Running News Daily

Kenyan athletes Lagat Ivyne and Rutto Asbel secure the victories in women and men's category at the Run Rome The Marathon

The marathon of Rome, which took place today among the wonders of the eternal city, was a record-breaking event and dedicated to water. The Acea Run Rome the Marathon, in fact, is the first marathon dedicated to water and water saving. The 2024 edition was won by the Kenyans Asbel Rutto, in the men's competition, and Ivyne Lagat, in the women's competition.

The men's podium was completed by the other two Kenyans Brian Kipsang and Sila Kiptoo, while the Kenyan Lydia Simiyu and the Ethiopian Emebet Niguse finished second and third. Deputy general manager operations Giovanni Papaleo presented the award for Acea.

This year the Marathon has chosen "run for water" as its hashtag, to underline the profound connection that unites sport and water and the importance of water resources in protecting people's health and the health of planet Earth.

Along the over 42 kilometers of the race, Acea guaranteed many refreshment points, with around 60 thousand liters of water available to the athletes and over 100 thousand biocompostable glasses, with a view to the circular economy. It was a record race for the number of participants, for the number of foreigners and blessed by the record of the route.

The Rome marathon took place in one of the richest cities in the world in history and art but also in fountains and aqueducts, therefore an ideal place to affirm water as the identifying theme of one of the most important running events at a national level and international.

At the starting line this morning, over 19 thousand registered for the marathon alone, more than 40 thousand people who also ran the "Acea Run4Rome" solidarity relay and the 5 kilometer "Fun Run" city race. Four records have been achieved since the 2024 edition: record number of participants for an Italian marathon, record number of foreign participants, over 10, the record number of official pacers in the race, 200 of which over 100 foreigners from 15 nations and finally the record number of group training sessions, Get Ready, which were 5 in Rome and over 30 around the world, including the United States and Canada. A race route over 42 km long, renewed compared to last year, which from the historic center, starting and finishing on Via dei Fori Imperiali, crossed various points of the capital, among the wonders of the city.

Last kilometer, the arrival is thrilling, tears and heart pounding, the time needed to complete the Colosseum tour for the second time, which the marathon runners have achieved a spectacular finish line on the Imperial Forums with the Colosseum behind them which will also dominate in a unique souvenir photo in the world.

90-year-old Italian man breaks marathon age-group world record

If you need a little inspiration today, meet 90-year-old marathoner Antonio Rao, from Rome. At the 2023 Rome Marathon on March 19, Rao became the fastest 90+ man in history, finishing the marathon in six hours and 14 minutes to break the M90 world record by a staggering 30 minutes. 

Living to age 90 is amazing on its own, but Rao is pushing the limits of human performance. He averaged eight minutes and 53 seconds per kilometre over 42.195 of them–and he even went out hot, splitting 2:49:40 at the half-marathon mark. Rao seems to be getting faster with age on the Rome Marathon course. In 2022, at 89, he ran six hours and 20 minutes to win his age category outright.

Rao, born in 1933, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he began running as a teenager to keep up with a friend and hasn’t stopped since. “If I can do it at this age, anyone can,” said Rao. “I’d like to be an example of that.”

According to La Repubblica, Rao had no idea he set a world record when he finished. His family was there to celebrate his accomplishment at the finish line near the Colosseum.  

He took the M90+ record from U.S. marathoner Ernest Van Leeuwen (born. 1912), who recorded a time of 6:46:34 at the 2005 Los Angeles Marathon. Van Leeuwen held the record for 18 years and ran the L.A. Marathon every year until his death in March 2007 at age 94. 

Rao has run the Rome Marathon every year since 2015 (except during the pandemic), and in 2007 he ran a sub-two-hour half marathon at age 75. In an interview, Rao said he still trains 20 to 30 kilometres each week.

Running is a great way to keep your body active and mind young, and Rao is proving just that. Rao has run the Rome Marathon every year since 2015 (except during the pandemic), and in 2007 he ran a sub-two-hour half marathon at age 75. In an interview, Rao said he still trains 20 to 30 kilometres each week.

Running is a great way to keep your body active and mind young, and Rao is proving just that. 

Chepkwony and Allam smash PBs to win at Rome Marathon

Betty Chepkwony and Taoufik Allam were the victors at the Acea Run Rome the Marathon, smashing their PBs by seven and four minutes respectively to win at the World Athletics Elite Label road race on Sunday (19).

Chepkwony took the women’s title in 2:23:02, while Allam triumphed in 2:07:43.

Ethiopia’s Zinash Getachew, Mulugojam Ambi, Jemila Shure, Fozya Amid and Kenya’s Brenda Kiprono went to the front in the early stages, reaching 10km in 33:28 while Chepkwony was 27 seconds behind.

Ambi, Getachew and Shure reached halfway in 1:11:07, inside course record pace (2:22:52), while Chepkwony had reduced the gap on the leading group to 17 seconds.

After going through 30km in 1:41:32, Ambi and Shure struggled in the final 10km. Chepkowny, meanwhile, reeled in the leaders and soon started to pull away. She crossed the finish line in 2:23:02, smashing her previous PB (2:30:28) with the third-fastest winning time ever in Rome.

Amid finished second in 2:25:08, improving her previous PB by three minutes.

“I am very happy with the win,” said Chepkwony. “I really enjoyed running in this beautiful city. I ran a smart race in the first half. I know that I can run faster, but I am happy with my performance on a difficult course.”

In the men’s race, a ten-man pack went through 5km in 15:00, 10km in 29:56, and 15km in 44:58. Five of those – Allam, Wilfred Kigen, Rogers Keror, Felix Kirui and Berhanu Heye – stuck with the pacemakers through the half-way mark (1:03:28), which was just outside course record pace.

Kigen, Heye, Keror and Allam reached 30km in 1:30:51 as the pace started to drop. Just a couple of kilometres later, Kigen and Allam pulled away from the rest of the field and had opened up a gap of 19 seconds on Keror by 35km.

Allam finally broke away from Kigen at 39km and went on to win in 2:07:43, becoming the first Moroccan winner of the Rome Marathon. Wilfred Kigen finished second, improving his PB to 2:08:45.

“I was determined to win the race,” said the 33-year-old, who set his previous PB of 2:11:30 in Dublin last year. “The pacemakers did a good job in the first half of the race. The final part was challenging because of the cobblestones.

In the days leading up to the race, World Athletics delivered a Race Emergency Medicine Course.

Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Leading results

Women

1 Betty Chepkwony (KEN) 2:23:02

2 Fozya Amid (ETH) 2:25:09

3 Zinash Debebe Getachew (ETH) 2:25:59

Men

1 Taoufik Allam (MAR) 2:07:43

2 Wilfred Kigen (KEN) 2:08:45

3 Rogers Keror (KEN) 2:10:50.

Ethiopians poised to dominate Rome Marathon

The Acea Run Rome The Marathon has proved a happy hunting ground in recent years for athletes from the east African nation

Winners of the Rome Marathon in the past include Emile Puttemans of Belgium, Bernie Ford from Britain and Stefano Baldini of Italy. But Ethiopia has dominated in recent years and the east African nation will be tough to beat again in the 2023 event on Sunday (March 19).

Six of the last nine men’s winners and seven of the last eight women’s champions in Rome have come from Ethiopia and runners from that country lead the entries this weekend too.

Fikre Bekele will attempt to defend his men’s title whereas fellow Ethiopian Zinash Debebe Getachew leads the women’s line-up.

Bekele ran a course record of 2:06:48 last year in the Italian capital but has since improved his best to 2:06:16 when he won the Linz Marathon in October.

Also expected to be at the front of the 15,000-strong field are Berhanu Heye and Alemu Gemechu of Ethiopia along with Nicodemus Kimutai of Kenya. Look out too for reigning Dublin Marathon champion Taoufik Allam of Morocco.

Women’s favorite Getachew has a best of 2:27:15 but will be challenged by Brenda Kiprono of Kenya, plus Mulugojam Ambi and Amid Fozya Jemal of Ethiopia.

The women’s course record is held by Alemu Megertu with 2:22:52.

Italian interest, meanwhile, includes Nekagenet Crippa (the older brother of European 10,000m champion Yeman), Stefano La Rosa and Giorgio Calcaterra. The latter, who is now aged 51, is known as the ‘king of Rome’ as he first ran the Rome Marathon 20 years ago and has completed 330 marathons during his life, won the world 100km title three times and has notched up 12 consecutive victories in the famous 100km del Passatore ultra-marathon.

A little further down the field, all eyes will be on Ermias Ayele, a former race director of the Great Ethiopian Run who is aiming to complete the 26.2 miles barefoot in memory of the great Abebe Bikila, who stormed to Olympic glory on the streets of Rome in 1960.

“Abebe Bikila laid the foundation for the success of not only Ethiopian athletes, but Africans in general as he was the first black to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games,” he says. “However, I have always felt that he did not get the recognition he deserved. Moreover, his story always inspired me and that’s why I am planning to emulate him in the same place and the same way, where he made history and pay tribute to all he’s done for athletics and Ethiopia.”

Ethiopians Fikre Bekele and Adugna Dalasa made a big win in the 2022 Rome marathon on Sunday

The eternal Italian city of Rome hosted over 11 thousand runners, including 5 thousand foreign runners from 102 countries for the 27th International Rome Marathon on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

Ethiopian runners Bekele Fikre Tefera and Dalasa Sechale Adugna won the 27th International Rome Marathon, an annual run at the Italian capital Rome.

An Italian media reported that athlete Tefera broke the record of the Marathon with 2 hours 6 minutes and 48 seconds.

The record belonged to the Kenyan athlete Benjamin Kiptoo Kolum with 2 hours 7 minutes and 18 seconds in 2009.

Foreign runners, as well as locals, joined the Acea Run Rome the Marathon, the Charity Relay Acea Run4 Rome and the popular Fun Race. The latter returns on site for the first time in the post-pandemic era, but runners took part in virtual mode from all over Italy. The race started from Fori Imperiali at 8.30. Runners run around Rome for 42 km alongside the Tiber, source of life and symbol of this edition, which is featured on the medal and on the official t-shirt.

There were 2417 women entered in the marathon, more than 22% of all participants.

Although the pandemic is not over yet and there are still many restrictions to travel, 5 thousand foreign runners from 102 countries representing all continents took part in the Acea Run Rome Marathon.

Italy was the most represented country with 5827 participants, followed by France (909 runners), the United Kingdom (693) and Spain (455). The United States was ranked just behind and is first among non-European countries with 330 participants. 49 Ukrainian runners registered. Only a few of them were able to be at the start line.

2022 Registration for Run Rome The Marathon is open

Rome runs with you, are you ready to answer the call of Run Rome The Marathon?

Spurred on by a resounding success, the Rome Marathon is already getting ready for Sunday March 27, 2022. It promises great hotels, history, Italian cuisine, 35 historic sites in 42km and a record-breaking marathon.

Dawn, the Tenor of Nessun Dorma, the Colosseum in the background, the Italian National Anthem, thousands of athletes eager to set off, to restart after the darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic, their dreams, their eyes, hugs and greetings. It was important to be there; going to conquer Rome was a relief for the soul.

Hearts are still beating hard after what happened at Fori Imperiali, for 42.195km across Rome on Sunday 19 September, a date that will remain historic, engraved in many people’s memories. It was the rebirth, to demonstrate that this sport — running, being together to do what we love most — could still be done. With appropriate care and precautions, but still, it could be done. And when it’s all over, all you can think about is the future, about being there again, about the next victory.

March 27, 2022

Rome runs with you! Are you ready to answer the call? 27 March 2022, 27th event. Make an appointment with history and with your story. Rome is waiting for you and will run with you for 42.195km, supporting you, embracing you. Dream, run, have fun, get excited. Become a marathon runner in the Eternal City.

Run Rome The Marathon will once again be a great celebration of running and sport, starting at 8.30am at Fori Imperiali, the place that has always been a symbol of the Rome Marathon. After the dawn of the latest event, we hope that the sun never sets on this new day.

The route

Run Rome The Marathon is a journey in the Eternal City that will make you fall in love with the race and the marathon, forever. The beats of your heart will be in synch with those of the other participants in the race.

With them you will share the entire journey of wonders: starting from the Fori Imperiali, you will go past the Vittoriano; in Piazza Venezia, you will gaze at the Circo Massimo, you will feel the breeze of the Lungotevere, and then you will pass the Castel Sant’Angelo and Viale della Conciliazione with the Basilica di San Pietro, the Foro Italico, the Mosque, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna with the famous staircase of Trinità dei Monti, Piazza Navona, via del Corso and much more. 35 monuments and historical sites in 42km: a world record.

Register now!

Registration for Run Rome The Marathon is already open, and already thousands of foreign participants have signed up, mainly English and French, who have endless love for Rome and its marathon.

Registrations are also open for the other two events of Run Rome The Marathon: the Run4Rome relay that you can take part in with a team of 4 people and which always has a strong, supportive atmosphere, and the Stracittadina 5k Fun Race, giving anyone the chance to walk or run.

It’s time to dream again, to be embraced by Rome once more, for this city with an endless history that loves to run and live for eternity. Rome is waiting to embrace all the marathon runners in the world.

Accommodation — In the accommodation section of the official Run Rome The Marathon website there are various offers for booking 3 or 4 star hotels, for one, two or more nights, so that you can enjoy Rome beyond the marathon, the museums, the historical sites, the Italian cuisine and various experiences, all in agreement with the marathon.

Kenyans Langat Clement Kiprono and Peris Cherono Lagat won the men's and women's Rome Marathon, respectively, on Sunday

A one-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic didn't have a big impact on the victory stands at the Rome Marathon, with African runners continuing their long dominance of the race on Sunday, which was first run in 1982.

Kenyan Clement Langat Kiprono took the overall championship for the 42.2-kilometer (26.2-mile) race in 2 hours 8 minutes and 23 seconds. Kiprono came in five seconds ahead of Tanzanian Emmanuel Naibei, who finished in 2:08:28, followed by Ethiopian Ulfata Deresa Guleta, who took third in 2:08:42.

Kiprono's compatriot Peris Lagat Cherono won her race by a more comfortable margin, finishing in 2:29:29, well ahead of Judith Jurubet, also from Kenya, who crossed the finish line in 2:30:50, and Jifar Fantu Zewunde of Ethiopia, who finished in 2:32:02.

All told, more than 7,500 runners were on the early-morning starting line in the shadow of Rome's Colosseum. The city's mayor, Virginia Raggi, was the race's ceremonial starter.

Last year's race was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and this year's edition was pushed back from April, its normal spot on the calendar, for the same reason.

Runners who registered for the 2020 race were automatically entered in this year's edition, and race finishers were awarded two medals: one for 2020 and one for 2021.

Kiprono was the fifth consecutive Rome Marathon champion to run under 2 hours and 9 minutes in his victory, but he was still short of the course record of 2:07:17 set by countryman Benjamin Kiptoo in 2009. Cherono was also slower than the course record of 2:22:52 run by Ethiopian Alemu Megertu in 2019, the previous edition of the race.

African runners have won the men's title in 15 consecutive races, starting after Italian Alberico Di Cecco won in 2005, and they have won 12 straight races in the women's division, following the victory of Russian Galina Bogomolova in 2008. Cherono's win broke a six-race streak of victories by Ethiopian runners in the women's division.

Run Rome Marathon back for 2021 edition

The Acea Run Rome Marathon will take place on Sunday 19 September with a 42-km route beginning and ending at the Colosseum.

The 26th edition of the marathon, which starts at 06.45, is the first such event since the March 2020 race was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The 7,500 participants registered for the marathon - all of whom require a Green Pass - include 2,200 runners from more than 60 countries around the world.

After Italy, the country with the most participants is France with 300 runners, Britain with 266 and the US with 202.

The marathon route takes in some of the city's best known landmarks including the Circus Maximus, St Peter's, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna, with a race village set up at the Terme di Caracalla stadium.

The event will result in road closures, the re-routing of bus lines and the temporary closure of the Colosseo metro station.

The 2020 Run The Rome Marathon Canceled Due to Coronavirus

Another big marathon has canceled – the Rome Marathon organizers announced that the 2020 Rome Marathon is canceled.

Here is the statement from the Rome Marathon organizers on their Facebook page: “This is a message that we never wanted to write but unfortunately, following the health emergency in progress and the Government Decree, the #ACEARunRomeTheMarathon of 29 March has been canceled.

We have worked and invested so much into it. We did it with passion and professionalism. We changed the name, logo, communication.

We thought of a marathon and an entirely new village. We had organized a great course offering music and surprises that would have surely amazed everyone.

Like you, we worked very hard during the #RRTMGetReady training sessions, which we organized for free in Rome and in many Italian cities. We met, laughed and shared emotions with you. We also planned projects and especially goal time to be hit during the race.

We photographed, filmed, as well as reposted your stories, your training sessions and achievements thousands of times.

Let’s freeze this experience, passion and desire. Health is the only asset that we must NEVER jeopardise. But we would like to make you a promise: we will double the efforts, enthusiasm, and color next time. The eternal city together with its beauty and history is here forever.

Now, let’s put away those sad faces, as we are still marathon runners. We are strong, tenacious and stubborn. Nothing can stop our desire to run.

We look forward to seeing you in 2021, your registration fee will be moved and guaranteed FOR ALL next year. We’ll see you at the finish line in Via dei Fori Imperiali, which is the road used by the Romans steering their chariots. Finally, in the shadow of the Colosseum, we will put two medals around your neck. One for 2020, as a symbol of your strength and perseverance; and one for 2021 as a metaphor for your double victory.

The one who falls and gets back up is so much stronger than the one who never fell.

However, when we get up, we will RUN.”

Yes, they did say that the registration fee for all who had registered is good for next year and will be moved for 2021. That is a great move by them for sure to bring runners back next year.

The Rome Marathon is under new management with a new name, logo and new date, Sunday March 29 2020

The Rome marathon is under new management and will be run Sunday March 29 it was announced this morning at the Ara Pacis Museum.

With a new name and logo, the new management has a desire to show that Rome loves sports and, in particular, running.

An international level marathon with tens of thousands of athletes, half of them from hundreds of countries will showcase Rome, a unique city for its charm, monuments, history and heritage. 

The Marathon looks to the future, but at the same time retains its unique charm represented by a path that runs the history of Rome and its symbolic monuments said the new director of the event, Michaela Castelli.  

Run Rome The Marathon is the most fascinating race in the world. you will feel your heart beat each of the 42.195 km that you will run.

Your steps will cross the same roads where the ancient romans used to walk more than two thousand years ago. every view will tell you a story. Every sight will be eternal like Rome is.

The course will carry through Foro Italico, the Mosque of Rome, you will be running on the same steets trampled a few millennia ago by the ancient Romans. On the route, you won’t miss Piazza Navona, Via del Corso, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna, with the famous stairway of Trinità dei Monti. The main character of the marathon will be the Colosseum, majestic background, start and finish points of the race.

Running and monuments, sweat and history, personal achievements and medals to conquer, joy, thrills and tears. Rome will surround you, will embrace you, will capture you, Rome awaits you.

The marathon has ancient roots, here in Rome it has a strong tradition. We can go back a century, up to April 2, 1906, when Dorando Pietri won the marathon crossing the finish line in Piazza di Siena. Or we can go back 60 years, to the magic night in 1960 when during the Olympic Games in Rome, Ethiopian Abebe Bikila opens the season of African Marathoners, running bare footed the whole race. His run through Appia Antica enlightened only by torches became pure history in athletics, as well as his winning photo while crossing the finish line at the Arco di Costantino.

The marathon we all know and that will be held on Sunday, 29 March 2020 has its roots in 1995 with Italia Marathon Club, and has been awarded with the prestigious Gold Label IAAF in 2011. In 2019 FIDAL hosted the event and for 2020 a new organizing committee took place, made up by Infront, Corriere dello Sport – Stadio, Italia Marathon Club and Atielle Roma.

More than 115 countries took part in the past editions.