“You were born to run”. A few simple words spoken by a coach. Since then nothing has stopped Merilù. She did not succeed with multiple sclerosis (Sm) which she was diagnosed with in May 2006, on her 37th birthday, 10 years before her marathon debut. Merilù runs. You have run for miles and miles over the years. She raced for herself, for those who share her same passion and coexistence with the SM, for the cause of Aism (Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association) and for a thousand other reasons. And she will also run on Sunday 3 April through the streets of the Lombard capital, which will be filled with runners thanks to the 20th edition of the Milan Marathon.
The lawyer Maria Luisa Garatti, ‘aka Merilù’, has been selected as the Asics Front Runner the global community of runners linked to the brand that this year is the official sponsor of the Milan Marathon. “Not bad for a 16-year MS patient, right?” She smiles. The Milanese section of the Aism also this year participates in the Charity Program of the 42 kilometers Milanese in the Gold category. It is the ninth time that the institution is actively involved in the ‘solidarity competition’ within the sporting event, the third fastest marathon ever for men after Berlin and London.
The Milan Marathon Charity Program is a solidarity fundraising project that each year involves over 90 non-profit organizations and thousands of runners who run for them. Since 2012, the year of its first edition, almost 3.5 million euros have been raised thanks to the contribution of runners and companies on Rete del Dono, the crowdfunding platform and personal fundraising partner of the event. And in order not to tackle the marathon alone, it is possible to divide the route into 4 sections of between 6 and 14 km. You just need to be 16 years old. This is the peculiarity of the Relay Marathon, the main fundraising event for charity in Italy: a non-competitive relay race to share with friends, relatives, colleagues the efforts of a running event and a Sunday in the open air (on the website Aism.it/milano all the details to participate in the event and support the section).
Merilù is used to challenges. “I run for me and my SM, I take her to cross the finish line with me – she says – Because it is she who has given me the opportunity to understand my purpose in life: to speak and be a motivator, to help others with a positive message. At first I felt guilty about the disease, I wanted to be pitied, I was depressed, I had panic attacks: I was ashamed of being sick “. Today “the same neurologists recommend physical activity. We don’t necessarily need to run. But moving, not staring into space, as if there was no more hope”. That wasn’t the case then. “In 2014 a friend of mine convinced me to start, to get out of the immobility in which I had settled down. Moral: I start training and on March 13, 2016 I run my first marathon, after only 3 months of preparation. Since then I have run 12 marathons around the world “.
“I do it – continues Merilù – to make multiple sclerosis known and every time I bring people who have never raced, because I am convinced that the athlete is not the one who gets great results, but first of all the person who gets involved, That is why I founded the association ‘If you want you can’ with other kids with multiple sclerosis (now they have become a family to me), with which we participate in marathons and ‘get our legs’ even for those who cannot run because of the illness, perhaps even pushing other people with Sm in wheelchairs to make them savor the joy of the finish line and the medal “.
“Running, which we want to convey with the association, is an inclusive message: you can live your life to the fullest, go beyond your limits, even if with impediments related to MS. To date we have collected more than 20 thousand euros that we donated to Aism. Not only that: I wrote a book, ‘His Majesty – Running beyond multiple sclerosis’, and I’m shooting a docufilm, which tells my story in 42 km with many other testimonies. Of course, it is not always easy – Merilù still testifies – there are difficulties, first of all tiredness. But in recent years I have learned to know my body, to perceive the signals and understand where I can go, and I realize that the tiredness of physical activity it annihilates the chronic disease of multiple sclerosis. So yes, with multiple sclerosis not only can, but rather you have to play sports: at your own pace and possibilities, but it is important to always do it with a smile “.
From finish line to finish line, Merilù is not satisfied. “In 2018 I fought for people with SM to be admitted to the Paralympic competitions: they recognized us nationally in the t38 category, but my goal is to have athletes with SM recognized in the athletics discipline also in international level. It is my challenge, for newly diagnosed young people and to give hope and dream big about the Paralympics “. Among the projects of the heart of Merilù there is also ‘Free to walk’, a walk of 300 km on the Via Francigena. And again: “We organized the ‘Insuperabile la Relay of inclusion’ project. I traveled 1,000 km from the Gran San Bernardo to Rome, passing the baton between various national associations linked to disabilities or other pathologies. This year we are already working on another inclusive project on the Via di S. Francesco “.
Merilù defines herself as “hungry for time and life”. Sunday will be at the starting line for the 2022 edition of the Milan Marathon. A special edition: that of the celebrations for the twentieth birthday of this appointment. In the 2019 edition, almost 250 runners chose Aism, allowing the association to raise more than 28 thousand euros. Whoever crosses the finish line with the association will support all the people who every day fight with strength and determination the small and big challenges imposed by a chronic, disabling and unpredictable disease such as multiple sclerosis. In Italy there are 130 thousand people with MS: 50% are young people, who are often diagnosed with the disease between the ages of 20 and 30, mainly affecting women (twice as many as men), in the period of life with the greatest number of projects.