In May this year, Alessandro Portante took on the challenge of a lifetime by running across his homeland of Italy! Starting in the Campania region, Alessandro then ran a marathon a day, running through Sardinia, Tuscany, and through the cities of Milan and Parma.

Having spent much time abroad studying, Alessandro wanted to reconnect with his homeland, having missed family and friends, and the simple joys of life in Italy. So he set himself the Project Venti Challenge. But it was not just about the challenge and the journey, but about people, the culture, stories and connections.

From Alessandro:

A project I have been working on since September of 2023, but that has been lingering in my mind for much longer than that.

I wanted to push my limits and do something bigger than myself, that scared me. Not everything went as planned as day 13 saw two thirds of the team quit. Many logistical challenges, pushing my mental and physical limits and most importantly learning many lessons.

Quitting for me was never an option so we carried on the final week with just my girlfriend Antonia and her little sausage dog and we did not only finish the job, but I decided to run an extra marathon on the 21st day to prove a point. 

Project Venti was not only the past three weeks, but the months leading up to it training and prepping routes, booking transport and so on. I’m extremely happy and proud of what has been achieved and I am already thinking about the next big thing.

 It was possible thanks to everyone who supported the project though kind words and gear such as Kitbrix. I genuinely think having the kit bags was a life saver. Each bag had a specific purpose: medical, snack bag, charging, water. They allowed us to keep everything together neatly and knowing where everything was so to be efficient with everything we did.

A big thank you to Kitbrix! Hopefully, this is just the beginning.

It was a wild ride, however I feel I have more gas in the tank and I will be back with a new adventure.