RT article by Brendan Ferrer
A conversation with one of the world’s leading runners about mountains, the long road to self-acceptance, and the quiet discipline of getting a little better every day.
There is a certain type of athlete who seems to have reached the pinnacle of the sport without ever chasing fame per se. Francesco Bobby is one of them. The Italian has spent his career moving seamlessly between road, track, mountain and long-distance racing, and in 2025 produced the defining performance of his career, a major CCC win at UTMB Mont-Blanc. But talk to him for any length of time and the conversation won’t settle about medals. What comes instead is a runner preoccupied with craft, curiosity, and the long, unglamorous work of becoming oneself.
We sat down with Francesco to talk about where it all started, what the trails have taught him, and why, after all these years, he still shows up.
I’ve raced across many surfaces and distances. How did you first discover road running, and what made you fall in love with the sport?
I’ve always been a runner, and road running is something I’ve been doing since I was young without even knowing it was called road running. I started training and racing more on the trails in my 20s. I believe this sport presents unique challenges and beauties, and it combines my two greatest passions: running and the mountains.
This combination is really the heart of the matter for me. The mountains have always been where I feel at home, and running is simply what I do. Trail running is where these two things meet.
Looking back at your journey so far, what is an experience, challenge or lesson that has shaped you, both as a runner and as a person?
I think the biggest lesson was that it’s okay to be whoever I want to be. I don’t have to fit into someone else’s narrative, and I can feel good about my identity.
It took a long time to learn this. In fact, it is a continuous learning process, but it is not yet complete. But I think that’s what shaped me the most as a person, and as a result, as an athlete as well. A lot of what happens on the road is internal. Races test your body, but they reveal your true character, and learning to be at peace with that person is more important than any single outcome.
What continues to motivate and inspire you to keep showing up, keep training and exploring paths?
Running is what I do and what I love. I’m motivated to get better at the craft and add a little brick to the wall every day.
Racing is fun. They motivate me and allow me to compete against other athletes. But I do it mainly to see how far I can push myself, and to discover what kind of person I will become in this pursuit. It teaches you a lot about yourself, the world, and others. This is the part that keeps me coming back. Not the finish line, but whatever the chase requires of you on the way there.
Puppi’s answers carry the same quality as his race: patient, thoughtful, and tardy. He’s a runner who studies the history of his sport, knows the old track splits by heart, and talks about improvement in the language of brickwork rather than accomplishments. One small brick every day. This is perhaps the most honest description of how to build a career like this in reality.
About Francesco Bobby
Francesco Bobby is one of the world’s leading trail and mountain runners, born in Italy in 1992. Crowned World Mountain Distance Running Champion in 2017, he has built a career spanning mountains and ultra-distances, powered by true road speed, with a half marathon best of under 1:05 and a marathon best of 2:16.
Puppi is the official 2023 OCC champion at UTMB Mont-Blanc and finished second in the OCC in 2024. In 2025, he stepped up to the 100km with a fantastic season, capped by a dominant CCC victory at UTMB Mont-Blanc in 10:06:02, the second-fastest time in the history of the race and the first CCC win for an Italian.
A physics graduate from the University of Milan, Puppi races for HOKA and in 2022 co-founded the Pro Trail Runners Association alongside Kilian Jornet and Pascal Egli. He continues to compete at the highest level while contributing to the sport as a coach, writer and passionate advocate for running around the world.
sources
- Francesco Pupi, official biography and race calendar, francescoppuppi.it
- “Versatility pays the price for mountain running star Puppi,” World Athletics
- Francesco Poppi, Wikipedia; And “2017 Mountain Long Distance Running World Championships” Wikipedia
- “2023 OCC Results: McCann and Puppi run to victory,” iRunFar (updated September 2025 to reflect Stian Angermund’s doping disqualification and Puppi’s rise to champion)
- “2025 CCC results: Martina Moynarchik wins the duel, Francesco Bobby dominates”, iRunFar
- “Francisco Bobby and Martina Moynarchyk win the 2025 CCC race at UTMB,” Marathon Guide
- “UTMB CCC Results 2025,” RUN247
- “Francesco Puppi wins CCC for UTMB 2025,” The Pill Outdoor (HOKA sponsorship confirmed)
- “UTMB Mont-Blanc 2025 Live Updates and Results,” offline (OCC 2024 runner-up confirmed)
- The official UTMB World runner profile, utmb.world
Note for internal reference, not for publication: Puppi’s 2017 world title and 2023 OCC title have been confirmed after the original winners were disqualified due to doping (Pietro Mamo in 2017, Stian Angermund in 2023). He is the official champion in both cases. His 2025 CCC win was a clear victory on the day. The biography posted above frames these matters accurately without going into disqualifications, but the context is here so you can decide how to handle them.
