8389 finishers took part in the Acea Run Rome The Marathon, an event which, together with the Acea Run4Rome relay race and the Stracittadina Fun Race, brought over 16,000 people to Rome
ROME – Acea Run Rome The Marathon, the next day. We are left with the emotions, the hugs, the tears, the medals, the smiles, the arms and eyes in the sky, the lump in the throat and the sweat, the “Rome, you are great”, the “the most beautiful medal and jersey ever”, the many, many “Grazie” mixed with “Merci” and “thank you Rome” shouted by the marathon runners.
We are left with the race record set by the graceful stride of the Ethiopian-born Tefera, who stopped the clock at 2h06’48”. We are left with the strong and undaunted message of peace, with the many symbols and flags waving in the colours of peace and those of Ukraine.
We are left with the notes of the national anthem played by the Air Force band and sung by tenor Carlo Assogna, who then performed “Gladiator”, then the magic of the legionaries of the Gruppo Storico Romano and the commitment and love of the “Senators”, with the athletes always present. We are left with Pope Francis’ greeting to the marathon runners during the Angelus prayer. Flashes that will remain in the memory of those who were there, those who experienced it all.
We are left with the pleasure of having accomplished a feat, of having seen Rome as the star of an international event broadcast for three hours on Mediaset channel 20 and in dozens of foreign countries with many different broadcasts. The Rome Marathon once again opened the way for the other great European marathons, leaving amazing images of runners running through the Eternal City among dozens and dozens of monuments, first and foremost the Colosseum, then the Altare della Patria, the Vatican and St. Peter’s Square and the Spanish Steps, to name but a few of the milestones along the route.
THE TOTAL – A total of 16,000 participants crossed the finish line on Sunday, 27 March, at the Acea Run Rome The Marathon events between the Imperial Forum and Circus Maximus. A marathon that officially reports 8389 finishers, according to the ranking on the Endu platform. There were 10,900 official participants, 9,300 picked up their bibs at the Expo Village between Friday and Saturday, and almost 8,400 managed to finish the race and fulfil their dream of rejoicing in front of the Colosseum. Among these 8389 were 3727 foreign nationals in total, the leading nation being France with 715 official finishers. Among foreign participants, 26% were women; among Italians, 21% were women. A total of 1845 women crossed the finish line out of the overall 8389.
RELAY RACE – As for the Acea Run4Rome solidarity relay, 314 four-person teams “teamed up” to share the route, a total of 1256 finishers. The relay race was won by “I Bradipi LBM Sport Roma” in 2h31’12”.
FUN RACE – Yet to be added to the final count were the approximately 6,500 participants in the Stracittadina Fun Race who walked or ran from the Forum to the Circus Maximus. The Fun Race, which has not been held since 2019, first because of a change of organisers, then because of the pandemic, which meant that only the virtual broadcasting mode was possible for the 2021 edition, made a strong comeback.
THE NUMBERS – The oldest runners to finish the marathon were in their 80s, born in 1933, and put in some remarkable athletic performances. First of all, the French Alex Lavergne, who finished in just 4h01’11” and for Italy, Antonio Rao (Montemario) with 6h20’07”. The oldest woman was the Canadian Borret Elizabeth, born in 1939. The oldest Italian, born in 1946, was Anna Maria Nota (Fossano), who finished in 5h52’17”.
The youngest in the race was a young girl, 19-year-old Viviana Trimaglio (Podistica Caragliese), who finished in 4h34’40”.
The last official finisher of the Acea Run Rome The Marathon was Giuseppe Masullo (Civitanova), born in 1971 and recorded by the official stop clocks at 6h55’43”.
Twelve athletes of Ukrainian nationality crossed the finish line. The fastest time of 3h28’19” was 30-year-old Viktoriia Gudyma, the young woman we met, together with her 10-year-old son, and cheered on all weekend on account of her life story, which has been completely turned upside down in recent weeks due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.