AVIS Milano Run For Good

The AVIS Milano Run For Good is a new charity running event held in Milan's Parco Nord on a Sunday in early May. It was created to mark the centenary of AVIS Milano, the voluntary blood donors' association founded in the Lombard capital in 1927 that has since grown into a nationwide network. The race is organised by the sports club Impossible Target together with AVIS Comunale Milano and the park authority. All net proceeds go to AVIS Milano to fund the promotion of donation and blood collection, and participants are encouraged to take the next step by booking a first donation.

Three formats are on offer. The main event is a competitive 10-mile road race (16.09 km) run under the Italian athletics federation, chip-timed with an official ranking based on gun time and net time also recorded. Half an hour later come two non-competitive events run at your own pace: a 10.5 km and a 5 km Family Run, with no rankings and open to everyone. The 10-miler has drinks stations at around 5, 10 and 15 km and a 2 h 45 min time limit; the 10.5 km has one drinks station halfway, everyone finds refreshments at the finish, and every finisher receives a medal.

The 10-miler is open to FIDAL members, athletes from foreign federations affiliated to World Athletics and Runcard holders aged 20 and over, all with a medical certificate of fitness for competitive athletics; runners from abroad submit the health form provided by the organisers. The 10.5 km is recommended from age 16 and requires neither membership nor a certificate, while the Family Run has no age limit, with under-18s accompanied by an adult. This mix of distances lets clubs, families or groups of colleagues take part together, each at their own level.

Parco Nord Milano is one of the largest green spaces in the Milan area, spreading across Milan, Sesto San Giovanni, Bresso and Cinisello Balsamo. Created in the 1970s on former farmland and industrial sites, it now offers a network of paths, meadows and planted woodland that local runners know well. For a first edition, this largely car-free setting promises a green course and the feel of a big community celebration on Milan's northern edge.

The race village is set up at the Parco Nord farmhouse, the Cascina, which hosts the race office. Bibs and race packs can be collected on Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and on Sunday morning until 9:00; a third party may collect them with a proxy form and a copy of the runner's ID. A bag drop opens on race morning. Online registration closes on the Thursday before the event, and the two non-competitive races still accept entries on the day while bibs last. Clubs receive one free entry for every eight runners, and a team ranking adds up finishers across all three races.