Run Rome The Marathon takes place on Sunday 14 March 2027, starting in Via dei Fori Imperiali at 8 am. The official race FAQ confirms the date and start.
Whether you are running or watching, land a day or two early and sleep central, and race morning becomes a walk instead of a transfer. This post covers the race, the ride in, where the guide sends you to sleep, and the first hour.
What is happening
The marathon runs on Sunday 14 March 2027, starting at 8 am in Via dei Fori Imperiali, in at least four waves spaced minutes apart, lined up in grids by personal best time. The time limit is 7 hours. The route is flat, with about 20 meters of elevation difference, and about 6 km of cobblestones, and the FAQ notes the route may see small changes.
The course is a tour of the city on foot. The Fori Imperiali and the Colosseum are the starting and ending points, and the listed sights include the Arco di Costantino, Circo Massimo, Porta San Paolo, the Piramide Cestia, the Basilica di San Paolo, San Pietro, Foro Italico, Piazza Augusto Imperatore, the Ara Pacis, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navona, the Campidoglio steps, Teatro Marcello and the Bocca della Verita.
Entry rules matter early. Participation is open only to athletes aged 20 and over during the current year, and online registration closes at 23:59 on 7 March 2027. Runcard members must upload a medical certificate valid for race day. Bib pickup is at the Expo: Thursday 11 and Friday 12 March from 9 am to 8 pm, and Saturday 13 March from 9 am to 6 pm, with a confirmation letter and ID. For bag drop, only the backpack from the race pack is accepted.
Expect a cool start: the FAQ puts the late March average at about 13 degrees, with about 9 degrees at the start. Free pacer groups run at steady paces, and entertainment points line the route.
Getting there after you land
Fly into Fiumicino, FCO, about 30 km southwest of the center; Ciampino, CIA, handles the budget airlines, closer in, with no train, so its bus or fixed fare taxi are the sensible options. At Fiumicino both trains leave from the airport station: the Leonardo Express runs nonstop to Roma Termini, and the FL1 regional train serves Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina instead, and does not stop at Termini. See our Fiumicino to Rome transfer guide for every option priced and compared side by side.
Bus (SIT, Terravision, Cotral)Cheapest
The cheapest seat into Rome, to Termini, and the slowest in traffic.
Leonardo Express
Nonstop to Roma Termini, every 15 to 30 minutes, immune to road traffic.
FL1 regional train
For Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina. It does not stop at Termini.
Taxi, flat rate
One flat price to anywhere inside the city walls from the official white taxi rank.
Four Leonardo Express fares total €56, a euro more than the flat taxi, so a group with cases can ride door to door for train money. Solo, the bus and the trains win on price. On race morning, a central hotel beats every transfer.
The full first hour: Rome guide
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, plus where to stay for your first nights in Rome.
Where to stay, and getting back
For a Splurge, Hotel de Russie stands between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, a storied luxury hotel built around a secret terraced garden, with the historic center on foot and two course sights, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna, nearby.
For the Sweet spot, Hotel Artemide sits a short walk from Termini and the Colosseum, a polished four star with soundproofed rooms, a rooftop terrace and a small spa. Termini is the Leonardo Express hub for the trip back out. For Budget, The Beehive is a friendly, design-conscious stay near Termini with dorms and private rooms and a garden cafe, a calm base for an early night before the race.
The first hour, sorted
The guide names Airalo for an eSIM, so you are online as the plane taxis in, with Saily as a good alternative with country and regional plans. Prefer a local SIM and Italian law requires it to be registered to your passport, so bring it. Tap water is safe, and the nasoni fountains pour it free: bring a bottle and refill all weekend.
Cards work in most places, including metro ticket machines. Keep cash for small bars, market stalls and the coperto cover charge on bills when you sit down; standing at the bar is cheaper and more Roman. A BIT ticket covers 100 minutes across metro, buses and trams. Validate every ticket on boarding: inspectors fine on the spot.
For a first meal, do as the guide does: carbonara and a suppli, the fried rice ball, at a lunch counter, then your first gelato. Runners can call it carb loading. Drop your bags, walk to the Pantheon, and book Colosseum and Vatican Museums tickets before you fly: timed entry sells out days ahead.
Browse the events calendar for what else is on while you are in town, and use plan your trip to line up the days around it.
Ostia Antica, Tivoli and Pompeii, for the days after the race.
Get the Rome first hour checklist by email
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, in the Rome guide PDF you can read on the plane.
The checklist, free, from After You Land.
What else is on
The events calendar tracks every guided city, strikes and stoppages included.
Events calendarLine up the rest
Plan your trip pulls the guide, the stays and the bookings for this trip into one place.
Plan your trip