If you have a problem during the race, you can rely on D 44, Giorgio Simonetti
to give you a helping hand. You can be sure that this remarkable 55 year-old
Italian will do his best to convince you to continue the race. It’s
not all plain sailing for him, however, as a hip operation has left him
with a limp and reduced mobility. He’s on his third MDS : “I
want to show people that even with a physical disability you can do great
things. What these marathons have taught me is that it’s all in the
mind. You must persevere, and believe in what you’re doing”.
In theory, Giorgio is a wine-taster : “ I could earn a lot of money
with that job, but I’m not interested. I prefer living near the mountains
in the North of Italy, where I’m a hotel caretaker. I wake up in
the morning and see Mont Blanc before my eyes, and that’s worth more
than anything”. His unconventional values are not new : in the 70s
Giorgio spent several years on the road, hitching from one hippy destination
of that era to the next : Katmandou, Essaouira, India, Pakistan …Was
he a hippy? “I had all the gear, the long hair, the rainbow clothes”.
It’s this attitude that he’s looking for when he comes to the
marathon des sables : “It’s an anarchic caravan, far removed
from city life…It’s exactly what I’m looking for – freedom.
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