Maraton di Roma

Rome was a highlight in my marathon calendar this spring. Having studied Latin for 13 years at school and university, I've only managed a few days in Rome so this was a superb opportunity to do some sight seeing at speed. The start was right underneath the Colisseum by the Imperial Forum which brought back so many memories of the ancient texts I've read and archaeology I've studied. It was incredibly atmospheric and, being Italian and a fairly big race at 11k runners, properly excitable.

I'd been allocated Pen B which was mildly intimidating as my aims were sub 4 for a reasonable run, 3'50 for a good one and 3'40 for a great one. The first few miles were really packed and jostly with all that excess energy being used to dodge around people. For the first of many many times in this race I told myself to relax, there was plenty of time to pick it up. Hence I started out slower than target pace, all the better to soak up the views.

The weather was pretty nice for racing - warm but overcast, winter feels a long time ago on days like this. The route was flat with only a couple of short inclines and fairly fast, if you didn't mind running on cobbles. They were fairly smooth but you had to be careful, especially given my recent wipe outs on training runs and compulsion to run craning my neck at all the sights. I went through the first 5k in 26'28, the next in 26'05, then 26'01, 26'12, 26'12, 26'02, 26'21, 26'31 and the last 2.2k at exactly the same pace, a steady 8'19 minutes per mile. I was consciously holding back all the way through the race as I just wanted a strong finish without beasting myself and pacing felt so easy, like I had a metronome in my legs.

While I didn't feel tired, it helped that for several k I was chatting to a Sicilian guy and practising my Italian (and he his English), then to a Cambridge Harrier. Distractions are always nice, especially when they come in the form of talking to handsome Italians, running through the Vatican and being proposed to by a spectator! The last few k take you back through the centre of Rome, past Trajan's Column, through the Piazza Navona, around the Circo Massimo to finish back under the Colisseum. It's got to be the most beautiful city marathon I've done.

Perfect splits of 1'50 and 1'51 gave me a finish time of 3'41, even with the extra 600m my garmin clocked (I usually get a bit extra but not that much. Irrelevant of course, it's a measured route). That placed me in the top quarter of the overall field, having passed 1,200 runners in the second half, and 141st of 1,900 women. Top 10% of women is rather a nice result!

I'm training to run 10 marathons in 10 days in aid of the Brathay Trust. If you think this is bonkers enough to deserve a small donation, click on the gadget jobber to the right of the page. Thank you!