It all came about due to personal acquaintance with the distinguished Professor Auteri, who has a chair in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Catania of “Ergotechnical systems for building and operational activity planning,” and, familiar with the excellence of our company, requested showing a group of students he had selected the type of work we do and the relative methodologies of management.
The meeting was a pleasant and gratifying occasion.
Yeah, sure. It’s easy to say “I’m going to run in the New York ma- rathon”, but not as easy to finish it; without any big problems. The day began at 5 a.m. and after about an hour we get to the starting area. The first spectacle. Thousands and thousands of people, ready for the adventure to find the right frame of mind for the 42.195 km about to be run. We’re lucky. We get there early and find a nice spot on the lawn. Everyone is excited. Ferruccio tries to act indifferently, his wife Miralba is really prepared for everything, and even has some energy pills, Mario says he won’t get excited, Roberto, who ran it before, acting like a real expert and giving advice, even when no one asks him for it. Finally, the shooting of the canon, the mu- sic of “New York, New York”, the jets soaring above in the sky and 40,000 people who throw themselves into the fray above and below the Giovanni da Verazzano Bridge. From here on everyone goes his or her separate way, each with his or her own moments of excitement (not many) and discomfort and fatigue (a lot and always more). The fatigue increases out of proportion but there are two points where it seems to disappear. Arriving at 1st Avenue after the cursed Queensboro Bridge and entering in the Central Park, where people help you to find every little bit of energy that you still have left. And finally, the finish line, with congratulations from all the race volunteers, the medal and the ever- present apple. We all did it. The time doesn’t matter. What counts is having done it, the emotional experience, having found within ourselves the force to keep going, being the simple race buffs that we are.
