Day 361 – EU – Italy [Altopascio to Livorno]

31/03/21

46.6km

  From Altopascio (Italy) to Livorno (Italy)

Europe

Reaching the west coast of Italy on another hot day running on the flatlands of Tuscany

On the way to the coast across Tuscany

Altopascio was beautiful in the morning light as I left in the wee hours. It was already very warm and the cloudless skies were another indication it would be a hot day. I am quite surprised. When I restarted the world run in this region last June, it was not yet quite as hot as it is now. I am wondering how hot it will get further south when it is already this warm.

Running along the Canale Imperiale

About halfway through the run, I crossed the town of Fornacette. For about 100m or so I ran on the road I ran on June 4th 2020 between Pisa and Fucecchio on the way to Florence. It was a happy day I vividly remember, the first day back on the road after an 80 days lockdown break. Well today was also a happy day as I am finally reaching the west coast of Italy below Pisa and getting to see the sea again. That part of Italy (all the way south to Pisa to Naples) was cut off from my trip last year, when my idea was to get as fast as possible to Istanbul. Alas as I progressed east, more borders shut and my journey got diverted again.

Not a pretty sight but it’s only March and the sun has beaten quite hard on these legs already!

Anyway I reached Livorno, the third run of 46km in a row under quite a hot sun. I noticed it’s the end of March and I already got my summer legs on (tanwise). It’s quite early but it’s also a testament to how hot it really is! From tomorrow onwards I’ll be running on the coastline of Italy, but I doubt the sea is warm enough for a swim just yet. I’ll see about that tomorrow!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: