife as soon as possible!
A message for everyone
Sorry for the avalanche of words but it is a particular story and I wanted to tell it well! I thank all the doctors who treated me, the nurses and all the hospital staff. I thank my parents who have always been by my side. I thank the most important person, without whom I would never have made it, I love you Agnese you are a force of nature.
I invite everyone to donate blood and marrow, it costs you nothing but it could save one or more lives! Enjoy trail running and keep racing!
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