Second place at the Valentine’s Day Marathon in Terni and first place—along with a new race record—at the Strasimeno 58k: a one-on-one interview with Carmine Buccilli, one of Italy’s strongest athletes and, right now, one of the athletes in the best shape.

We spoke with him about his latest victory, the slump he experienced last November, ultra-distance races, and his graduated compression gear by Oxyburn.

Carmine, congratulations on your recent record-breaking victory at the Strasimeno 58k!!!

Thanks… actually, I’d already run the Strasimeno twice before, but in the shorter distances: the 34-km race in 2011 and the marathon in 2012. I won both of them. I had promised myself that, sooner or later, I would run the longest distance, and this year I’d had it on my schedule for many months now, even without any specific training… keep in mind that the only long run I did was at the San Valentino Marathon in Terni, two weeks earlier.

This comes after a very difficult end to 2016, during which you had mentioned having trouble running and competing…

This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with difficult periods; the most recent one, chronologically speaking, was in early November. On November 6, I took part in the Sportway Lago Maggiore Marathon, where the Italian Marathon Championships were being held and where I was one of the favorites… It was rainy and cold right from the start—conditions I wasn’t used to, since I live and train in Santa Marinella, by the sea, where temperatures are much milder. And so, at the 23 km mark, even though I was in the lead group, I was forced to drop out because my legs just wouldn’t go anymore. Despite the disappointment of the moment, I decided to try again right away the following week with a new marathon, but during light training sessions I felt fatigue, unusual exhaustion, and a heavy head; following some tests, low red blood cell and hematocrit levels were detected. From there, I had to deal with a couple of months of negative thoughts that made me consider, more than once, the possibility of quitting this activity, which—when pursued at certain levels—isn’t easy to balance with work and two children. Starting this year, I’ve promised myself I won’t race against the clock anymore—something that has been a source of stress in recent years.

How was your first time in such a long race? What do you feel and think during those hours?

Before last Sunday, I had run 26 marathons, 2 editions of the Supermatona dell’Etna, 2 Monza-Resegone races, and 3 Pistoia-Abetone races, but never more than 50 km. The day before and the morning of the race, I felt a sense of anxiety that made me think back to my first marathon, out of fear that I wouldn’t be able to run such a long distance. During the week, a friend who had already won the race and my coach had advised me to stay with the leading group at least until the 30–40 km mark, but after the starting gun went off, I immediately found myself alone. Compared to the races I usually run, the pace in this one was slower due to the course and the distance, and I had set myself the goal of running between 3’35” and 3’40” per kilometer. During the 3h28’59” race, my mind wandered to many things—from the sacrifices I’d made during training to my family waiting for me at the finish line… but I also had a chance to take in the scenery.

Future plans?

As for future plans, I don’t have anything specific lined up; I’ll just take each day as it comes, depending on how I feel and my family commitments.

Have you ever thought about running a trail race?

I’d like to race in a few off-road events, but my problem is the downhill sections… I’m afraid of getting hurt, so I prefer to avoid them.

You use Oxyburn’s graduated compression clothing: How do you like it, and what do you wear during training and races?

I’ve been using Oxyburn products for a couple of years now, both during and after my workouts. I use the 1480 and 1620 compression tights, and for training, the 5012 shorts, the 5055 Forty-Two jersey, the 5062 Mistral, and the 5110 Lance.