Michele Graglia
 Graglia (left) sitting with his doctor during a rest spot crossing the Atacama Desert | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | United States, Italy |
| Born | August 30, 1983 (age 41)[1] Sanremo, Italy[2] |
| Sport | |
| Country | Italy |
| Sport | marathon, ultramarathon |
Michele Graglia is a model, author, fitness coach, and ultra marathon runner.[3] His book Ultra was published by Sperling & Kupfer in May 2017.[4] Originally from Taggia, Liguria, Italy, Graglia became an international model represented by Major Model Management[5][6] in New York and the now defunct Irene Marie Model Management in Miami, FL, where he was initially discovered.[7] He currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
On July 24, 2018, Graglia completed and won the Badwater 135. He finished the race in a time of 24:51:47.[8]
On September 15, 2018, Graglia started the ultramarathon across Chile's Atacama Desert.[9] The translation company TransPerfect sponsored his run.[9] Following the run, Graglia was officially certified as the new Guinness Book World Record holder for the fastest-ever crossing of Chile's Atacama Desert on foot. He accomplished the unprecedented feat in 8 days, 12 hours, and 49 minutes, the equivalent of 2 to 3 marathons per day.[10]
On 11 October 2020, Graglia won the Moab 240 in 61 hours, 43 minutes, and 15 seconds.[11] Graglia took the first place early on in the race and was tightly followed by fellow runner David Goggins until Graglia grew their gap during the second half of the race, at one point, close to 20 miles separated the two. Graglia would end up grabbing the first place, with an advance of almost 1 hour and a half over Goggins who would finish second.
References
[edit]- ^ Themselves, Themselves. "Michele Graglia - Ambassadors". lasportiva.com. La Sportiva. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ Williams, Doug (15 August 2018). "A Former Model's Journey to Winning Badwater 135 – Competitor Running". Competitor Running. Pocket Outdoor Media, LLC.
- ^ "Michele Graglia: ex modello, oggi sportivo estremo". Style (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ "Il runner Michele Graglia e lo scrittore Folco Terzani al liceo di Arezzo con Enzo Brogi per presentare "Ultra"". Arezzo Notizie (in Italian). 2017-05-22. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ "Michele Graglia - Model". MODELS.com. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ "International Fashion Model Michele Graglia For Major Models Management New York". New York Fashion. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ "From Top Model to Top Ultrarunner | Trail Runner Magazine". Trail Runner Magazine. 2014-08-20. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ "Badwater 135 Results". AdventureCORPS. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
- ^ a b Tomko, Jeff (9 September 2018). "Former model ditches runway for 700-mile desert run". Metro US.
- ^ Simper, Ryan. "TransPerfect-Sponsored Crossing of Atacama Desert by Ultramarathon Champion Michele Graglia Officially Recognized as World Record". Berkshire Hathaway. Business Wire. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Michele Graglia takes roadside nap, wins Moab 240". Canadian Running Magazine. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2020-10-12.