"I bring home a personal victory that expands my experiences in self-sufficiency travel and that challenged, with a completely unique type of race in Portugal, a beautiful and welcoming country, the courage to push my limits through a new perspective on my fears and insecurities." This was the immediate reaction of Giuseppe De Rosa, who participated in the Horizontes Turismo Desportivo Terra de Gigantes race from January 16 to 19. The athlete from Salento, world champion of the Continental Challenge from 2022 to 2024, has just completed the ultramarathon as the only Italian, finishing fourteenth out of sixty-four participants from different countries.

The World’s Marathon Terra de Gigantes crosses Portugal from its highest continental point to the Atlantic Ocean, covering 303 km in 74 hours, starting from Torre S. Estrela and finishing in Nazareth. "Only 10% of the participants managed to complete the challenge in self-sufficiency – he continues – and without any support from the organization. You are literally alone with yourself, you have to rely solely on your abilities and instincts, trust your mental strength because you know you must navigate even in the dark of the night using only the GPS equipment. An unforgettable and indescribable experience, which takes place along a path hard to cross at this time of year due to the challenging weather conditions and the over 10-meter slope. It’s a long and captivating unmarked route, made even more tiring by the fact that you often find yourself isolated, knowing that the distances to be covered between life bases range from 44 to 50 kilometers."