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On 17 March 2024, I returned to run the eternal city of Rome. This was my 3rd time running Rome Marathon, but this year, it was extra special. Each year, the marathon has been getting bigger, and with over 15,000 runners this year, the course direction was changed. Rather than the spectacular backdrop of the Colosseum as we started, we had the pleasure to run towards and around the Colosseum to start, and also at the finish, which enhanced the experience.

This was also a milestone race for me, finishing my 150th marathon towards the 100 marathon club (including Ironman and Ultra marathons). It was my 110th event as an official pacer, 48 of which have been marathons.

Rome is one of my families favourite places to visit, we love the food and walking around the city, so we made it a super quick trip to all travel together. We left straight from school, getting a late afternoon flight, but arriving in time for a lovely meal on Friday night. Then, two full days to enjoy Rome, leaving late evening on Sunday. It had also been raining all week leading up to the marathon, but it was beautiful weather ll weekend. In fact, the cloudless skies on Sunday led to a very hot race and sunburn.

Saturday morning, we made the most of exploring and started with a walk to Trevi Fountain. Our hotel was near the Colosseum, so it was not a long walk. After ice cream and lunch, it was time for the expo. My family usually comes with me, and I had a set time to be there. However, we decided that I would go alone and pick up their 5k bibs so they could enjoy looking around the shops.

The expo was just under an hour trip each way, but the transportation is easily accessible. The expo is always particularly busy, so it is worth giving yourself time. Personally, I collected the 5k and marathon bibs, got some race nutrition, and then made my way for the race briefing. With 220 pacers, it is a huge undertaking, coordinated perfectly by Fede.

We had grand plans on Saturday evening to explore further, but everyone was tired and so we ate overlooking the Colosseum. I accidentally managed to book a hotel less than a 1 minute walk from our favourite hotel, which made it very easy to just stumble out of our hotel for food… the 4 cheese pizza is my favourite and why change when you know how much you love something.

Rome Marathon 2024

Race morning is particularly early for a pacer. With an 08:30 start and 220 pacers to coordinate, we were asked to arrive at 06:20. Fortunately, it was only a 20-minute walk for me, so I didn’t need to get up much earlier.

It is always fantastic to see familiar faces, and with so many pacers, there were a lot of familiar faces. It was a long wait once prepared with our balloons, but it gave an opportunity for Nicola, Lisa, and I to get to our starting wave early to talk with runners.

This year, there were 4 waves, and with pacers every 5 minutes, with overlap between waves. This meant there was someone for everyone, and each wave was covered perfectly. It did mean that there was a lot of overtaking, so as pacers, we also organised our groups to make it easy for other groups to overtake. As I was in wave 2 we did not overtake anyone, but throughout the race we had 7 different groups overtake us, and there was only a time that it was narrow and congested, the other times it was seamless.

After getting our group together, giving them advice and calming nerves, we were off. The start was so beautiful that it was hard to describe. We ran around 2/3 or the Colosseum and then started a beautiful route. There were a few long gradual inclines that became more challenging throughout. The route was improved in my opinion and still offers PB potential if you race well.

It was particularly hot, but the organisers did very well to ensure runners were hydrated. There was frequent water, mostly in bottles. There were also cold sponges every 5km, which helped us cool down.

Lisa and Nicola were a pleasure to pace with. We took it in turns to lead, and we also looked after each other and other runners, ensuring that everyone got water. We had a strong group who stayed with us throughout despite the heat. I led the pace for most of the first half and then followed for most of the second half. I need to work on my inclines, as I usually take the incline slower and faster on the decline, but when running with other pacers, I clearly was not as strong going up. This meant I pulled back slightly, going up and then caught up going down.

Towards the end in the last couple of miles, I noticed a slight pace increase, and the course felt more difficult with the few inclines. It was so beautiful so I sat back slightly to not increase too much and enjoy the most beautiful finish. My family had been waiting near the Colosseum to cheer me on for the last 800 metres. Once we went around the corner and off the incline, I planned to catch up with Lisa and Nicola, who were about 10 metres ahead. I picked up the pace slightly to catch them up so we could finish holding hands, and with that extra push at the end, we finished together in 3:59:31.

It was a fantastic race, a beautiful finish, and lots of great memories. When we finished, the only downside of the changed route meant it was a long walk to go around and back on myself to get to the Colosseum. Usually, you finish and carry on walking out, but as this was the race course, there really wasn’t much of an option. It took me 30 minutes to walk around and meet my family, where I got a jug of beer to rehydrate.

Rome Fun Run

Whilst I was running the marathon, my family took part in the 5k race, which started at 09:00 from the same start line. It was much busier than usual, and it really is a fun race. There is no chip time, and it took my family a long time to get started. My boy managed to weave around others to get a 28 min 5k, and my wife and daughter finished some time later together.

I am pleased they got to experience the run around the colosseum and also get a lovely t-shirt and medal. They also enjoyed the race village afterwards, which included activities like archery where they got another medal.

My family enjoyed the final day exploring whilst I raced, and they were not going to meet me at the end, but stumbled across the road closure as I was coming past, which was nice to see them.

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for more at the Rome Marathon. It is one of my favourite events, and certainly one of the most beautiful.