Justine Mattera for the Inferno Run

Justine Mattera for the Inferno Run

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Fri 07 Oct 2016 5:28 PM

On Saturday, October 22, hell will come to the Cascine in the form of the Inferno Run. This 8-kilometer race is a real challenge where no puddle is too muddy and no obstacle too challenging. A share of the proceeds will go to the Fondazione Tommasino Bacciotti, a non-profit association that works alongside Meyer Children’s Hospital on medical science research and providing support to families.

 

Presenter, actor and showgirl Justine Mattera is expected to take on the mud of Florence’s Inferno Run, one of countless celebrities participating in the event.

 

Born in New York, Mattera is—to quote her Instagram bio—a “showgirl with a Stanford degree” in English and Italian literature who has lived and worked in Italy since 1994. Her long-lasting love story with Italy and its culture started in Florence: “I studied here for a semester, and I remember arriving from New York incredulous that people actually lived in a city that appeared to me as a fairytale. I feel in love with Italy thanks to Florence!”

 

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Justine Mattera

 

 

And after more than 20 years here, she is aware of how things work (or not) in the boot: “To those who want to move here, prepare for a whole different pace of life—long lunches, long summer vacations and long postal lines!”

 

After graduating, Mattera returned to Florence and started working as model and vocalist in various clubs, appearing on Italian television for the first time in 1996 as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator co-hosting a show with her mentor and then husband, Paolo Limiti. That merely marked the beginning of her career, which saw her star in a short film Utility Fog in 2013, directed by Gianluca Lasaracina and Marek Santoboni, which was nominated for a David di Donatello award in 2014. Later that year, she became one of the most familiar female faces on Comedy Central.

 

When she was asked if there was anything she couldn’t do, Mattera quipped, “Maybe the Inferno Run!” But after hearing about her years-long experience as swimmer and her daily exercise routine, it is clear that sports have always been a important part of her life: “I was a swimmer before a runner. I competed for 11 years in the US and I have done a few 10k races, but I’m trying to prepare myself more seriously not only in the light of the Inferno Run but for the Memphis Marathon that I will run in December.”

 

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Training for the Inferno Run

 

 

How did Mattera hear about the Inferno Run? “Manuela Barbieri of Women In Run told me about the Inferno Run,” she explains, “and I thought it would be very interesting to be part of it.” About the obstacles she will have to overcome during the run, her answer was typical of those are not afraid of their limits: “I haven’t tackled a monkey bar since I was 11—but I’m a tough cookie.”

 

Join Mattera and book your spot as a competitor at this year’s Inferno Run

Saturday, October 22

Cascine Park, Florence

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