Rome Marathon

The course

The start is on Via dei Fori Imperiali with the Colosseum behind you. The course leaves past Piazza Venezia and the Palatine, skims the Circus Maximus it will eventually finish in, and runs south to the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, returning by the Pyramid of Cestius. Then it finds the Tiber. The Lungotevere carries the middle of the race — Tiber Island, Castel Sant'Angelo, and the turn onto Via della Conciliazione towards St Peter's. This is the most rhythmic stretch of the course. North next, to the Foro Italico and the Stadio dei Marmi, over Ponte Milvio, past the Auditorium. Less ornament here, and more patience required. The return is pure city: Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navona. The profile is almost flat, a little over twenty metres between the highest and lowest points.The sampietrini — Rome’s basalt setts — account for roughly six kilometres of the route. The last turn passes the Vittoriano and the Bocca della Verità, and the finish is in the Circus Maximus.

Start

Via dei Fori Imperiali, with the Colosseum behind the start line

Finish

Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus)

Shape

loop

Terrain

Almost flat — a little over twenty metres between the highest and lowest points, and roughly 55 m of cumulative gain. The real difficulty is the surface: some six kilometres of sampietrini setts through the historic centre, with notable stretches between 30 and 40 km.