Bruno Brunod ... the series "Men who admire"
Palmares Record rise and fall of the Matterhorn from Cervinia in 3 hours and 14 minutes
Record and egress from the Monte Rosa Gressoney in 4 hours and 45 minutes
Record ascent and descent of the Aconcagua in 5 hours and 57 minutes
Record climb Kilimanjaro along the Marangu Rout in 5 hours and 38 minutes
Record climb of Mount Elbert in 1 hour and 54 minutes
three editions of the Becca di Nona Skyrace: 2002 - 2003 to 2004
About Bruno Bruno Brunod
Brunod, 48, married to Enrica, 4 children, the world champion of Skyrunning and author of several stunning record of ascent and descent speed (Cervino, Monte Rosa, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro).
He trains twice a day, before sunrise and after sunset, because meanwhile, continues to be a bricklayer. Him are now proverbial appetite, good mood, fatigue, as well as a number of stories have become almost "urban legends" that the old tales in the evening to children and that he partakes.
Bruno Brunod through his words
Someone once told me that I should be settled, because I belong to another century. I do not think he meant that I'm old (he is not so much younger than me ..). I think he was referring to the kind of life that I did. Now he insists that stories my life and my sporting career. He says that should make it known to the youth of today, those who want to become champions once, without effort. I remember a thing to me was that the Bishop of Aosta. So how do you say no, if you say it in two? One is the bishop and the bishops, you know, you have to keep them good. We are friends with each other for thirteen years: in 1990 we met the goal of "March of Dondeuil, Gaby. We were together in Mexico, Argentina, in Africa. Often we trained together. Once I even took to do the special training course that I invented: up and down vertically to the water pipes leading to the jump in electricity turbines. When he looked down, he laughed and said "You're all crazy." Since he did not even know how to say no, that's my story: I was born Hospital of Aosta in 1962. Mother has pulled itself up, there was me and four other children. Since the mother had the cows, lived high above Chatsworth, Mount Zerbion. At home we had the cellophane on the windows because the windows were too expensive. Until the age of eight years I lived without electricity in the house. I went to school, but I liked being on my own. I was a bit 'wild. After school I worked at home. I liked to bring the cows to pasture in the summer. We had a pasture a half-hour walk from home, but always on Zerbion higher. Or I was up and down with home-Chatillon shopping or to bring down the milk. There was about an hour's climb up and down and maybe that continued even as a child I made it so hard uphill.
One day I was on the pasture and I came across an old newspaper that talked about the business of Coppi and Bartali. I was like struck by lightning. I immediately decided that I would become a champion, someone to tell you business. I went down to the valley and I bought a bike. But I have cheated because he was an old bolt and heavy. But after this I understood: in the meantime I started training alone, but is not that much I knew how. My basic training is to load on his shoulders a basket filled with bricks that were used for pasture work, and then come up with the bolt from Chatillon to where the road ends. The last piece to pasture I had to walk. When I was called to military (alpino!), have been "dispatched" in Courmayeur, the headquarters of the Sporting Group, but not like an athlete, I was a soldier and served as a clerk-all do. One day I was ordered to mow the lawn in front of the house of the general, but I am not with the electric mower I was not so. So I told my sergeant, the sergeant Stuffer:
"Marshal, if it makes me go home and take a scythe to use for the hay, I'll give you a job that the general is very happy."
"And how do you go home, you do not have the car?"
"In cycling, Marshal"
"How many days do you take from here and back to Chatham?"
"Look Marshal not to say, but if you let me go now, I'm back tonight. "
The sergeant laughed and let me go. When he saw me already back in the afternoon, at the turn of the bolt, a scythe with a shoulder strap and two bottles of wine for him in his backpack, took a shot.
said only: "Alpine Brunod, you're a natural talent. Ten days is the bicycle race reserved for elite athletes of sports teams. I will now nominate Athlete and then you also sign up for the race. "
On race day I showed up with the bolt under the banner of departure. The people laughed. The others had beautiful bikes and muscular legs and hairless. I was afraid but the sergeant gave me a nod of encouragement. At the start of the emotion I fell, and the other disappeared behind the first corner. Then I took such a rage, perhaps because I was poor, or maybe because I felt mocked, I jumped on the wreckage, taken to the group, and the first ascent tore. I won with more than a minute on the second.
My sports career began that day. I became a true cyclist (with a real bike) and I have established record as an amateur in that last hill climbs today. I ran as a team with Claudio Chiappucci and retreating to share a room. Then to make the practitioner sent me to a team in Lombardy, where I saw some things that I liked so much and so I stopped cycling. I have came home and I have been quiet a few years: as a sport played at Tzan, which is a traditional game of Aosta Valley, a kind of baseball, where all were keen, and I seemed to scream of Zulu. It's not that I did not like is that I was missing something. So I started running in the mountains. The climb I've always liked, perhaps because it resembles a po'alla my life. Slowly I began to run faster at the top: the normal mountain races and not enough for me as I came running in high altitude. In 1995 I got the new record up and down from the Matterhorn: I climbed in 2h 12 '29''and have come down in 1h 02' 15''. I have so lowered the record by more than an hour prior to that held by Valerio Bertoglio. From there I ran to the mountains across the world: Malaysia, United States, Mexico, Argentina, Tanzania, Tibet, Nepal .... I won the world circuit races in '96 and the world championship in 1998. Today many preparatory
would claim credit for my exploits. Without false modesty, I think what really helped me was not the guy or tables or advice of Dick, but he learned as a child to love the effort and sacrifices. I feel that this depends in some way by the life that I did. I'm sure. We've also spoken many times with the author of this book. I think one day I'll write a book to tell my life that is been full of hard work, but beautiful. Because I've always appreciated everything that I could have. I've always worked even when preparing the championship of the world: I got up at 4.00, I was training, I went to the yard in the evening I was training again. To make the record of the Matterhorn, I first climbed the mountain 30 times. Having to work as well as I never seemed to work out a curse, but quite the opposite, because having to get used to making sacrifices hardened me, it made me stronger than all. In the other race a bit more and let go 'before me. Someone complains about the toughness of the training: to train me was always a holiday, because I was not down to break stones. I read that Socrates would have said something like: "Let your children always have a little 'cold and a bit' of hunger if you want to be happy." Here, Socrates wrote it, but I think so too. Fatigue, have a few things, the sacrifices, I was taught to give the proper value to things. Today I have four children who have not the life that I did. This seems like a good, but sometimes I'm not sure. However, I absolutely do not push them to do sports, let them do what they like, although I am very happy if I see that the sport he loves. Here, one thing I must say I can not stand parents who "push" their children in sports. I believe that professional sports should be done only if one feels inside, like a great desire. Many people ask me to coach: but I'd like to bring young people, including children, in the mountains with me. Teach him to love and respect it, appreciate it as I did. Then the rest, where it should be, is by itself.
Bruno Brunod,
Afterword of the book: Rethinking the sport, Peter Trabucchi, preface by Stefania Belmondo,
(Franco Angeli, Milan, 2003)
Gronell Branzi Via San Rocco, 37028 Roverè Veronese (VR) Italy PIVA 758 023 0208 5
