Lorenzo Gesaldi spent his childhood being told what he couldn't do 🚫 — too asthmatic to run, not good enough to swim — and turned every "no" into fuel 🔥 for a life built on grit. From Italy to Switzerland to Portugal to France, he followed instinct and lucky breaks 🍔 (a Burger King leadership program, a chance Ironman tip from a colleague) into a career at Tiffany & Co. and an unexpected love for ultrarunning 🏃♂️. His biggest test came at La Diagonale des Fous on Réunion Island 🌋 — a brutal 225km, 40,000m race through jungle, volcanic moonscape, and freezing mountain nights 🌙, where he finished 9th, slept just 15 minutes in the second night, and pushed through the darkest dip of the race rather than quit. Lorenzo's hard-won wisdom for anyone chasing a big goal: move slowly 🐢, be patient ⏳, and accept that failure is simply part of the path to finishing strong 💪.
Lorenzo:
🏃♂️ I was the opposite of the Corporate Ultra Runner.
👦 At 10, they told me not to run because I was asthmatic.
🏊♂️ At 14, they told me to quit swimming because I wasn’t good enough at school or in the pool.
🎓 At 18, I became the first in my family with a high school diploma.
🎓 At 21, the first in my family with a university degree.
🤝 At 23, I ended up shaking the hand of Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe when my corporate career started at Adidas Global HQ.
💡 That’s when I realized something had changed after 10 years of hard work.
💪 That’s also when I realized I had to take back my health and learn how to master being an excellent professional while staying in shape.
🔥 I was an underdog. The way wasn’t easy, neither at work nor in sport. I was starving but I had grit.
🏋️ Staying in shape wasn’t enough. While working, I started doing IRONMAN races, and when the 🏊♂️ swimming pool wasn’t available, I discovered 🏔️ Ultramarathons.
💼 My work became mind training 🧠 and Ultra running🦵became body training (and more).
🤝 If you are a normal human like me, you can also be an Ultra runner.
⚡ You will gain that super power you are still looking for.
Follow his ultra marathon journey on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenzo-gesaldi-62a44597/