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If you’re looking to run through thousands of years of history on the very streets Julius Caesar once walked, this is the marathon for you. The Rome Marathon is one of the most beautiful races I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. If you want gorgeous views, a flat course, and the ability to carbo load like never before, keep reading.

You focus on training for the Rome Marathon, I’ll focus on giving you the perfect trip. I offer trip consultations, tailored travel itineraries, and end-to-end trip planning for runners.

Registering for the Rome Marathon

Like most European races, Rome is moving away from requiring medical forms from runners. If you want to be considered “competitive” you will need one, but “non-competitive” runners get the same medals, timing, and overall experience. The two options for runners means the race is even more accessible and anyone over 20 can run the Rome Marathon, even without a medical certificate. The race does have a time limit though of six and a half hours to complete the marathon.

The Rome Marathon also removes the burden of signing up immediately to race. In 2025, the race had approximately 28,000 runners, and did not sell out.

Travel to Rome

For a marathon weekend, I always suggest arriving at least 48 hours before the race. This way if your flight gets delayed or cancelled you have a 24 hour buffer window where you can still get your bib with no worries. 

Rome Fiumicino Airport is also very well connected to the center of the city. You can take the express airport train directly to Termini Station for €15 and then catch the metro to your hotel, or take a slower regional train for around €8.

Where to Stay for the Marathon

While staying within walking distance of the start and finish is always the dream, that may not be a reality when competing for rooms against 30k other runners and their supporters. I would suggest staying along the A, B, or C metro lines. The start and finish are both located on the B line, which makes it very convenient to reach the start on race day. But be warned, the metro will be very crowded on race day. Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before the bag drop closes.

Weather in Rome

In mid-March, the weather during the Rome Marathon can be up in the air. As long as it isn’t raining, which it might be, the temperature depends on if you are in the shade or the sun.

Waiting for the start was very cold, as the bag drop closed an hour before I started. I definitely recommend bringing some throw away layers or a plastic bag to wear until the start.

Out on the course, I had almost perfect temperatures. I did end the day with a bit of a sun burn, but there was plenty of shade and sponging stations. We got about 20 minutes of solid rain. It made the cobblestones a bit tricky and just goes to show you really can’t plan for weather in March in Rome. I mean 48 hours before the race, it said that the entire race day would be pouring.

The Expo

Once you arrive in Rome, I recommend making the expo your first stop of the trip. The expo will get busier throughout the weekend, and you don’t want to be standing in lines on Saturday. The expo has tons of vendors there, plenty of opportunities to get new swag.

A Note on Sizing:

As long as the Rome Marathon is sponsored by Joma, make sure you go up two sizes for your t-shirt. I typically wear a medium in running shirts, but with Joma, I’m an XL. 

Don’t just run Rome, Conquer It.

The Start of the Rome Marathon

Getting to the start was easy, although the metro station everyone had to get off at was dangerously overcrowded. With new trains arriving every four minutes and not enough time for the previous train to clear the gates, I was worried about a crowd crush. Luckily that was avoided this time. I’m not sure what changes could be made for that in the future.

The start itself was lovely, with plenty of space to warm up before heading into the corrals. There were also lots of toilets and easy access to the bag drop. The bag drop is about 30-40 trucks lined up end-to-end. The women’s bags are the first trucks, and then mens continue all the way down the street. If you have a higher number I would add another 10-15 minutes to get to your truck.

The first issue with the race came in the corrals themselves. They had four corrals, but probably should’ve used at least five as the last one was double the size of the others. This corral also held runners from 4:30 to 6:30. This was my corral and I ended up having to fight my way past run/walk pace groups until the 4km mark of the race.

Rome Marathon Course

Arguably, one of the most beautiful city courses that you can run, this race was filled with views. The Colosseum, Circo Massimo, Foro Italico, The Vatican, the views just kept coming. Even the areas without famous buildings still had gorgeous architecture.

But the downside of running in a historical city is the streets are narrow and filled with cobblestones. Now, I didn’t find the cobblestones too bad, they were flat, but you needed to make sure you were watching the ground. 

The narrow streets were the real problem. Especially at the start when I found myself behind run/walk pacers, and again at the end as I hit the wall and just needed to focus on my pace, not zigzagging around the course. The problem wasn’t helped by tourists ignoring the caution tape and running across as they wished. 

The elevation wasn’t so bad. The hills were minimal, but the one in the last 3k still felt massive, even though it really wasn’t. Overall, the Rome Marathon is a difficult course not because of the hills (minor), or the cobblestones (just be aware), but because of the narrow streets and crowds of runners trying to fit through.

Checking off your bucket list has never been easier.

Aid Stations and Bathrooms

There were so many aid stations in this race, but they weren’t evenly spaced. Since I try to time my gels to the aid stations so I can have water with them, I took some gels after 4km and some after 6km. But they had enough that you could really tailor which stations to stop at to your race strategy instead of just every 5k like other races. 

The bathroom situation on the course was just okay. They had a lot, but some aid stations that were supposed to have bathrooms didn’t. However, I still managed to find a bathroom with no lines at all around the 30km mark, so overall happy that I didn’t need to stop and wait.

Crowds During the Rome Marathon

There were so many people out cheering on the runners. In some cities similar to Rome I find the crowds to be less supporters, and more “confused tourists”, but this race really had supporters. The Vatican was also a unique stop running past tons of Priests who came out to cheer. English signs made up probably 40%, but I did keep seeing the same people, so the total percent may be different.

The Finish Line

You’ve done it, you’ve run 26.2 miles! This year the finish was at Circo Massimo, an old chariot course near the Colosseum. They created a fake track for runners to finish the race on. I was nervous about this being too narrow, but it worked out well. Once you finish you’ll make your way to the people giving medals, so far a pretty normal experience. But then you have to walk quite a distance to find the post race fuel. And as it turns out, there was almost nothing included. You get some crackers, a bruised apple, and two small water bottles. There wasn’t even a banana for your efforts.

Overall, I would say this course is perfect for someone who wants to explore Rome in a new fashion. They want to see the sights, and are okay with maybe not getting a PB on the narrow streets.

If you’re looking to run Rome in 2026, registration for the race is now open. And if you’re looking for someone to help you conquer Rome in 2026, I’m right here.