Fantastic event! Would run it again in a heartbeat! The organisation of everything, fantastic. The only downside for me personally is the getting to the expo with it being a fair distance away from the city centre. The expo itself was great, and the bag was fantastic, have already used it multiple times since. The amount of toilets at the start was great and numerous lorries for the bag drop which all looked like it was running smoothly. Getting to the race pens was fine, and I've never seen so many pacers. Starting alongside the colosseum was incredible, and the music playing etc. made it a real epic party atmosphere, also having the Italian national anthem belting out with so many people singing was spine tingling stuff. The route was brilliant, other than an early bottle neck due to the works on building the new metro - not ideal, and I mean the copious amount of cobbles but that can't be helped! The new finish area in Circo Massimo was perfect as well - although finishing with a hill was just cruel! Other than that it was like some sort of marathon dream running round Rome and the medal is the best I have ever received.

This course is certainly longer than a marathon distance. I started my Garmin watch at the start (1st Matt), each distance marker got progressively further away from my indicated distance, and my final reading was 43.3km, more than a km longer than a marathon. I asked other runners, all of whom said it was definitely longer. I am a recreational runner, but I can imagine 1 km for guys who run to win it...that adds over 2 minutes to their time. ROME, please relook at your distance measurement.

Expo was easy to get to and no queue either. straight in and out.. nothing really to look at inside... mainly other race promoters. A nice goody bag, with t-shirt, apparently really small for women.. mine seemed to fit ok.. a nice backpack was handed out to use as bag drop.. could be bigger as my shoes filled the whole bag. The race day - well this was an absolute shambles. not sure if it was due to the president being in town or not.. chaos. utter chaos. Made to walk round and round the streets to drop bag off. impossible to see van numbers for drop off as they were on the floor. toilets were opposite the vans so it was a nightmare, both queues merging and dying from the toilet fumes. Trying to get to the right start pen seemed to take ages, near on impossible. Possibly the worst start of the marathon ever, even worst than Brighton.. The race was actually nice, weather was lush. plenty of aid stations , sponges, nutrition etc. The cobbles were worse for me this year as they seemed to go on for ages. The finish area was average... back drop to the colosseum, not sure it gets better than that. Carrier bag tied in a nott with an apple, water, biscuits, etc. not that bad but needed more food. :) Getting out of the race village was a nightmare, same as when we arrived in the morning...

We returned to run the Rome marathon again in March 2022. As it’s always remained our fav race and our favourite country 🇮🇹 It was our first race back in almost 4 years after my battle with cancer. We stayed for 5 nights this time. Having previously ran it in 2016 we knew the route as it hadn’t changed, and the expo was in the same location too which made it easier to reach via train this time. It’s an excellent expo and worth spending some time exploring property, even though it was post covid with you requiring your covid pass or vaccination certificate to enter. The registration this time was much easier as we didn’t require a run card or medical certificate, we used our EA membership card to cover this, which we uploaded to the registration and it took only a month to have it confirmed!! We entered early this time in October (after it had run the previous year’s delayed marathon from spring in Autumn) and got it at its best rate €127 euros for both myself and my wife Rose. The downside was having to complete a passenger location form for each traveler to allow access into Italy as they hadn’t relaxed the covid rules like the UK had. Not that this is anything you can attribute to the Rome marathon. Superb course full of landmarks and history and we were aware of the cobbled sections having ran it before! Again it was warm and dry so these cobbles were not an issue. Great water stations and I can’t praise this event highly enough. We didn’t have and issues this time and as it’s our first race back towards finding our fitness again after such a long time out, we wanted somewhere around 6 hours. We had trained for running only 5/6 miles and power walking the other 20 miles. We ended up running almost 8 miles all in the first half, and keeping a high speed walking pace around 13.30 mins per mile. We owe our finish time to the fantastic 5.45 pacers who came past us just before mile 22. They adopted a run/walk 1/4 mile strategy which allowed us to keep jogging back to them every mile to the finish line. We had deliberately started at the back this time behind the 6.30 pacers and worked our way slowly through the field. So we knew if we finished around the 5.45 pacers we wound indeed beat them so we were delighted with our 5.43.03 finish. We both earned the superb medal for what we have both been through FightingCancer 💚👊 It beat our first time with my wife’s injuries by over a minute so that was a bonus too. We met at the expo and have been in touch with the Rome marathon pace team manager, and are hoping to be on the Rome pace team for 2023 🙏 Rome has stolen our hearts ♥️ As always a massive thank you to the organisers, sponsors Joma and all the magnificent volunteers and marshals and of course those passionate pacers who we hope to join in 2023 🎈🎈🎈🎈

Rome 2019 was amazing. A must for anyone that likes to take the visor on tour. Registration was quick and easy. (The bag provided was better then paphos) Bag drop and start line could do with improving but this was the first maratho. Under the new company so it will get better if we all leave reviews. The race started on time in the pouring rain. Not a good idea to leave poncho in hotel room. 😂 The race passes so many iconic landmarks its just insane. Water stations and sponges etc were all spot on. Nice flat route apart from cobbles. If you hate cobbles this race isnt for you. Would say this was my favr marathon so far and i love Barcelona so it really is 👌🏼

This was my first marathon and it was a super experience!

Registration was fairly easy for me, as I am a member of an affiliated club. This meant I did not need to undergo the medical tests or get a medical certificate. I simply had to upload a photo of my England Athletics card. Once registered, I received a few emails in the lead up to the race with various offers and reminders and then the pre-race briefing in the week before the race.

Collecting your number was easy enough. The expo is on the metro line and you can't really miss it.  You collect your number and then have to wander through the stalls before getting your goodies - no skipping them as there's only one way to go! It was all new to me, so I didn't mind! The backpack and t-shirt are great, although having some samples to try for size would be helpful, as there was no swapping. I guessed correctly thankfully! The backpack is needed for luggage on the day - nothing else accepted. You will see plenty of people carrying them around in the days after the marathon.

On the morning of the race, everything was smooth. You're guided naturally into the runners' area, past toilets and baggage busses, and to the start. The start is well organised and goes off in three waves. Each got their own countdown, which I thought was a nice touch.

The route itself is great. Okay, so some bits are a bit more suburban or industrial, but that didn't matter to me. The sights more than make up for it. Running up towards St Peter's was overwhelming and something I won't ever forget. The last few miles twist and turn through the piazzas and past various monuments, meaning lots of support to keep you going. The cobbles at various points are hard work and sap your energy a bit, but it's the price for such a historic route. The majority of the route is not on cobbles, so it is manageable. The worst bit is when they reappear for the last few miles!

It was hot this year and it was the first time in a few years that it didn't rain, which meant lots of runners were affected by the heat. The water stations were every 5km. Water and Powerade in cups on both sides of the road and the later stations also had fruit. Some runners felt they should have been more regular, but the distance between the stations was advised well in advance so I was prepared for it. In between drinks stations were sponging stations to help keep cool; never has ice cold water been so magical! I saw lots of marshalls and first aid around the route, which was reassuring!

Then only negative experience during the run was a round 22/23 miles when an ambulance had parked across a narrow side street, meaning runners had to squeeze in single file between the ambulance and a wall to get past. I appreciate someone needed help and that is a priority, but parking 5 metres further up in the square would have caused far fewer issues, especially as some runners became very aggressive and were pushing other runners out of the way.  This was a bit dangerous at such a late stage in the race. I got pushed and landed funny on my foot causing cramp which I had to stop and work out. Luckily I was able to get going again.

Mile 25 brings an incline (groan), but it is through a tunnel which brings welcome shade. It is then downhill to the wonderful finish at the Colosseum. Absolutely breathtaking and you forget about the 26.2 miles as you take it in. You are given water, a foil blanket and the all important medal - and it's a good one! The goody bag contains more water, Powerade, fruit and biscuits. Massage and medal engraving were also available. Keeping spectators out of the finish area is a good move, as it allows runners to move around more freely without fear of being pushed by excited friends and family. Getting your bag back was quick and efficient.

I would definitely recommend the Rome Marathon. It's probably not a PB course, unless it's your first one, like me, but definitely a great experience. After all, how many marathons can boast a route that contains parts that have been standing for over 2000 years?!

I am part of a running group from Muscat Oman and every year we pick a marathon somewhere in the world.  This year was Rome Marathon.

The first thing about this race is the registration is the most difficult I have ever come accross in over 25 marathons.  There was a medical certificate to get signed by a doctor - not your usual are you fit/heart rate ect ect but a full diagnostic test. They wanted 2 ECGs one at rest and one while exercising, urine and a few others.  No running numbers were issued until you had submitted your medical form signed by the Doctor.  

The rest of registration was pretty standard.  You had to attend the expo to get your number and you had to walk the whole expo no cutting corners in order to get your pack. The packs were great a backpack and t-shirt included.  They did not have a t-shirt to try on for size and there was no swapping once you had taken possession.  They were very strict about this.  They pointed at people and said she’s got a medium on he’s got a large on and left you trying to judge from that what size you needed. 

The information about the race starting times and how to get to race pens was clear in the pack.  The baggage trucks very easy to find and very efficient at the end. 

Once the race started you were in beautiful Rome lots of sights to see but then it headed out rough areas of Rome lots of bends and turns.  The roads are cobbled and where they are concrete there were real big pot holes none of them spray painted or marked and I saw at least 3 people go down in them mainly towards the end when legs were tired.

in the middle it was back into tourist area lots to see and then back out into rough neck of the woods then back again to finish at the coleseum - absolultley beautiful to turn the corner with 200 metres to go and see this right in front of you.  

The medals were nice and big and heavy. The finisher area was very spacious and had plenty water and fruit ect. 

I did enjoy this marathon.  The profile doesn’t show up the hills as much as your legs feel them and the cobbles are hard going on the knees but sights to see and we got a beautiful day for it too. 

I would Recomend this run as long as you are able to get the medical taken care of. 

When I was deciding on which Spring marathon to do in 2018, the main criteria for me was to go somewhere different and not choose a hugely popular marathon like Paris. I had never been to Italy before and after reading a few blogs my decision was made. I registered for the Rome marathon in July 2017.

The registration was a simple online process via the website. The fees are from €55 to €90 depending on when you register. If you are not registered with an IAAF registered club (eg. England Athletics), then you would also need to buy a Runcard for €12 and obtain a medical certificate before your registration is finalised. 

I arrived in Rome on the Thursday before race weekend and headed to the expo from the airport. The expo had just opened and was not busy that day. I would imagine that it would have been busier on Friday and Saturday. Bib collection was a breeze - all that was required was my confirmation letter and ID. The expo itself was the standard marathon expo with the official sportswear sponsor, New Balance, selling their products and a very limited amount of Rome marathon branded clothing. After passing the other stands you go to the final booth to collect your free technical t-shirt and backpack. The official backpack is the only backpack which will be accepted at the baggage check in the start area. I didn't need to use the baggage check though, as my hotel was two minutes away from the start area. 

The race organisation was excellent as you would expect from an IAAF label race. The start was in waves with three offical timers for each wave. The course is an out and back course starting in front of the Colosseum, going through residential areas on both sides of the river, along the river and back through the main shopping area before getting back to the Colosseum. The route is a little undulating and parts of it are on cobbled streets but this did not bother me in the slightest. The roads were all wide enough and were not crowded. The refreshment stations were well stocked with water, Powerade, oranges, salts and energy bars. The support and atmosphere along the course was outstanding with bands, music, residents and tourists supporting and cheering runners. The marshals and volunteers did an excellent job of directing people as necessary and there were enough medical staff along the course assisting runners. After crossing the finish line we received our medal, foil blanket and water and another bag with more water, Powerade and an apple. 

In 2018 we were unlucky with the weather. It was extremely hot and many of us were struggling during the second half, taking many walk breaks. It was not a day for pbs. However, it was an incredible experience to run in Rome and I would definitely do it again. It is a fantastic alternative to the cliche of Paris marathon and I believe that everyone should give Rome marathon a go for the experience. 

Running inside such a beautiful city such Rome is just amazing. It was raining partially this day and the course was a bit challenging because a big part of the roads inside the city is stone paved and was slippery. Also the last few kilometers before the goal, the course inside the city get quite narrow so you need to be careful when trying to by-pass others. The registration to the event is bit confusing and complicated and requires medical check certification. It is not very user-friendly and comprehensive and I think that there is room for improvement. Other than this the experience of the overall event is just amazing.