On 22nd March 2026 I ran the Rome Marathon. This was my 5th time running, and pacing Rome Marathon, and there have been some significant changes over the years. It was already a fantastic marathon, but the capacity has more than tripled in the past 5 years, and the course has changed multiple times to better manage the larger numbers of runners. It is a well organised event, and despite a further increase of 8,000 runners this year, to 36,000, it felt smoother and less congested than previous years.
This was my 6th Marathon of 2026, my 184th Marathon (plus) and my 136th time as an official pacer (including 73 marathons). I love travelling the world and running marathons, and Rome is one of my highlights.
This year I travelled with Scott, who was pacing 3:25, whilst I paced the sub 4 #funbus for the 5th time in Rome. We flew out on the first flight on Saturday morning, stayed one night, then flew home late on Sunday. It was a short trip, but we managed to fit in a lot.
When we arrived we stopped off for the first beer and pizza of the weekend, then made our way to the expo. The expo was at the start / finish area and so much more convenient than the previous location. It meant that it saved a lot of time, and enabled us to have more time to explore.
At the expo we collected our stuff and had a technical briefing. We then went to check into our hotel and sorted out our kit before going out and meeting up with other friends and pacers for more beer and pizza. I don’t usually stay out as late when I travel, but it was a nice evening.
I had a restless night sleep, but I think it was because it was a very long day. Waking up at 3am to get to the airport and then knowing that I had to get about about 5am on race morning. I probably only slept for a couple of hours.
Rome Marathon 2026
On race morning all the pacers met at 06:15 to get organised. This was earlier than needed, but to be fair, it is the biggest marathon Pace Team in the world, and so it makes sense to get everyone together early to avoid any issues. Arranging 250 pacers is not an easy thing.
Each team had a team leader to hand out balloons and make communication easier. I was the team leader for my group, and got our balloons together and ready. It is such a beautiful place to get ready at the start, overlooking the colloseum, it is pretty hard to beat.
We made our way to the start at around 0700, and waited for runners to join us around 0730. It did mean we had easy access to the toilets before the queues started to form. When the runners arrived we spread out to help arrange everyone into the right order, and as usual, the 4 hour #funbus was huge, with many runners in Rome for the first time; running their first marathon; or going for their first sub 4. I always love speaking to runners at the beginning of the race. The excitement, the nervousness, the stories. I always hope that these interactions make a difference.
I was expecting it to be crowded at the start, but there was much less of a delay than previous years, and we didn’t have any real issues. Whatever they have changed with the starting process and course has really helped to keep the race flowing.
I naturally took a position at the back of our group. The two other pacers ran together for most of the time, so I created a space between us to help accommodate more runners between us and behind me. It worked really well, and together as a trio we worked well together. At a couple of times they went a little faster than I would like, so I just held my pace, and they didn’t allow the gap to grow. Then around half way I felt we needed to #Pickupthepace so I pushed a little and took the lead for a while. Before long they overtook me again and I held the back position again.
From start to finish we ranged between 5 seconds and 30 seconds ahead of target, which is exactly where I like to be. I would have eased off 10 seconds on the final few miles, but I was at the back, and the other pacers were maintaining a slightly quicker pace, so I held onto them, so we finished together.
A real positive of the course was the aid stations. Water, electrolytes, fruit and crackers and sponges in water. I only took the water and sponges, but the aid stations were much more frequent than most races. After 5km it felt like we had water every couple of kilometres.
The weather was also pretty perfect. It still felt warm, but it was overcast so we didn’t have the sun on our backs.
The finish was impressive, with many runners around us and ahead of us from our original group. My unofficial time is 03:59:36.
After the race I had more pizza and beer, before coming back to see the last runner finish. Because, we received an Official Guinness World Record for being the biggest marathon pace team in the world. We got another medal as a gesture, and it was nice to be part of the experience.
Rome Marathon is fast becoming one of the biggest European Marathons, and certainly one that everyone should come and experience. Running a marathon is the best way to see what the city has to offer, and Rome is a beautiful city.
