Rome Marathon Recap
Rome Marathon Recap //
Writing this about three months post marathon and I am still riding on a high from it! Running Rome was a dream come true for so many reasons. Ever since my best friend Jackie and I ran our first half marathon together, we knew that we wanted to run a full marathon. However, I simply will not run 26 miles with boring scenery! We decided to go big and HECK, what better way than to travel to my favorite place in the world to conquer this feat!! Our trip turned into a big group with 5 girls running, 1 girl volunteering at the medical tent, and 4 guys cheering us on! Planning a group trip was only a little daunting but I had an absolute blast being a little travel guide. I just channeled my Mrs. Ungermeyer the whole time. I certainly put some tips in my back pocket for traveling and planning for big groups and I will get around to writing that blog soon. But for now I’ll just document about the race itself!
We attended the expo to pick up our packets and the energy was high. The expo was oddly outside of the city center but we didn’t care as we had just landed off our flight and were more eager to get to the city than to really check out the expo. Leading up to the race we filled our two days with a few tours and tried our best to keep our leg moving! Other than the walking around Rome, I decided not to do any pre race runs but rather just wanted to save my legs for the race day! Race day rolled around and we were all nervous. We had been training so hard and long. There was definitely a bit of pressure since we had also flown across the world to make this happen! I think we were all nervous but above all, excited! We walked to the start line near the coliseum and we BARELY made it to the race in time. By the time we had gotten to the start line, we already walked/ran a few miles. Jackie and I frantically looked for our pace group but the crowds were just massively thick and we were crammed in like sardines. As frantic as we were, the energy was electric around us!! All of a sudden, planes appeared to do a flyover with the colors of the Italian flag. It was amazing. The gun began and the race started!! What an incredible race it was. There were marching bands placed throughout the course and plenty of crowd support all throughout the way. There were a few memorable parts for me but one of the most incredible was running dow the road that leads up to the Vatican. A band was playing and it was almost as if I was in a movie. The other amazing highlights were seeing my husband Andrew around the course pop up and cheer me on as well as being cheered on by random people along the course. The last few miles were so difficult but they were also some of the most beautiful.
This was my first marathon and I have nothing to compare it to, but I’d say it was truly incredible and absolutely worth doing—especially if you love Italian food because that is what you are going to be filling up on after the race! The race was not only well organized but it was affordable. I think we paid somewhere between 50 euro and 70 euro depending on when we registered. People mentioned the cobble stone being hard to run on but with the adrenaline and excitement, I hardly even noticed the cobblestones.
I look back now, 3 months removed and I actually can’t believe I am the same person who ran a marathon. Right now, 26 miles seems impossible… I am enjoying my runs lately but am certainly not in training mode. That will come soon enough I’m sure! Where to next? Maybe the Paris marathon, London, or even Boston?! I guess we will see where the next few months take me.
