Saturday 7 March, hours 05:00: quando c’è ancora il buio sul Lago di Varese, con ITAS Mutua al nostro fianco – la Mutua che da oltre 200 anni è vicina a persone, famiglie e comunità – La partenza della gara Regina “accende” la manifestazione, i respiri si sincronizzano sulle note di “London calling”, e il conto alla rovescia del nostro speaker “il Biga” si spegne nel silenzio prima del sole.
The ITAS 70Knot just a race, but a TRAVEL - five mountain groups, one story.

From the first few metres, the track points north, inside the Campo dei Fiori Regional Parkdeep beech forests, ancient chestnut trees, the scent of undergrowth rising like an invitation. È un modo di vivere la montagna che parla di legami e responsabilità reciproca: valori che ITAS porta nel suo DNA mutualistico, mettendo al centro il bene comune.

La Via Sacra of Sacro Monte (heritage UNESCO) flows past: chapels like milestones of time, while the climb hardens legs and head. Beyond Rasa, the tops of Mount Chiuserella e Martica open windows of air and light: between birch trees and shade, the gaze runs as far as the Swiss Alps and Lake Maggiore. It is here that you understand why you came: to earn every view.

The ridges of the Valganna call: Monarco, Minisfreddo, Poncione e Piambello. The path becomes a blade of rock between sky and ridge, firs and downy oaks rustling in the wind. It is a section spectacularwide enough to pass, narrow enough to remind you that you are experiencing something rare.

Then down towards Boarezzo, a stone village that seems to be hand-drawn, and Ganna with the Abbey of San Gemolo (11th century): bells away, legs turning, heart holding. You change course: back south from the Valicci Pass, Brinzio is the gateway to a new test. The ascent to the Valico delle Pizzelle is pure commitment: steps of the old funicular demanding rhythm and tenacity. As a prize, the balcony of the Mount Three Crosses, the Stairway to Heaven, l’Astronomical Observatory, the Punta di Mezzo and, a little further on, the Fort of Orino - panoramic sentinel of the entire crossing.

That leaves the last one, vertiginous descentforest, stones, living concentration. The lake reappears like a mirage that becomes reality. On Varese lakefront the finish line is an embrace: the #hird Time It lights up the party, while in the mind's eye the passages, the names of the peaks, the faces crossed at dawn and the Biga declaring your name at the finish line.

La CFT 70K is this: a promise kept to your courage. Seventy kilometres of nature, history and ridges, where every step has a reason and every climb a why. Show up at dawn: the sun will do its part, you do yours. Con ITAS Mutua come partner di questa distanza, questa promessa si allarga: protezione, partecipazione e attenzione al territorio, con un impegno concreto anche su sostenibilità sociale e ambientale.

The race is proof of the GRAND PRIX IUTA TRAIL 2026 (ITALIAN ULTRAMARATHON AND TRAIL ASSOCIATION). The IUTA Ultra Trail Grand Prix classification can only be entered by IUTA members.