Rome Marathon, 27 March
Report by Paul Ackerley
I ran Rome at the invitation of my son, Alex… it was his first marathon, and he wanted to complete a notable one for his first. I couldn’t turn down the invitation, but more about that later.
When I first looked at the route, I have to say I was very impressed with it – starting and finishing at the Colosseum and taking in virtually every sight Rome has. And running it didn’t disappoint – with the highlight being the left turn on to the avenue running up towards St Peter’s Basilica (photo taken later – it was a daylight marathon!).
The set up, pre-race information and collection of bib were all well organised. The start was a little hectic, the toilets were dire (one less item of clothing to carry though… every cloud has a silver lining), but the weather was good. Off we went…
I discovered that the Romans like their brass / marching bands… there were several along the route. But it was probably an error to have one after a quarter of a mile where the road narrowed – too many people stopping to take photos (I know, my pet hate) and so bringing the run to a standstill.
A good few kms were on cobbles, but they were reasonably even and not as much of an issue as we thought they might be. Lots of refreshment stations with water, sports drinks and chunks of orange or lemon. And lots of sponge stations which were really good – and made for some very colourful areas as they were in lots of different coloured sponges.
There was also a relay race where 4 runners ran a quarter of the race each – I hadn’t seen this before; it looked a great way for people to be involved who didn’t fancy the 26 miles.
Something else I hadn’t seen before … a team of ‘running marshals’ about a quarter of a mile from the finish. The race obviously has a problem with people who join the race for the last mile (ish) hoping to run across the line and get a medal, etc. This team would clock them, one would start running with the ‘offender’ and remove them from the route… they were very efficient!
I found it tough – marathons are a bit far for me – but the places we went made it more bearable – but I did enjoy the huge sense of achievement of completing it (as I do any distance race). I came home in 4 hours 47.
But this was less about the race and more about the passing of the baton, and sharing time and interest when a father and son are both adults.
Alex had come to Tromso with a group of us to run his first half marathon in January 2020. We were going to run together, but at about 7 miles he said, “Dad, you go on, I can’t keep up”, and he finished quite a way behind me. But that drove him to want to beat me. Soon he could catch me, we had a few weeks running together, and then I could get nowhere near him. Gradually he beat meet at each distance… finally the Marathon being the only distance I had the better time… so I had to go to Rome to defend my ‘title’. But he is very keen now, and his desire to beat me has moved on to a desire to be even quicker. He finished in 3 hours 17, with his 42nd km being in 3 minutes 41… so I didn’t defend my final title very well at all!
But for me, the times don’t really matter. I didn’t run 5 years ago, he didn’t run 3 years ago – now we both run (and my daughter does too), but just at very different speeds – but we have lots of discussions about it, go to races together and spend more time together than we would without running. Running has given, and is giving, me far more than I ever thought I would get from it (although I still don’t enjoy the actual running bit). Funny how life turns out. And we are healthier.
Next round of the dual is a half marathon in June… okay, I know, it’s not a dual any longer… those days have gone… but I can live with that – there are far greater rewards!