Day 365 – EU – Italy [Piombino to Follonica]

04/04/21

32.5km

  From Piombino (Italy) to Follonica (Italy)

Europe

A short Easter Sunday run on empty roads under a bright sun a windy finish

Alone on empty roads

I started a bit later than usual today, knowing the road was short to Follonica. Easter Sunday roads on lockdown were strikingly empty and I had the road to myself (shared with a few cyclists). I got arrested by a patrol of Carabinieri (local police). They wanted to control that there was no “bambino” in the stroller and we then had a chat about my journey, which seemed to impress them a lot. They jokingly offered me a job with their patrol “to run after thieves” – I politely declined and resumed the running!

Approaching Follonica by the canal

365 days on the journey sounds like an anniversary (after discounting the 120 days cumulatively spent in lockdown so far). I am pleased that I am on target in terms of the amount of running per day, the amount of rest I take, being able (as far as these are concerned only) to be on track. This means some elements of my planning were actually quite good (okay, I missed one major contingency, the pandemic..!).

Follonica beach

There was not much I could do in terms of celebrations. All shops are closed today and tomorrow will be the same. I am lucky I found one restaurant in town that was open for take-away dishes of chicken and potatoes. That will be the menu for lunch and dinner today, not very festive, but that does the job. Follonica is a very nice seaside resort, with a very large promenade by the sea and superb views on the islands. I am really enjoying the quietness of the place, very peaceful.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: