Running Rome: My Eighth Half Marathon Adventure

Did you know that running has been a significant part of my life for the last 16-17 years? I can talk about it whenever and for however long! 😀 Don’t blame me – anyone would be proud to run FIVE kilometres, let alone 21.1 km! Officially, it’s 21.0975 km, though my watch always measures about half a kilometre more.

In early summer, I decided to prepare for the Rome half marathon scheduled for October 20, 2024. I’ve been using an excellent app called TrainAsOne for several years – it works best when given a specific race and adequate preparation time. The summer was scorching, and I trained three times a week until September when I definitively decided to go to Rome and attempt my eighth half marathon. Then I increased my training to four times weekly, raised the minimum minutes, and the fun began. Two weeks before the race, I realized I hadn’t set some parameters correctly – my longest training run was only 12.5 km (instead of the usual 17 km), but what was done was done, I had to continue regardless.

The race looked promising, especially considering the route through Rome and the number of registered participants. Since I registered relatively late with number 15338, I expected at least 17k runners, which turned out to be accurate. On my flight to Rome, there were at least ten other runners! 🙂 The weather was supposed to be perfect, with an 8:30 AM start and temperatures around 16°C, no rain – just perfect! 😀 I was slightly worried about the 4% incline at 7th kilometer due to some health issues, but I told myself I’d deal with that during the race and started packing for Rome.

In Rome, I had the best guide, helper, and host – someone I love immensely, but I’ll keep their name private until I know they’re comfortable being mentioned 🙂 My cousin, who suggested this destination and race, also came, and we met before the start, chatted a bit, wished each other luck, and went to our respective starting groups. Despite the incredible crowd at the start, the beginning was relatively smooth considering the number of runners – I crossed the starting line just before nine. I had a great rhythm, though it was difficult to run at my preferred pace in some places due to the crowds – being in the slower runners’ group, I had to adapt to the majority’s pace. The seventh kilometre was walking time – an uphill similar to the one at Kalemegdan, so I walked those 1,350 problematic meters. Better than exhausting myself with no recovery options. Around the tenth kilometer, we entered the city center with plenty of sights to see, which was a precious addition to the whole event. The last kilometers were on cobblestones, slippery from the previous day’s rain, so I ran more carefully there too. Why risk falling when I could take it slow? It’s not like I was close to my PB anyway.

Finally, I finished, BUT – less than a kilometer before the end, I saw a large pink gate in the distance (Wizz Air was a sponsor) and got excited thinking I was almost done. The timing was decent, great, I could even speed up a bit… Then, a hundred meters from that gate, I realized it WASN’T the finish – it was further around the corner and uphill! I almost cried when I saw another incline. But I made it, right below the Colosseum. A truly incredible feeling.

This was Rome’s first half marathon at this time of year, subtitled “You never forget your first.” I haven’t run other Rome races, but this one had many shortcomings – only three refreshment stations with just water (!!!) – no bananas, chocolate, sugar, or even lemons and oranges (as is customary and available at all other races I’ve participated in). Along with the incredible crowd at bib pickup (luckily, I didn’t experience it since my sunshine did that for me) and the mentioned congestion along parts of the route (especially near the finish, when we passed through very narrow streets), the hidden finish line and medal distribution were… let’s keep it clean. Medals and finish packages were distributed another 200 meters uphill from the finish (again uphill and again with a million people) – a huge FAIL. It’s not about the medal itself – I like having one since I finished – but WATER, something to refresh and regain strength. All in all, it shows it was their first attempt 😛

Overall, I’m satisfied – I finished, didn’t faint like several others near the finish, didn’t get injured, didn’t even have muscle soreness, and had wonderful company, time for socializing and sightseeing, and a handful of precious memories. Isn’t that enough?