Summary
- ACG and Mental Athletic have transformed Milan's Spazio Maiocchi into the "world’s smallest backyard-style ultra racecourse"
- The three-day event challenges 26 international athletes to run up to 100km (666 laps) on a repetitive indoor loop
- The installation serves as a live testing ground for the upcoming ACG Ultrafly Trail SP campaign, blending trail endurance with urban delirium
In a radical subversion of traditional trail running, ACG has partnered with the pioneering platform Mental Athletic to launch the "Exhibition of S.P.E.E.D. (Mostra di Velocità)." Taking over Milan's cultural hub Spazio Maiocchi from February 11 to 13, the event reimagines the freedom of the outdoors as a psychological cage, constructing a 150-meter off-road loop directly inside the gallery space.
The project serves as a physical manifestation of the acronym S.P.E.E.D.—Sweat, Pain, Endurance, Euphoria, Discovery. Instead of traversing mountain ranges or shifting terrains, the course offers "no breaks and no release," forcing athletes to confront the delirium of endless repetition. The layout brings the untamed wild into a controlled urban ecosystem, allowing spectators unprecedented proximity to the visceral reality of ultra-endurance sports.
Over the course of three days, 26 selected runners from the ACG Racing Department and Mental Athletic networks are subjected to escalating distances. The grueling schedule began with a 15km sprint on day one, followed by 50km on day two, and culminates in a punishing 100km run—totaling a diabolical 666 laps—on the final day. The exhibition operates as a "closed-loop trial," testing not just physical output but the mental fortitude required to maintain speed and efficiency without the dopamine hit of a changing landscape.
The installation also acts as the prelude to the ACG Ultrafly Trail SP campaign. By collapsing the distance between the runner and the observer, the event strips trail running down to its rawest elements: discomfort, obsession, and the irrational pursuit of the finish line.
The "Exhibition of S.P.E.E.D." concludes tonight, February 13, with the final stages of the 100km race and awards ceremony running from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. CET. The entire ordeal is being live-streamed via five cameras on the Mental Athletic website.
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