Our European Editor Bruno dePrato On The Gas And In The Mud

One thing's for sure about Cycle World's European Editor Bruno dePrato: he never does anything halfway. Long-time readers know he's a solid rider who still gets his knee down hard at tracks like Misano, Monza and Mugello. With thousands of test bikes in his logbook, little in the continent's two-wheel world escapes him—whether it's a new-bike intro or the behind-the-scenes, cloak-and-dagger side of the European motorcycle business.

Another example of Bruno’s toughness? In June he was in the US to show that he can still do what he did in basic training 50 years ago. And what better way to prove it than by competing in the World Famous Mud Run at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton?

I know how to bait a trap, so a while back I sent him a new pair of combat boots and utility trousers. While most runners tackle the course in shorts and jogging shoes, Bruno and I never take the easy way out, so we run in the Boots and Utes class. He was on my doorstep faster than the next morning’s newspaper. The course is over six miles of hills and dirt trails, with mud pits to wallow across, walls to scale, tunnels to crawl through, cargo nets to climb, and plenty more.

About a company’s worth of young enlisted Marines volunteer their time and support at the event, and you should have heard them cheer when they saw Bruno on the course. They shouted encouragement, posed for pictures with him, stopped and shook his hand. At the finish where plenty of runners just collapse, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bruno with a bigger smile on his face.

On Sunday, yours truly ran Boots and Utes, and took the Silver medal in the Masters Class, showing my heels to entrants 20 years younger. Six miles cross country in wet combat boots? I’ll take it any day over pushing a blown-up KLR650 through a mile of Baja sandwash while wearing a pair of Alpinestars. It’s a great life if you don’t weaken!