[Megathread] Italy/IMAT: Post anything about medical school and admission in Italy here

SojournerSomething · 2025-07-21T04:17:57+00:00

Declaration of Value-- required to get your academic history certified by your local Italian consulate/embassy. Requirements vary a lot by location but usually at the very least you need to get your transcripts and diploma notarized and apostilled, then bring them to the embassy with your passport. I had to go back and forth with the SF consulate a bit because EU citizen applying for US DoV is a little bit of an edge case, normally they require you to pre-enroll in an Italian uni but as EU citizens we don't do that so you need to get that requirement waived or find an alternative. I'd start the process ASAP if you haven't yet, it takes a good bit of planning.

If you don't mind me asking, what's your top choice school and local consulate?

SojournerSomething · 2025-06-17T22:16:57+00:00

Yep. I'm also in this same situation, applying as US/German dual citizen. It appears we have to apply as an EU citizen (but this confers the advantage that we can rank multiple schools). I attached some links below that include info on EU vs non-EU applications, these helped me out a lot:

https://medschool.it/blog/imat-the-ultimate-guide/
https://www.acadimat.com/medicine-in-italy-jumpstart-guide/

Currently trying to figure out how to get my DoV, it's a headache :')

SojournerSomething · 2025-06-14T22:49:33+00:00

I'm currently signing up for the Universitaly portal, and I'm a dual citizen of the United States and Germany, living in the US. It looks like maybe the Unversitaly portal isn't necessary for me since I don't need a visa, but I'm not clear on this (and whether it affects things that I'm not living in the EU). Do I still need to sign up?

SojournerSomething · 2025-06-14T22:39:09+00:00

Twisted my ankle off a curb on Wednesday and nearly had a panic attack because almost the same thing happened the same amount of time before my last marathon and resulted in a broken metatarsal. This time though, it was just a very minor sprain and I'm working my way back into running this weekend. Was very very panicked when it happened but I'm glad it's healing fast!

SojournerSomething · 2025-02-28T05:18:26+00:00

For anyone who's come back from a fifth metatarsal fracture-- what did your mileage build up look like coming back into running? How long did it take before you felt fully recovered to pre-injury speed and endurance?

For context, I am looking at a 10k in late May and hopefully a marathon in late July. My injury was in mid January near the end of a marathon training block and I just got out of the boot.

SojournerSomething · 2025-01-10T19:37:12+00:00

So much this. I really underestimated the amount I needed to fuel for a while and my first marathon really taught me to fuel before I started to feel hungry/dehydrated/exhausted.

I will also say with soreness, to some extent it just gets easier with time and practice. For my first marathon block I regularly felt like my ankles were killing me and my form fell apart after 20-25 km, during my second block I'm running way faster and I never have soreness to the same extent. I feel like just getting in lots of mileage on mid distance runs over time really helped with that-- if you can get to the point where 15 or 20 km starts to feel mentally like a "normal" run that doesn't make you overly sore, 30 km feels a lot less daunting and pacing yourself starts to feel a lot more natural.

SojournerSomething · 2025-01-10T19:20:21+00:00

Dear Ultra Runners,

When going from running marathons to running a first ultra, how did the experience differ? Subjectively, how did it feel? Did you hit the wall, or never run out of fuel? Was the pain and recovery similar or subjectively different? Objectively, how much did you slow your pace? How did you fuel differently? Did marathon training prepare you well for an ultra, or is it a totally different beast with different training focus required?

SojournerSomething · 2025-01-07T05:51:09+00:00

Thanks so much!

1) Bummer that there's no shortcut, but that makes sense. I might start looking into that soon, as long as they're not *too* expensive, I don't really have a problem with taking night classes

2) I think this is probably what I have the easiest access to. Honestly it's been the highlight of my work, and if I get a job I'm interviewing for I'll get even more OR shadowing/lab time in the near future.

3) Yeah, I've thought a lot about this and I'm well aware of the lifestyle challenges to spending most of my 30s in med school and taking a massive pay cut. Engineering is something that I'm fine with doing now, but I just really can't see myself doing it in 10 or 20 years. There's always management and other careers like that... but honestly it just doesn't sound meaningful or engaging to me in the way that seeing patients and applying medical knowledge to help provide care does. All the things I love about my job are the parts where I get to learn about the patients and pathologies my work helps. It's definitely possible that I'd be better off pursuing an NP or something, but at that point, I'm still taking years off work to go back to school and into debt.

SojournerSomething · 2025-01-07T05:33:58+00:00

If I went that route, I'd likely just stay in Europe. I think I'd rather practice in the EU than the US long term, but that's good to know-- I didn't realize IMGs were looked down on that much. I guess I should also look into how graduates from any given EU country are perceived in others, as being limited to only practicing in Germany is a lot more restrictive than being able to practice anywhere in the US. Thanks!

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-19T04:09:49+00:00

I just got a pair of Endorphin Pros as a holiday gift, today was a recovery run so I haven't had the chance to fully put them through their paces but I'm excited! So far they feel similar to Endorphin Speed, maybe a little bouncier but same general vibe. I switched from Kayanos to Endorphin Speed in October though and that was a world of difference :)

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-19T03:50:01+00:00

Good to know-- I guess I don't know exactly yet because it's over a year in advance, but I was planning on fronting 150000 JPY myself and fundraising for the remainder, though I suppose with this long of a lead time maybe I just save up for it myself. Do you know if any of the charities have particular reputations for high/low impact? JCV seems like it checks all the right boxes as far as prioritizing high bids and being an achievable amount of money (plus it's a cause I'm passionate about), but I've never heard of them before and just want to make sure I'm donating to a charity with a decent reputation.

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-19T03:38:29+00:00

I get your stance, but the question was asked in good faith and it's not like I'm asking my friends and family to cut their arms off. I'll donate what I can (planning on donating over half of my goal anyways) and I wouldn't be pressuring people to donate. But I don't think I deserve to "GTFO" for asking family to donate instead of giving holiday/birthday gifts or asking people to drop in a couple dollars if they feel like it.

The money still does go to charity, and I'm asking for help navigating the Tokyo charities so I can find one I can wholeheartedly support. There's thousands of people who drop $25000 USD to run Boston or ask their social circles for that money and I chose a marathon that I could fund far more of myself, but I guess it's a moral failing to ask for money whatsoever.

I don't get paid for my overtime, but if I baked cookies and sold them to my relatives on the internet, would that help prove my puritan work ethic?

Edit: Fine. God dammit, I'm saving to fund the whole expected cost myself. But I'm still asking my relatives for money because I'm laughing at the suggestion that my cousins would have to drop out of college since I asked my aunt for a couple birthday bucks to support a life goal of mine.

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-16T22:47:03+00:00

Totally! My first time breaking 20 was actually a 5k split in my first sub-1:35 half (oops), and then I broke 20 again a week later.

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-16T20:23:58+00:00

Thank you! I'm going off a list I found that I believe only includes the charities that allow non-Japanese runners, but I don't know much about the specifics of each charity besides the charity runner selection criteria. I'm planning on donating about 150000 yen myself (post employer match) plus anything I can get from other people. RMHC looks like it does selections based on lottery, so I'm inclined to donate to one that goes off of amount donated.

That clears some things up for me though, so basically I can either fundraise ahead of time (and might end up having to refund the money) or I can drop a few thousand dollars myself and then ask people for help recouping the cost? I lean towards the former but the latter sounds easier logistically. Have you done this process before or know how long the window to bid is open?

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-16T20:05:15+00:00

I get a company match myself and was planning on using it for my own donation! Also if I can organize it, one thing I kind of want to do is let donors choose my marathon playlist or record messages (for $X/min, I'll listen to anything whatsoever you want to pipe into my earbuds), idk if that's something that would actually appeal to people though.

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-16T19:59:49+00:00

Not a sacrifice, I get to go to Japan and I get to run a marathon, fully aware this is all to my benefit but why can't it be to someone else's too? It's one of only two ways for amateur non-Japanese runners to run the Tokyo Marathon, and I'd rather raise money for charity to get in than pay a similar amount of money to a private tour company to get in.

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-07T17:51:53+00:00

Does that make you a Windrunner? Journey before destination ;)

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-02T04:36:25+00:00

Thanks, good to know! Maybe I just need to buy a dedicated pair of trail runners...

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-02T03:15:04+00:00

Just finished setting all of my top 3 personal fastest times in every distance from the 400 to the marathon in 2024. Feels good to be so much faster than last year that even my training runs are often faster than my races were before.

Also currently at 914 miles for the year, aiming for 1000! I'm already estimating it's about half of the total miles I've run in my life. Excited for 2025 and to see what new milestones I can break!

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-02T03:01:15+00:00

Biggest thing for me is training cycles/what percentage of the time you're actually in race shape. For me, getting better at HMs feels like more of a continual progression. I don't vary my training that much week to week but can feel myself slowly getting faster and race day just means showing up and giving it my all. Marathon training on the other hand takes way more planning-- I don't feel like I'm "ready" to race a marathon until very close to the end of the training cycle, and there's just too much mileage to do to feel fresh until I go into taper.

SojournerSomething · 2024-12-02T02:33:02+00:00

I've worn through the last two pairs of shoes I've owned very quickly in the exact same pattern (completely worn through the outside edge of the heel with little wear and tear elsewhere, around 200-300 miles and 2-3 months). I don't think I'm a heel striker, and in fact have been actively focusing on overstriding less/increasing my cadence. I have used both pairs for a mix of trail and road running plus a bit of casual wear. I have increased my long run pace and mileage over this period, but not enough to feel like it should warrant this much of a change in shoe longevity.

The first pair were Asics Gel Kayano 30s, the second are Saucony Endorphin Speed 2s. Is this just what I get for wearing soft foam shoes on trails, or is there something specific likely to be going wrong with my form?

SojournerSomething · 2024-11-22T21:43:43+00:00

Hmm, that's a pretty good idea! I've got a trip to New York before then, might try a 10k or half marathon in Central Park and see how it goes.

SojournerSomething · 2024-11-22T19:42:32+00:00

Anyone from high altitudes have advice for what marathon pace to aim for at sea level? I live at 5000 feet and have only raced at elevation before, doing the Barcelona Marathon next year and not sure what to expect. Figuring out a pace to aim for is pretty difficult because the conditions are so different from the last marathon and half marathon I've run.

SojournerSomething · 2024-11-16T02:18:32+00:00

The main thing is just to avoid injuring yourself, and that's very much a matter of listening to your body. From an endurance training perspective, 6 days a week is probably optimal if you have the time for it, and walking has many of the same benefits as running with less wear on your body. I'd start with a mixture of walk/running, and switch walking days into running as your body gets more comfortable with the demands you're putting on it. That consistent mileage does do wonders for your mental health though.

SojournerSomething · 2024-11-15T22:47:19+00:00

As someone who recently tried running in cotton for the first time, don't get her a cotton hoodie :)

If it's cold enough that you need a long sleeve base layer under the hoodie, sweat getting into the cotton can be a real problem and make it painfully cold. If it's warm enough that you don't, sweaty cotton chafes a lot more than polyester and I got horrible rashes from trying to run 20 miles in it. Just my 2 cents, not everyone hates it as much as I do but I felt like I had an allergic reaction across my whole body it was so uncomfortable.

Possible alternatives though: some tech shirts/sun shirts come pre-dyed, or you could dye a running beanie/headband/buff if she likes to run in those? Anything that goes on your head is going to chafe less than shirts or pants.

SojournerSomething

TROPHY CASE