Milan, Jan. 20, 2025 – Milan is always running, but on Sunday, April 6, even more so. It will be the day of the 23rd edition of the Wizz Air Milano Marathon, the fastest marathon in Italy organized by RCS Sports & Events, the culmination of a four-day sports event that will make Milan, as every year, the capital of running, as well as the economic capital of Italy. A real celebration for the city, with lots of initiatives and activities starting on Thursday, April 3, the opening day of the Milano Running Festival at MiCo. There will be 40 thousand runners involved between marathon and relay, not counting the public setting.
The 2025 edition was unveiled today at the Tower Hall of UniCredit in Porta Nuova, Milan, in the presence of Remo Taricani, Deputy Head of Italy at UniCredit, Urbano Cairo, Chairman of RCS MediaGroup, Martina Riva, Councillor for Sport, Tourism and Youth Policies of the City of Milan, Paolo Bellino, CEO of RCS Sports & Events, Luca Onofrio, Mass Events Manager of RCS Sports & Events, Fruzsina Polácska, Marketing Manager of Wizz Air, Elena Bosticardo, Head of Marketing ASICS Italia, Elena Limido, Senior Brand Manager Levissima. LA7 journalist Cristina Fantoni moderated the talk.
Other guests who spoke included Chiara Nizzola for TOG Foundation, Charity of the Year, and Leonardo Ghiraldini of Nativa, the company that supports RCS Sports & Events in the regeneration of events.
Renewed the agreement with Wizz Air for the second consecutive year as title sponsor of an event of increasingly international caliber, both in terms of competitive results and foreign participation. Two and a half months before the race, it is already a record number of runners from abroad: as many as 4,600. Some 3,600 foreigners registered in 2024.
The TOP 5 of participating nations sees Italy in first place, followed with a very small gap by France (31 percent versus 24 percent), then the United Kingdom, Belgium and Ireland. For 2025, it will also be a record in the number of registered participants: more than 10,000, compared to 8,545 in the past edition. “To date, 90 percent of the registered participants will be taking part in the Wizz Air Milano Marathon for the first time, and for 30 percent of them this will represent their debut over the marathon distance,” points out Luca Onofrio, Head of Mass Events at RCS Sports & Events.
The UniCredit Relay Marathon, the relay race that divides the 42.195 kilometers of the official route into 4 fractions, reaches its 13th edition this year and has the ambitious goal of exceeding 2 million euros in solidarity fundraising on the platform of Rete del Dono – a partner of the project -, thanks to donations from companies and more than 16 thousand relay runners, the result of crowfunding campaigns of the 103 participating ETS (Entities of the Third Sector).
Also confirmed is the title sponsor of the event reserved for families, the Levissima Family Run. This is the evolution of the School Marathon, an event that in 7 years has registered the participation of more than 54 thousand children and accompanying persons and that since last year has opened to families, allowing adults to participate as well. The first edition saw more than 8 thousand “family runners” at the start.
It will take place on April 5 in City Life and there will be the great novelty of an unprecedented arrival: at the end of the course of about 3 km, runners will cross the finish line at the Vigorelli Velodrome, a symbolic place of the city, where they will be able to discover other sports besides athletics: rowing, handball, American football, rugby…
For 2025, the Fan Points on the marathon and relay route are returning. Introduced to increasingly involve the city and its inhabitants in the wake of the biggest international marathons, they have proved so successful that they have grown in number: there will be a Fan Point every 2 kilometers, for a total of 20. They will be organized in collaboration with ETSs and one, in particular, with Rete del Dono. It will be a way for athletes and amateurs to feel the closeness and cheer of the citizens, as well as an opportunity for everyone to spend a Sunday in sports.
But for the runners who participate, a marathon begins long before race day. To support runners engaged in the training sessions leading up to the Milan marathon, the Training Program of the Road to Wizz Air Milano Marathon 2025, the collective training program designed by RCS Sports & Events, started last November. At the headquarters of Why Run, the Milanese store dedicated to running, monthly Running Talks are held, meetings with running experts who reveal the secrets of the marathon to fans. The next appointments will be Jan. 25 (Technology for running: which devices to use during training), Feb. 22 (The fuel you need to run: tips on nutrition and supplements) and March 22 (Breathing to win. Breathing exercises to enhance running). Here all the infos: https://www.milanomarathon.it/en/running-talks-en/
The tips are put into practice with the Let’s run together series of training sessions. Launching event on Sunday, January 26 at Milan’s XXV Aprile field, a training session will follow every Saturday until the one before the marathon. On March 8, however, a special event dedicated to women on International Women’s Day. Particularly effective are the long-distance training sessions: on Feb. 22 the Vicenza-Padova, on March 1 the Pavia-Milan, on March 8 the Ferrara-Rovigo, to close on March 16 at Monza Park.
At today’s event, the official jerseys of Wizz Air Milano Marathon, UniCredit Relay Marathon and Levissima Family Run 2025 were unveiled. The finisher jerseys, in particular, reserved for those who will finish the 42.195 km, are made by Technical Partner ASICS.
RTL 102.5, Italy’s premier radio broadcaster, embraces the running world by becoming the official radio station of the Wizz Air Milano Marathon 2025. Following its success with RCS Sport for the Giro d’Italia and Giro d’Italia Women, with live links, interviews with the protagonists and exclusive behind-the-scenes content, the radio will accompany listeners to experience every moment of the marathon.
THE STATEMENTS
Remo Taricani, Deputy Head of Italy at UniCredit. “UniCredit supports the world of sport and the values it represents. Once again this year, in fact, we are renewing, with great enthusiasm, our sponsorship of the Relay Marathon, testifying to the support we offer to people, businesses and communities throughout the country. We will be even more actively supporting the Third Sector in the race toward solidarity by providing 100 thousand euros through Ethical Charter Funds. We want to create a multiplier effect thanks to donations paid on a voluntary basis by our colleagues and the fundraising initiative on projects related to inclusive sports, through our fundraising platform ilMioDono.”
Urbano Cairo, President of RCS MediaGroup. “We offer a choral event that lasts four days. On Saturday the family, with children and parents, in the Levissima Famiily Run. On Sunday, solidarity with the UniCredit Relay Marthon, which last year raised almost 1.5 million euros, but this year has a goal of two million; and then the Wizz Air Milano Marathon, a great marathon, with a high participation of foreigners that makes it one of the most important in the world. I think it is great for Milan to have 40 thousand runners involved overall, with an important economic spin-off for the city and an incentive to do sports for its citizens: doing sports is important for people’s well-being.”
Martina Riva, Councillor for Sports, Tourism and Youth Policies of the City of Milan. “More than 10,000 runners are expected for the 23rd edition, evidence of a unique event that, over the years, has been able to evolve and grow. We are no longer just talking about a sports competition of international importance, but a varied event that includes initiatives such as the Relay Marathon, the Family Run and the Dog Run, capable of offering experiences suitable for every age group. The growing participation of foreign runners represents an added value for Milan, which is increasingly establishing itself as a global reference city. In addition, the constant development of the Charity Program makes the Milano Marathon an extraordinary event, capable of generating a concrete impact, with more than 1 million euros raised in favor of participating nonprofit organizations during the last edition.”
Paolo Bellino, CEO of RCS Sports & Events. “Last year we had an important change of pace: from an organizational point of view, with a new start and finish, Piazza del Duomo, which also completely changes the perspective for those participating, and with important partners such as Wizz Air, UniCredit and Levissima. This year the goal is to exceed 10,000 registered participants. Today more than 70 percent of the registered participants come from abroad, thanks to a beautiful and fast course, but also to an attractive city that will host the Olympic Games in just over a year. We have sought international partners precisely because we aspire to grow abroad: we aim for 20 thousand participants in the next few years, which would mean being in the top 5-6 marathons in the world, the position that a city like Milan deserves.”
Fruzsina Polácska, Brand Manager of Wizz Air. “The Milano Marathon embodies Wizz Air’s vision of combining accessibility and sustainability with a shared passion for a dynamic and inclusive lifestyle. It is one of the largest running events sponsored by our company in Europe, and we are thrilled that this race attracts participants from all over Italy. Our commitment to running also extends to our team, with hundreds of WIZZ employees participating in WIZZ-sponsored running events each year, including the Wizz Air Milano Marathon.”
Elena Bosticardo, Head of Marketing, ASICS Italy. “ASICS is proud to renew its partnership for another three years with the Wizz Air Milano Marathon, one of the most prestigious and growing marathons in Europe. To be alongside such an important event again fills us with excitement and motivates us to look forward to the future with confidence. ASICS continues to be a reference brand in the running world, and this collaboration reinforces our commitment to offering innovative footwear and apparel, thus helping to consolidate our leadership position in the Italian and European markets.”
Leonardo Ghiraldini, Strategic Advisor & Evolution Guide at Nativa. “Two years ago, the Wizz Air Milano Marathon kicked off a pioneering journey, measuring its impacts for the first time. Since then, the effort has grown steadily, involving more and more people and actors and leading to tangible and measurable results, collected and recounted in the Legacy Report 2024. A clear strategy has been outlined, a precise course plotted, and a path set in motion that can make the Milan Marathon a reference model among the most sustainable and innovative events internationally. With the project now in full swing, it is time to strengthen the commitment. This is why new concrete goals have been defined to be achieved in the next edition, because sport and sustainability are proving to be an inseparable pair.”
