Rome Marathon 2014

This will be my 5th Marathon having done Milton Keynes, Amsterdam, Halstead & Essex and hopefully Berlin (which is this weekend)

This will be a belated 60th birthday present (November) to run a marathon in my favourite city. I will be going for a VLM GFA place, better than 3:45 so it will be no sightseeing trip (at least not on the day). Be good to hear if anyone has any tips etc I'd be glad to hear them.

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  • Have signed up for this as well, hoping for a sub 3 possibly if this injury heals anytime soon. Not sure how the cobblestones will help as I've heard there are quite a lot

    Have you completed the health form, it's the only bit I'm left to do in terms of planning and paying for things now!

  • Hi

    I did Rome this year as my first marathon. Loved it - managed 4.17hrs which I was happy with as a first attempt. Not sure how great it will be for a GFA race as there are quite a lot of tight twists and turns, narrow alleys and of course the cobbles! The cobbles are along much more of the route than I was expecting although they are pretty flattened out now due to the age of them. Main hazard with them was that they got slippery around the drinks stations etc. The route itself is great for spectators though as it doubles back on itself along either side of the river, so my husband was able to pop up at varying places around the route to cheer me on.

    The main thing I would mention is the crowd support, or rather lack of... The starting and finishing sections around the Coliseum and Forum etc were packed and as you would expect, but once you get out of the central part of the city, the support is sparse to say the least. There were long stretches were there was virtually no-one around at all except marshalls, which I think did make some of the middle section a bit harder mentally.

    The Roman residents were pretty funny too - they seemed almost to resent the fact that there was a marathon going on and thought nothing of just walking out in front of you to cross the road if they needed too - especially at around mile 20 when you wound your way back into the centre around Piazza del Popolo etc. Many of them were just out and about shopping and clearly were annoyed that they had to wait to cross the street - I saw at least two runners flattened to the ground by pedestrians with buggies etc walking out in front of them and had to swerve multiple numbers myself. Keep your wits about you!

    Apart from that, I had a great time. You're clearly in the best place for carb-loading and the medal is a thing of beauty - everyone I've shown it to agrees it's hands down the best medal they've seen for a marathon. The design is bespoke every year and the organisers hold a competition among local artists I think to award the best design. The race pack is also great with not only a t shirt but also a rucksack which is to be used for left luggage on the day with your number on it.

    Very jealous - I had the opportunity to run it again next year for a local charity but decided to go for a different one instead - Manchester! Not quite as glamorous but it's my home marathon so got to be done. Good luck!

  • Golden Boots - Hope the injury heals in time. As for the health form, because my running club is affiliated to England Athletics who are in turn affiliated to the IFAA so it was simply get copy of my competition license faxed over to the organisers.

    Kirsty - Thanks for the info, sounds like it's going to be fun though the route looks like it has lots of twists and turns. I might try Manchester one day but next on my list after Rome is Snowdon just for the pure thrill of it. Still hoping to bag a ballot place in VLM if I can recover in time from Rome.

  • KC - thank you for that. Not concerned about he support really (last marathon there was not a single person to support and only about 1 person waiting at the finish line), just happy to see some of the scenery and concentrate on ticking the miles off. Always good to get a rucksack as well.

    Not so sure about the cobbles... may have to get some training runs done on similiar terrain to get the feet used to it.

     

    ER - Did they accept that? I read somewhere that because it's only valid until the end of the year it is causing some people issues? I'm not in the country so am not affiliated, but may do so early next year and do the same then. Brave to think of doing London as well just 4/5 weeks later... I will have the same option if I get a ballot place but will need to start upping the cycling for a June Ironman, so probably not wise to try and fit another marathon in

  • I just phoned England Athletics and they were happy to fax me a letter confirming membership. And I e mailed a copy to the organisers in Rome. Well, I didn't get a VLM place so that's sorted.
  • OK thanks - will be joining a club and UKA when I'm back in the country so will probably just wait for that. Thanks

  • I´m still waiting for the result from the VLM oversas ballot. According to a poster on a Swedish running forum it will be emailed on the 7th of October. If I´m not successful, which I most likely ain´t, I will sign up for Rome before they rise the price on the 11th of october.

    Does anybody know if the backpack they will give away is of the technical, lightweight type that is suitable for running or if it´s a "standard" one?

  • No luck in the VLM ballot so I think I will sign up for Rome in a couple of days.

    Veni, Vidi, Vici! image

  • I signed up for the VLM as insurance for Paris, realised it's on my Nan's 90th birthday so signed up for Rome instead. My registration has been successful and it's at the waiting for bib number stage.

    Looking forward to it, and a bit nervous as it's my first marathon. And as "luck" would have it I got into London too - I feel bad now but I'm going to difer that until 2015, does that make me a bad person?

  • Jimmy: Yes, you´re a very bad person! image

  • I thought so, now it's been confirmed I'm off to kick some puppies!image

  • Hi all.. 

    I'm joining in too- I have just uploaded the Health Form and I'm good to go! image

    I hear it's a lovely course and very scenic. It's worth watching the Spirit of the Marathon II as it's set in Rome. 

    I haven't watched the film yet but I hear it's great and I can't wait to see it. 

    Ironically, I also won a spot for the London Marathon so I will need to hope for a speedy recovery image

    I hope to see u all there.

    Cheers

    Bruno

  • Having pulled out of the Amsterdam Marathon due to an injury this month, I'm keen to run my second (Paris earlier this year was my first) marathon ASAP. We've actually already booked accommodation through airbnb, in the south of the city - looks fantastic and can't scoff at an apartment for £52 p/night.

    Heading over on the Thursday, leaving on Monday. Can't wait! Been once before but having recently watch Sorrentino's masterpiece The Great Beauty, I am hoping to do a lot more exploring than simply Colloseum and the Vatican.

    Saying that, not registered for the race yet! Is it simple to do? Any idea on the price now? The photos they keep uploading on the Facebook page look incredible!

  • Robin - Any info on the apartment booking? Looking to do mine this week. Thanks image

  • I used this website: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/ It requires upfront credit card payment, but you can get a very good deal through it. It's essentially people with a flat renting to holidaymakers rather than tenants, best thing to do is send out lots of messages and see if they have availability. We ended up going with the most friendly/best value for money, down near the Manzoni metro station.

  • Hello all ..... 

    In my excitement at being injury free, I booked and paid for a place in the Rome Marathon 2014.

    The downside is ....I can`t make it !!!! I have other commitments ! 

    I have contacted the organisers and they inform me a refund on my entry fee of €50 is not possible, But it is possible to transfer the entry to another athelete.

    So.......... I am asking if anyone is thinking of running Rome next year ..

    There is a place ready for you .. I will pay the admin fee of €15, if you pay reimburse me the €50 entry .

    I also believe it gets more expensive nearer the start date, so get a cheap entry here !!!

    If anyone is interested please let me know either PM me or mail at spud@uwclub.net

  • I have entered - I think - I have paid, and I think I have uploaded the pdf/letter the nice lady at EA sent me. Would someone reassure me and tell me that it still says "incomplete" because nobody's yet looked at the pdf to confirm it is UKA saying "yes this is one of ours" rather than (say) an extensive illustrated set of Dungeons and Dragons rules ? image

    Perhaps I should say, I think I have entered...!

    I'm sure it'll all turn out right in the end !!

  • Thanks Kirsty Cooper, I did Manchester this year,Rome next, so good to know.  Manchester OK, I heard complaints about lack of support, but would rather have a bit of peace and quiet myself, I don't like people calling my name and telling me to run faster or keep going, it winds me up.  

    Manchester didn't allow music, which was a disaster for me, hopefully Italians don't give a stuff.  Also the start line wasn't at all clear so loads of us didn't know it had started and were still walking which was a real pain, as we lost about five mins and it was disconcerting, so we then ran faster to make up, Got tire der than necessary too early blah blah!

    Good luck!

  • I logged in today and it says REGISTRATION COMPLETE on a big green square.

    Rather looking forward to it now!

    imageimage

  • Hi all. I ran this in 2012 and loved it. It's certainly a pb course but I did have an issue with drinks at 18- 22 miles but other than that it was fantastic. The route is good too. You can't run 26.2 miles and it all be picturesque. It got dull around 6 to 10 miles but then you run through Vatican square and the finish is stunning. I didn't think the cobbles posed a problem but they can play on your mind when your struggling late on.

    I love Rome but entered again because I failed in the draw for London but I managed to get a place through my club so I'm doing both now. I did the same in 2012 but had a longer gap between the two. Train for one and run the second one free I think it's called.image

  • Spud1969 wrote (see)

    Hello all ..... 

    In my excitement at being injury free, I booked and paid for a place in the Rome Marathon 2014.

    The downside is ....I can`t make it !!!! I have other commitments ! 

    I have contacted the organisers and they inform me a refund on my entry fee of €50 is not possible, But it is possible to transfer the entry to another athelete.

    So.......... I am asking if anyone is thinking of running Rome next year ..

    There is a place ready for you .. I will pay the admin fee of €15, if you pay reimburse me the €50 entry .

    I also believe it gets more expensive nearer the start date, so get a cheap entry here !!!

    If anyone is interested please let me know either PM me or mail at spud@uwclub.net

    Just to let people know ...after a couple of `misfires !!` of people wanting the place ....it is still available ....!! 

  • So really need to sort the health form out now. Do I remember people saying they had simply emailed UKA and asked them to write a letter of approval?

  • I emailed EA (because I was changing clubs so it was awkward), they emailed me a letter, I uploaded it onto the website (possibly in the medical form bit but I thought really I just try all the possible bits until I find the right one) and they (eventually) sent me a number.

  • I'm also in - bit of a faff on in the registration process but glad to say it's all done and I'm looking forward to it!  Hope to see some of you there

  • I recived an E-mail that reminded me to upload a medical certificate or a club card to complete my registration. Will hopefully get my medicial certificate sorted during the weekend so I can upload it in the beginning of next week.

  • Hi Guys Im running the Rome Marathon and looking forward to it, good luck to everyone, see you there. Although at present having to have week off due to illness, can't wait to get back on track in training. image

     

     

  • Stockholm - I was worried that I had to get the medical cert, but it's really just one or the other.  If I was you I'd get the letter from EA - they'll be fine with that (they were with me anyway) and it'll save you a few £

  • Hey fellow Rome runners!

    Glad to see that you all had the same faff that I did with registration, all sorted now hopefully....

    Howey, just wondering about provision of sports drinks along the route? I took my own for Paris last year as had heard that they were a bit sparse....am wondering if Rome the same?

    Hope training is going well for everyone, only 7.5 weeks to go!

    Ps- this is my first post in a RW forum (wahey!), must find a photo! image

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