Nov 17, 2024
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Roma (Rome) Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Roma (Rome) Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 3.3
Number of comments: 138 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
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S. M. from England
(3/30/2024)
"Great experience - beautiful Marathon" (about: 2024)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 NOT a PB Course. Not Fast - hills, cobbles and lots of twists and turns. Expo was a bit annoying as out of town. Arrived Saturday, long queues and only had large and extra large T-shirts left. Race Day - start was a bit chaotic, not enough toilets and lot of slow runners starting in the wrong wave. Amazingly, even 3:30 pace makers were at the front - clearly in the wrong section. | |
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S. M. from England
(3/27/2024)
"Great experience - beautiful Marathon" (about: 2024)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 NOT a PB Course. Not Fast - hills, cobbles and lots of twists and turns. Expo was a bit annoying as out of town. Arrived Saturday, long queues and only had large and extra large T-shirts left. Race Day - start was a bit chaotic, not enough toilets and lot of slow runners starting in the wrong wave. Amazingly, even 3:30 pace makers were at the front - clearly in the wrong section. | |
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S. M. from England
(3/26/2024)
"Great experience - beautiful Marathon" (about: 2024)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 NOT a PB Course. Not Fast - hills, cobbles and lots of twists and turns. Expo was a bit annoying as out of town. Arrived Saturday, long queues and only had large and extra large T-shirts left. Race Day - start was a bit chaotic, not enough toilets and lot of slow runners starting in the wrong wave. Amazingly, even 3:30 pace makers were at the front - clearly in the wrong section. | |
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Gregory Helbig from Branchport NY
(3/18/2024)
"Spectacular" (about: 2024)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 283rd marathon (or longer) and I ran it with my adult daughter for her first marathon. The Good: This flat course was spectacular, starting and finishing next to the Colosseum and Forum, and passing through a part of the Vatican. Well stocked aid stations and pretty good traffic control (for the most part). Despite all the admonishments to bring this or that to check-in, there were plenty of English speakers and wonderful help. We went to packet pick-up Friday morning (as recommended) and avoided any crowds whatsoever. It was all so organized and efficient, I thought I was in Switzerland. Students from the Universtat in Rome were doing a survey. As someone who spent too many years in grad school, filling out this short on-site computer form would truly benefit these young scholars. The Bad: There was a jam-up getting into the runners' area before the race, but this is easily solvable. Too few porta-squirters, but this is a universal problem in marathoning. The Ugly: Being my daughter's first marathon, and her not having run over 10 miles before, we ran easy (6:24:27), just to cover the distance and see the sights. As we were passing through a shopping district (still well under the cut-off times), crowd control broke down as shoppers demanded their Gucci. I would have given this event straight 5s across the board, if not for the pre-race jam-up (organization) or the rabid Gucci shoppers (spectators). | |
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M. J. from Copenhagen, Denmark
(8/16/2017)
"Beautiful race but course a little slow" (about: 2015)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran the Rome marathon in 2015. The good: The course is absolutely stunning! Although a bit of the course takes places outside the city in the boring areas, most of the course is run inside the city along side the historic monuments. This alone is worth doing the race! The finisher medal is very beautiful and changes every year, although the style is kept. Aid stations are good and support is good for most of the race. The bad: The cobble stone streets make for a fairly slow race, so don't run this one for the finish time, run it for the course. Finding volunteers (or anyone involved in the organisation of the race) on race day that spoke even a little English was hard, so tough luck if you are a foreigner and have questions on race day. For example, my family who came to support me missed me crossing the finish line because access to the streets around the finish line had been blocked completely and with no one speaking English, they could get no directions or help. The few bad things aside, this is a race to run! | |
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Francesco Cornelio from Bologna, Italy
(5/19/2017)
"Good race (not super fast) in a wonderful city" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 In my opinion Rome is the most beautiful city in the world and only the trip is worth because of this. Said that, part of the course is outside the city centre, with no spectators and this makes running pretty hard. Bring good cushioned shoes because the pavement is not very even and after a while your feet are really beaten up. Getting to the start can be tricky because of the subway getting completely full of runners (I arrived late!), so just take your time and it will be fine. Organization was good, just a bit far to reach the Expo to pick up the bib. Said that I really liked the race and Rome is always a beauty! :) | |
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R. P. from Calgary, Canada
(4/22/2017)
"Not as great as I imagined" (about: 2017)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Rome was my fourth marathon and I fully expected it to top the Paris Marathon and become my favorite. Rome was great but not the best. I chose Rome for a flat course in a great city. It promised to be scenic and more than 16,000 runners. Although I train alone, I like to race in a crowd. Rome delivered all of these. The advance logistics and communication were frustrating. Organizers answer Facebook questions quickly but individual queries sent by email get useless, auto replies. The medical certificate and running club membership required for non-Italians are pointless. My medical certificate was ignored; the running club membership felt like a cash grab. Eventually I did get confirmation that I was registered. The marathon expo is large but the offerings are slim. There are many booths promoting other marathons and a few vendors. I thought I would be able to find short running shorts. I didn't. The expo was inconveniently located in Rome. The event T-shirt and backpack were very nice. The logo is great but I am always surprised when non-English cities have English-only slogans: 'All Roads Lead to Rome.' The race day was generally well organized. Runners are marshalled into the road behind the Colosseum. Bags are stored in trucks by bib numbers. It is simple and efficient. As a 3:30 runner, I was in an early group. I should have been less honest about my previous best time and entered with 3:15. The start areas flowed well but I was boxed in for the first five kilometres. It was partly my own mistake not the organizers. It cost me at least five minutes. The course has many turns. I expected to run much more than 42.2 km. I did not. By running the tangents my actual distance was 42.4 km. That was a pleasant surprise. Run smart on the many turns or you could come close to 43 km. The sites in Rome are splendid but 2017 was not the year to enjoy the view. It rained for much of the race. It was cold, windy and the torrential downpour made the cobblestones slick. I think you can have rain or cobblestones but not both if you want a fast time. There is a hill near the finish. Part of the hill is in a tunnel. It is a tough price to pay for a downhill homestretch. There were more than enough aid stations with water, 'salts' (energy drinks) and fruit. Someone told me there was biscotti. It wasn't true but there were other types of cookies at some stations. There were many sponge stations too. In the rain, the volunteers must have felt redundant. The crowd is notoriously ambivalent. In the rain, the crowd was notably thin. Even bands sought cover from the deluge under doorways and awnings. There were areas with good cheering - typically the biggest tourist sites like the Piazza Navona. The finisher medal is lovely. For some time, the medals have had a bronze finish and original designs. Though the details change year over year, the medals seem to combine an ancient feel with a contemporary look. The are perfect for the Eternal City. Overall, Rome puts on a wonderful event. To be fair in this review, I have needed to separate the weather from what organizers can control. If you have never run a great marathon in Europe, pick Paris. If you have done Paris and want something new, Rome is a great race. | |
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m. i. from herts uk
(4/5/2017)
"Stunning course- and less chaotic organisation" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Roma (Rome) Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I learnt my lesson and registered on the Thursday. No crowds no queue but still in a venue that is relatively inaccessible. The real reason to run this is the wonderful course and it really is that. There are some dull bits in the mid 20's km but what can beat the start at the Colosseum, St peters at 16 km and the final 7 km through the sights of this wonderful city. A downhill final kilometre is welcome too but getting to the start is still pretty arduous. The marshalling and funnelling at the start are better and the negatives are being dealt with. Great support considering this is the wettest marathon I have ever run and efficient marshalling and processing. Drinks are in cups but you can nip round the back of the drink station and grab a bottle without too much fuss. No gels but lots of fruit. All in all now a top league marathon but still a long way to go for organisation to be up there with the best | |
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A. S. from Tirana, Albania
(8/16/2016)
"My first that convinced me it wont be the last" (about: 2016)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Your first marathon experience is very crucial. I had my first in Rome, and I couldnt ask for a better one! Ive been several times in Rome and I know the city, but seeing it from point of view of a marathon runner, is a completely different thing. It is advisable to participate in at least another running race in Italy just to get a glimpse of what organisation looks like for Italians. Luckily I did that, so I knew what to expect, good, but not without hiccups. While perhaps not the ideal, the marathon organisers try to do their best. The registration process, through a website that is a tad erratic, was not completely stress free. Sending emails didnt work, however the organisers are much quicker to respond through their Facebook page! The start and end of the area are well organised and located. Read the instructions you get with the registration package very very carefully! Along the race, as usual sponge and refreshment areas, with water and salt as they call electrolyte beverages, as well as food in the form of fruits. I didnt see gels, however I had mine with me, so no problem there. The race course goes through some of the most spectacular sights of Rome (dare I say of the world?!) and that is completely worth despite an almost indifferent crowd. The last 5 kilometres, while reserving some of the best parts of the Rome historical city centre, were particularly painful for me: 1) running in the cobblestone track (the Romans call them Sampietrini) was horrible. I was always afraid I would stumble and fall! 2) unless you are one of those whose finish time is less than 3 hours, the end of the race for you will correspond to the midday, under a very generous Roman sun. It can get very hot and I thought my feet were on fire. However, the finish - exhilarating! One that I will never forget - and the medal - beautiful. I was able to locate the truck where my bag was on store quite easily and continued walking with a huge smile on my face. Post race, I found myself having to sift through hundreds of pages with photos, locating my photos was a marathon by itself ;-) Overall, I would recommend Rome to anyone. It was my first, that convinced me that it would not be the last. | |
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Sasha Watson from London
(6/13/2016)
"Great city, and a solid consistent marathon" (about: 2016)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 On paper it ticks all the boxes - and it delivers on most, but there are a few hiccups: - the start is crowded. this year there were roadworks by the colloseum, but getting into corals was non-existent, and messed up the start for many - expo is quite a way out of the city (go early pre-12pm to beat major queues) - the crowds and course does have its dull points, but this is to be expected. basically dont expect it to be a london / boston / nyc crowd, but the last 7k is great - tends to be hot. if you're training for a time, this ones not for you. Not a hiccup so to speak. The course takes in all the points you would expect from rome - st peters square being a standout, as is the start / the route from 35k. Gels/ drinks are standard for a well-organised race, and having video available afterwards is still a relatively modern addition. |
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