The athletes of the NBS family are first and foremost people, and this is the story of Tatiana Maccherini.

A tale of sacrifice and redemption.

“My first trail was in 2014: the Ronda Ghibellina and it was love at first sight!

As is the case for all athletes who try their hand at this discipline, the desire to push themselves beyond their limits soon leads them to come to terms with the race that most represents sacrifice, determination and resilience: the Tor des Geants.

After a few years of trying the draw to be able to participate, I finally manage to get the much desired bib in 2018.

The planning for a race like this (held in September, ed.) began in February and I had studied a calendar of races that would allow me to be ready for the most important event of my sporting career.

Unfortunately, I had not reckoned with the ugly beast that is dehydration and during the Scenic Trailrace in Switzerland in June, I risked cancelling my sacrifices forever and having to abandon my dreams.

The two weeks following the Scenic Trail were the worst of my life: I was admitted to hospital in the nephrology department with a diagnosis of acute renal failure and a doctor’s verdict that weighed like a boulder and put an end to my greatest passion, which is running.

“You won’t be able to run anymore,” they told me.

Turnaround in sporting career

It was probably no accident that I approached trail running: I immediately felt that I had the qualities needed to tackle the many difficulties that can be encountered during an endurance race.

So after a few months in which despondency overcame me, I took my life in hand again and told myself that if I did things with my head and not only with my heart, I would be able to walk my beloved paths again and that no one would be able to deny me that great dream with the imposing name.

From that moment on, I really turned my life around.

I was contacted by the company NBS to test a new device for blocking strings. Thanks to the proximity and support of the owners I found the right motivation to get back into the game.
They gave me the chance to live my dream without pressure of any kind, the path was not always easy but when in 2019 I was given the chance to participate in the Tor again the goal was to get to the finish line treasuring everything I had suffered in the previous year.

In the end, my desire to redeem myself led me to cover 330 km with 24000 m D+ in 112 h and 53′: a result that no Arezzo woman training in the Valdichiana had managed to achieve!

This year after going through the same race I realise I did it in 2019 completely in a trance.

In the past few weeks I have found myself walking along paths I had no recollection of, I have felt calm in places that had previously terrified me, perhaps it is simply that I am no longer the same.

For me, the Tor des Geants is not just a race but a philosophy of life and that is also why I have chosen to talk about the Tor in my degree thesis, which I will present shortly!