Italian Athlete Extraordinaire, Alex Bellini, to Run 70-Day LA-NY Footrace Covering 3220 Miles

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., June 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Growing up in a small town in the Italian Alps, Alex Bellini developed large dreams and life goals. He is one of 22 competitors in the trans-American ultramarathon running between Los Angeles and New York. Starting in Huntington Beach, CA, on June 19th, the race traverses 70 stages, 15 states, averaging 40-45 miles per day, covering 3220 total miles and ending August 27, 2011 in the Big Apple.

In 1928 at age 20, Andy Payne won the first trans-America footrace from LA to NY. This year’s race revives the legend of that inaugural U.S. footrace. Only 244 athletes have ever crossed the entire United States and 124 runners finished a race across the continent.

Extreme athlete Alex Bellini has run on foot 260 km through the Moroccan desert and 1400 km across Alaska with a small sled. He accomplished a solo rowing journey of the Atlantic Ocean in 226 days and achieved nautical history with the longest solo crossing of the Pacific Ocean on a rowing boat of 18,000 km and 294 days spent alone in the open sea.

“I am very excited to see the U.S. from such an original point of view,” says Bellini. “I have visited the east and west coast, but have never seen its interior. After rowing across the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, I am excited to connect the two oceans by land.”

Alex has trained for the LA-NY Footrace 2011 for 10 months with an incredible support team, including Team Manager/Training Coach Max Damioli, Health Coach Luca Saccagno and wife Francesca, due to give birth to their second daughter in August. He has a support team from Italy including a personal trainer, a nutritionist and hypnosis coach.

Alex’s daily race schedule includes waking up at 3:00 AM, breakfast, massage, breathing, weighing, running until around 4:45 PM each day, then rehydration exercise, massage, dinner, cool-down activities, breathing and sleep by 7:00 PM. The team’s goal is to have Alex’s body nutritionally ready to resume everyday life at Day 70. The team’s mission is to be the world’s first scientific statement and create a benchmark for worldwide endurance races that reveal a perfect combination of physiology, health and nature, demonstrating performance enhancing drugs are not necessary.

The race route crosses the desert of Nevada and cold of New Mexico. It will travel into Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois, Pennsylvania and finally New York City.

Jeep is Team Bellini’s main sponsor with Garmin, Kodak, Salomon, Oakley and Gore running gear as supporting sponsors. Jeep provides a vehicle to travel across the U.S. while capturing video and photography. Daily updates will be posted at http://www.Jeep-People.com beginning June 17th, 70 hours before race start, and following Alex Bellini. For additional information, visit http://www.AlexBellini.it.

Logo: http://www.ereleases.com/pic/LA-NY-2011.jpg

For information, photos, b-roll video or to schedule an interview:

Media Contact for Team Bellini: BurnsGroup Unlimited, Jennifer Burns, 310-993-9494, JBMediaDirector@gmail.com or Barbara Burns, burnsgroup@aol.com

This press release was issued through eReleases(R). For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Team Bellini