ROME (ITALY, 27.03.22)
Ahead of Rome Marathon, my last of the challenge, I managed to gain quite a bit of media coverage to help raise awareness of ME. I went on BBC Radio Bristol twice and did interviews with Quadram Institute (the home of Invest In ME's biomedical research projects) and my very first feature in Runner's World. I also had a shout out on Cracking The Cryptic (a YouTube puzzle channel with 455,000 subscribers) which helped me pull in over $1500. I interviewed some Italian ME patients who told me about life with ME there (click here) and looked forward to meeting some of them the day before the race.
I'd spent much of my training running with my friend Tony who had decided to also run Rome and I was really lucky to also be accompanied by some friends who were keen to come along and support. Cat, Lucy and I flew out on the Friday all feeling pretty ill with coughs and colds (I also had a sinus infection), it wasn't ideal as I really didn't feel up to running. Having picked up my race number at the Expo at Salone delle Fontane, we had a quick look in the Colosseum and met Fabio, Veronica and Carlos for a really nice spaghetti lunch. Afterwards we ran into Joe, Sarah and Nathan at The Pantheon before a stop at Trevi fountain and back for an early night. As I went to bed the total sponsorship was around £39.5K, it would move on to £43K over the next 24 hours!
Start
After a breakfast of coco pops and coughing my guts up we met Tony, Sofia, Fabio, Veronica and Carlos near the entrance to the course and took some pictures before heading in to our starting pen. Tony and I made it through to the right pen with a second to spare and my last race then began at Via Dei Fori Imperiali. The first mile was heavily congested and had to drop to a walk at times where it narrowed which was frustrating but it soon spaced out and we parted company; I knew I was in for a long battle and needed to find a breathing rhythm. Heading south along Via Dei Cerchi the cobbles continued past a very exhuberant military brass band. A few miles later and an old lady was shaking a pink rattle at the crowds of runners from her second floor balcony and shouting something or other.
The course had a slight incline climbing over Ponte Guglielmo Marconi and getting my first glimpse of the famour River Tiber. I was running steady in this early part but felt pretty rotten, constantly and rather disgustingly forced to cough, spit and drain my nose when I could. I decided early on that I would pick up a drink from each drinks station and walk through the section before starting off again, this proved to be a good move later on when I felt dizzy. Up to around 8 miles and the course turned the corner to reveal The Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica. There's not many times on the challenge where the view has taken my breath away, it was quite incredible with the sun on it and the famous guards in full uniform. As I approached it, it looked even more glorious and the course skirted the square before turning right and back into Italy down Via Di Porta Angelica. It wasn't much after 9 miles when the dizziness crept in again and I felt like I was really struggling, more water and I trudged on.
Middle
One runner I passed as we headed down Via Crescenzio had writing on the back of his t-shirt that said 'I broke my spine 4 weeks ago and I'm running the marathon, what's your excuse' and there was a pic of his broken vertebrae -so impressive. More brass bands up to half way and some enthusiastic cheerleaders as I tucked into biscuits, powerade, oranges and water at the refreshment stations. I'd taken on one of my 100% honey gels which tasted great, if not incredibly sickly. The park at Piazza Cavour looked really appealing and I daydreamed about lying on the grass under a tree. Over Ponte Cavour and more views of the rather green Tiber before it turned left and some welcome shade for a good mile or so as the day warmed up. I got to halfway a little over 2 hours which I was OK with, I'd normally be at around 1hr 45 mins but today was about finishing and savouring the experience, not hating it and worrying about time.
The north-eastern part of the city was mostly generic residential housing and there wasn't much of note to report other than some really good crowd support with kids dishing out high-5's and sweets. Lots of switch-backs and turns and I had to watch out for the tram tracks, as someone directly in front of me totally stacked it and I had to vault over him before going back to check he was OK. A reminder to keep my concentration. 80's pop rock classics were now in my ears as I got a glimpse of the stunning Monte Mario hill, the biggest of the hills of Rome. I was looking out for the Stadio Olimpico soon after but couldn't really see it, I'd been there 13 years prior watching Messi and Barcelona destroy Man Utd in the Champions League final so hadn't got too many fond memories in any case.
End
Lungotevere Flaminio road tracked the Tiber for miles as the course headed back south towards the Colosseum. Piazza Del Popolo was a pretty cool square which rounded the Egyptian obelisk of Sety. Apparently the square was the centre of public executions for centuries. There was great support here as around half of the runners around me were walking and the other half shuffling like me. Then it was on to the 'Spanish Steps' which looked awesome, even though it was pretty crowded. Less than 4 miles left at this point and my quads were starting to shout at me so it was more walking through water stations and trying to vigorously wake them up. I rung out my headband to the amusement of some of the volunteers on the course, I had to laugh along with them really. I noticed that my Italy football shirt was covered in salt patches as well which I tried to rub out with water at times unsuccessfully. I tried to re-calculate my projected finish time and let Cat know, apologising for being a bit rubbish and keeping everyone waiting. Over the last couple of miles I tried to enjoy the views, with the Fontana Di Nettuno being a highlight with its statue of Neptune and an octopus. Another sickly honey gel and I was now only getting through 1 song on my phone before breaking down and needing a couple of mins to walk before going again.
After more coughing and snottyness I got going and tried to occupy my mind with memories of the finish lines on the challenge and what I ate afterwards. Looking down at my Invest In ME bracelet I thought about the people I was running for and the people I'd met as the final mile approached. Running up a street with lots of shops and bars I heard Sarah, Nath and Joe shouting for me on my left which felt brilliant but caught me off-guard, I didn't know whether to stop and hug them or keep dragging myself forward. I cracked on and turned the corner at Piazza Venezia to then hear Veronica, Carlos and Fabio shouting for me over on the far left hand side. I wanted to run across and hug them too but it was so far and I'd cut up other runners getting over there so I smiled, clapped them and could see the finish line a few hundred yards ahead. I knew Cat and Lucy would be waiting on the right but I didn't know where.
I got over the line, punched the air and then a wave of emotion just took over and I started to cry a bit. I knew it was likely. Trying to process finishing something that had taken 7 years, 7200 miles and so much of my life wasn't going to be easy. I felt like I was grieving the end of it rather than celebrating it as I knew I'd miss all the people who'd made it so special with their gratitude and unrelenting support. I decided to put that to one side, now was the time to reflect on the journey and achievement, then it would be time to come up with another challenge to help the cause. Eventually out of the fenced off race area, I hugged everyone, did more pictures with my new friends and went off back to the hotel relieved to get round and overwhelmed by the whole finale.
Pics
Trip pics here
Weather
Warm start (13c) rising to around 20-21c by lunchtime.
Ratings
I'd spent much of my training running with my friend Tony who had decided to also run Rome and I was really lucky to also be accompanied by some friends who were keen to come along and support. Cat, Lucy and I flew out on the Friday all feeling pretty ill with coughs and colds (I also had a sinus infection), it wasn't ideal as I really didn't feel up to running. Having picked up my race number at the Expo at Salone delle Fontane, we had a quick look in the Colosseum and met Fabio, Veronica and Carlos for a really nice spaghetti lunch. Afterwards we ran into Joe, Sarah and Nathan at The Pantheon before a stop at Trevi fountain and back for an early night. As I went to bed the total sponsorship was around £39.5K, it would move on to £43K over the next 24 hours!
Start
After a breakfast of coco pops and coughing my guts up we met Tony, Sofia, Fabio, Veronica and Carlos near the entrance to the course and took some pictures before heading in to our starting pen. Tony and I made it through to the right pen with a second to spare and my last race then began at Via Dei Fori Imperiali. The first mile was heavily congested and had to drop to a walk at times where it narrowed which was frustrating but it soon spaced out and we parted company; I knew I was in for a long battle and needed to find a breathing rhythm. Heading south along Via Dei Cerchi the cobbles continued past a very exhuberant military brass band. A few miles later and an old lady was shaking a pink rattle at the crowds of runners from her second floor balcony and shouting something or other.
The course had a slight incline climbing over Ponte Guglielmo Marconi and getting my first glimpse of the famour River Tiber. I was running steady in this early part but felt pretty rotten, constantly and rather disgustingly forced to cough, spit and drain my nose when I could. I decided early on that I would pick up a drink from each drinks station and walk through the section before starting off again, this proved to be a good move later on when I felt dizzy. Up to around 8 miles and the course turned the corner to reveal The Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica. There's not many times on the challenge where the view has taken my breath away, it was quite incredible with the sun on it and the famous guards in full uniform. As I approached it, it looked even more glorious and the course skirted the square before turning right and back into Italy down Via Di Porta Angelica. It wasn't much after 9 miles when the dizziness crept in again and I felt like I was really struggling, more water and I trudged on.
Middle
One runner I passed as we headed down Via Crescenzio had writing on the back of his t-shirt that said 'I broke my spine 4 weeks ago and I'm running the marathon, what's your excuse' and there was a pic of his broken vertebrae -so impressive. More brass bands up to half way and some enthusiastic cheerleaders as I tucked into biscuits, powerade, oranges and water at the refreshment stations. I'd taken on one of my 100% honey gels which tasted great, if not incredibly sickly. The park at Piazza Cavour looked really appealing and I daydreamed about lying on the grass under a tree. Over Ponte Cavour and more views of the rather green Tiber before it turned left and some welcome shade for a good mile or so as the day warmed up. I got to halfway a little over 2 hours which I was OK with, I'd normally be at around 1hr 45 mins but today was about finishing and savouring the experience, not hating it and worrying about time.
The north-eastern part of the city was mostly generic residential housing and there wasn't much of note to report other than some really good crowd support with kids dishing out high-5's and sweets. Lots of switch-backs and turns and I had to watch out for the tram tracks, as someone directly in front of me totally stacked it and I had to vault over him before going back to check he was OK. A reminder to keep my concentration. 80's pop rock classics were now in my ears as I got a glimpse of the stunning Monte Mario hill, the biggest of the hills of Rome. I was looking out for the Stadio Olimpico soon after but couldn't really see it, I'd been there 13 years prior watching Messi and Barcelona destroy Man Utd in the Champions League final so hadn't got too many fond memories in any case.
End
Lungotevere Flaminio road tracked the Tiber for miles as the course headed back south towards the Colosseum. Piazza Del Popolo was a pretty cool square which rounded the Egyptian obelisk of Sety. Apparently the square was the centre of public executions for centuries. There was great support here as around half of the runners around me were walking and the other half shuffling like me. Then it was on to the 'Spanish Steps' which looked awesome, even though it was pretty crowded. Less than 4 miles left at this point and my quads were starting to shout at me so it was more walking through water stations and trying to vigorously wake them up. I rung out my headband to the amusement of some of the volunteers on the course, I had to laugh along with them really. I noticed that my Italy football shirt was covered in salt patches as well which I tried to rub out with water at times unsuccessfully. I tried to re-calculate my projected finish time and let Cat know, apologising for being a bit rubbish and keeping everyone waiting. Over the last couple of miles I tried to enjoy the views, with the Fontana Di Nettuno being a highlight with its statue of Neptune and an octopus. Another sickly honey gel and I was now only getting through 1 song on my phone before breaking down and needing a couple of mins to walk before going again.
After more coughing and snottyness I got going and tried to occupy my mind with memories of the finish lines on the challenge and what I ate afterwards. Looking down at my Invest In ME bracelet I thought about the people I was running for and the people I'd met as the final mile approached. Running up a street with lots of shops and bars I heard Sarah, Nath and Joe shouting for me on my left which felt brilliant but caught me off-guard, I didn't know whether to stop and hug them or keep dragging myself forward. I cracked on and turned the corner at Piazza Venezia to then hear Veronica, Carlos and Fabio shouting for me over on the far left hand side. I wanted to run across and hug them too but it was so far and I'd cut up other runners getting over there so I smiled, clapped them and could see the finish line a few hundred yards ahead. I knew Cat and Lucy would be waiting on the right but I didn't know where.
I got over the line, punched the air and then a wave of emotion just took over and I started to cry a bit. I knew it was likely. Trying to process finishing something that had taken 7 years, 7200 miles and so much of my life wasn't going to be easy. I felt like I was grieving the end of it rather than celebrating it as I knew I'd miss all the people who'd made it so special with their gratitude and unrelenting support. I decided to put that to one side, now was the time to reflect on the journey and achievement, then it would be time to come up with another challenge to help the cause. Eventually out of the fenced off race area, I hugged everyone, did more pictures with my new friends and went off back to the hotel relieved to get round and overwhelmed by the whole finale.
Pics
Trip pics here
Weather
Warm start (13c) rising to around 20-21c by lunchtime.
Ratings
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Course: 7/10 - Colosseum, Fort Imperiali, Vatican, Spanish Steps and plenty of hilly views.
Expo: 3/10 - Opened late, a bit OTT on security and Covid. Plenty of stalls and food stands but not much atmosphere. Support: 7/10 - Fantastic at the start and last 3 miles. Plenty of people on top of bridges and out in the residential areas too. Refreshments: 8/10 - Good size bottles of water, powerade, bananas, oranges, biscuits, sponges, good frequency except for the start at end. |
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Goodie Bag: N/A - didn't have time to pick one up sadly. Though post-race bag was made up of water, powerade, biscuits and nuts (same as what was on the refreshment stations). Medal & Pics: 6/10 - Smart medal in black and gold. Pics £12 each and vast majority had watermarks covering face or were partial matches. Time Completed: 4hrs 50 mins |