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Apr 29, 2024

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 41 to 51]

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Scott Wall from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (7/15/2009) "A great marathon if you like history and not PRs" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is a great marathon if you are into history. What an experience to run by the Coliseum, Vatican City, The Forum, etc. I thought the pre-race area was adequate and clothing drop-off easy. The start seemed well organized. Aid stations were good, with adequate fluid, oranges, bananas, etc. Most are 5K apart, longer than the separation I am accustomed to (2 miles). Running on cobblestones is a whole new experience! The finish area was a little disorganized. I had a hard time finding the aid station. Clothing retrieval was not a problem - it was very easy. A great finisher's medallion. I still haven't been able to get any of the race photos. I'd really like to get one or two. It seems like the website is always down. For my first European marathon, this was great!
I. M. from USA (5/23/2009) "Loved it, but very unorganized at the end." (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I'm not a marathoner to win; I'm just doing it for fitness and to raise money for cancer patients. I found the marathon wonderful, except for the part where we started to run those the market places (the spectators were more concerned on shopping than staying out of the runners paths). I had to halt various times and almost ran into a baby buggy. It was not nice; there was no water for long periods (at the end). Plus, I've been emailing the organizers about photos; the site is always down and I can't seem to order photos of the marathon.
Ian Rowe from London, England (4/7/2009) "The Eternal City" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Having run some of the other big marathons in Europe, I found that this one was one of the best. A sensible number took part and all the important tourist sights of the Eternal City were taken in. The cobblestones were not a problem, and I even finished with my PB. I emailed the organizers, thanking them after I got home, and I received a reply the next day. This was a great course for spectators, as my wife was able to see me a few times. I could not fault the excellent start, refreshment stations or finish. The expo was a few stops away on the underground, but very helpful.
Freek Verbakel from Amsterdam, The Netherlands (4/1/2009) "Great marathon!" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Roma Marathon is a great marathon. Although the cobblestones and two hills in the last 9 KM can be killers, and a part of the course is near the Tiber with just a few spectators, the beginning and the end of the marathon are very nice, with lots of spectators near the Coliseum and on Piazza Navona, Piazza di Populo and around the Spanish steps. The organization is good, with a nice expo were you get a nice t-shirt and a bag to deposit your clothes during the marathon. All runners can travel free of charge on the bus and metro in Rome during on marathon day. And if you're not running very fast, don't worry; the time limit is 7:30.... Just do it! Freek
D. W. from Brockport, NY USA (3/25/2009) "Grazie, Grazie" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was a little apprehensive in selecting this race due to many of the comments from previous years. I'm glad I went ahead and ran this race!! Wow. What a race. What a city. First, I read comments about registration issues. Yeah, you need a physical - so what? I faxed it off and received confirmation of registration the next day. Second issue: Poor crowd/spectators. I'm not one to normally need a spectator to urge me on, but to those of you who do, they were great. Good support the whole way, with them 3-5 deep the last 4-5 miles. I was a little shocked at first to hear many yell, "die" (dai) until I was told it meant either run, or "go on." :) Organization? It was more streamlined than any marathon I have been in. The only thing that I didn't particularly like was that the expo was about 12 metro stops out from the center city plus a 700-meter walk. Oh well. The course was incredible. I can remember reminding myself how lucky I was to be running in such surroundings. I ran behind a guy in Roman Legion armor and thought about walking on the cobbles that gladiators and emperors walked on. The corrals worked great. I did run a PR, even though I probably walked a half marathon the prior couple days doing the "tourist" thing. The course was pretty flat, with a couple hills, but not too bad. In fact, it seemed like I was running downhill a lot. An incredible destination marathon. Thank you, Roma!
C. R. from London, England (3/24/2009) "Best Running Tour of Rome" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 My sixth marathon (and second international). It had better organization than I would have expected from previous comments, but signage was somewhat lacking at the start, and there was no reunion section at all. They had well-stocked refreshment and sponge stations. Crowds were mostly made up of tourists. The expo was ok, but it was crowded - there was a 30-minute wait to get in. Amazing course; you see all the major monuments of Rome.
American In Italy from Italy (3/24/2009) "Much Better Than Last Year's Comments" (about: 2009) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Judging from the comments about previous years, I can say that the organization took your advice. Although this was only my first marathon, I thought that it was well organized and easy enough for a novice to navigate the pre-registration stuff and race day flow. One important piece of information: DO NOT GET OFF THE METRO AT THE COLLOSEO.... GO ONE MORE STOP TO THE MASSIMO. Much easier. The course takes you through a lot of the sights in Rome which are spectacular. Aid stations were plentiful and the medal is great. A really great experience overall.
Kathleen Dem from Orange County, California (1/16/2009) "A great vacation race!" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my fourth marathon, and my first international experience. I ran it alone, but with music - Josh Groban singing in Italian seemed perfect. I also planned to be slow, so that I wouldn't be too sore to enjoy the rest of our vacation. I did a 2-minute walk/run. This allowed me to stop looking down at the cobblestones and enjoy the sites of Rome without falling over! Registration: Any questions I had about my online password or registration were answered in 2-3 days via email. I was able to register early for the cheapest price, and send the MD form later. Expo: It was not well marked from the subway. But 5 or 6 of us were searching, and a very pleasant local walked us to the site. As a plus, we found a great wine bar for dinner on the way back to the metro! Race: My husband signed up for the family fun run (walk) so he got his own t-shirt and and experience to talk about. The 9 a.m. start was very vacation-like. There were plenty of toilets at the start. I went into the corrals about 20 minutes before the race. There is no getting back out! The start/finish of the course is the Colosseum. Awesome! (But uphill at 40K.) We had been sightseeing so I knew what I was seeing. The entrance to the Piazza Navonna was thrilling - crowds cheering, bands playing. I felt like there were plenty of supportive people. You definitely get more attention and cheers when running instead of walking. Every 5K there was fruit, cookies and drink. Having hot tea, milk and cookies, and fruit at the finish was a fun, different experience for me. Lots of free samples. A great tour of different areas of the city, on both sides of the river. Note: I finished in 5:25 - plenty of food and support staff were there. If you plan on finishing around 4 hours, make specific plans on where to meet your family - many people finish at the time and it is hard to pick anyone out in the crowd. Also, have your non-marathon friends do the family fun run. Most people walk; it's 4K and gives them a Rome shirt and story too! Truly one of my best running memories!
J. A. from San Diego, CA (4/3/2008) "Do it Just For Fun!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 First things first: my registration experience was awful! You first have to get the health certificate filled out by your doctor. Then you fax it over. This took about 2 weeks to confirm. Then actually to pay and sign up for the marathon, it took another 2 weeks because I kept getting "error" messages in the payment area. (This is only an assumption in that the race has to give the OK to the banks to allow to register. I might be wrong.) Be careful of that. Otherwise, the cobblestone wasn't too bad, and the "crowd support" is different in that it's mostly tourists who are lined up along the route. (The people cutting in front of you are really the tourists who could care less about a race.) Water stations are slightly understaffed. The goody bag was one of the best, with our mini-backpacks and two shirts! The medal was superb too! Don't expect it to be like the races in the U.S. where service and crowd support are paramount. With that expectation, let the sights of this ancient city carry you through! I ran this not going for a fast time, and I ran it with my camera. Ps. Things are more expensive in Europe. For example, the running shoes I wear cost ~$75 in the U.S., whereas the same pair cost a whopping 140 euros. The weak dollar didn't help either.
Dean Diefendorf from New York, NY (3/29/2008) "Scenic Course, Hard to Register" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Roma (Rome) Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Loved the Rome Marathon. Very scenic course; you begin and end at the Colosseum. There's no better way to see Rome. Pros: Very scenic Great finisher's medal More than enough porta-potties Adequate food/water Cons: Impossible to register online and no one answers emails, faxes etc. Had a friend in Italy pay for me. Once you got past the very difficult registration, the rest of the event was very well organized.

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