Hello everyone, thank you for visiting my website.
My name is Marilena, and I run ultra-marathons. My first was the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong in 1992, and then, after a few marathons, I did the Trailwalker again in 2009. That got me well and truly hooked on ultras, and I started doing 6-stage day races. Racing The Planet Atacama Desert Crossing 250km in Chile in 2010 was my first, followed by the 148miles Desert R.A.T.S. in the USA in June 2011. Then, Racing the Planet Nepal2011 250km in November of that year. This year , I will be doing Grand to Grand Ultra, a 160miles stage race again over 6 days from the Grand Canyon in Arizona, to the summit of The Grand Staircase in Utah, starting on the 23rd of September.
In all my events, my aim is to raise funds for charity. The main charities I will try to raise money for are Ataxia UK and Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA). FARA is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to finding a cure for Friedreich's Ataxia through research, pharmaceutical/biotec drug development, clinical trials and scientific conferences.
I became aware and later involved with Friedreich's Ataxia, because of Vero, the daughter of my very good friends in Hong Kong, Angelo and Monica Pepe, who suffers from this terrible illness. There is, as yet, no known cure for this disease, but with all the money we raise going into research, there will be one in a very near future, which will help Vero and the thousands of others across the world who have been stricken by this awful disease.
My participation in all these crazy endurance adventures, which I love doing, believe it or not, satisfies my inner ego, makes me feel so much alive, being able to challenge myself and, at the same time, enables me to do my bit to help others.
Training along the beach in Punta del Este, Uruguay, February 2010