For the past 18 years Rome has held a marathon for the running-inclined anxious to stay healthy, run for a cause or for the ultra-competitive, win money. Even for those with disabilities, there are various purses one can win depending on your choice transportation.
Having visitors in town on a recent Sunday, I feared most public transportation would be shut down due to the winding and somewhat erratic course through 42.195 kilometers (26.219 miles) of Roman streets.
During the 7-hour time limit, my fear was true. Travelling by bus wasn't possible. Traveling by Metro (subway) was. But watch out for those crowds! I hadn't seen the Metro this crowded since New Years Eve at 11pm... which happens to be when the buses are shut down for the night.
It seems holidays and festivals aren't ideal days to travel but being forced to walk made us see what was going on in the streets. Pure fun. Tents and stages were set up, people were all over the streets closed to automobiles, street vendors without licenses had nowhere to hawk their wares because of the abundance of law enforcement. It was a tourist's dream!
The city transformed itself into an ancient/modern concoction. It felt strange seeing the huge inflatable kilometer marker clearly sponsored with Lipton advertising dollars right next to the ancient 2000 year old Pyramid of Cestius.
This year, a Kenyan man finished first in 2:08:04 and the first woman, also a Kenyan, finished at 2:31:11. If they had surpassed earlier times, 2:07:30 and 2:23:30 respectively, each would have been awarded 40,000 EURO. Instead, each pot was reduced by 30%. First through tenth place won portions of the total purse.
Having visitors in town on a recent Sunday, I feared most public transportation would be shut down due to the winding and somewhat erratic course through 42.195 kilometers (26.219 miles) of Roman streets.
It seems holidays and festivals aren't ideal days to travel but being forced to walk made us see what was going on in the streets. Pure fun. Tents and stages were set up, people were all over the streets closed to automobiles, street vendors without licenses had nowhere to hawk their wares because of the abundance of law enforcement. It was a tourist's dream!
The city transformed itself into an ancient/modern concoction. It felt strange seeing the huge inflatable kilometer marker clearly sponsored with Lipton advertising dollars right next to the ancient 2000 year old Pyramid of Cestius.
This year, a Kenyan man finished first in 2:08:04 and the first woman, also a Kenyan, finished at 2:31:11. If they had surpassed earlier times, 2:07:30 and 2:23:30 respectively, each would have been awarded 40,000 EURO. Instead, each pot was reduced by 30%. First through tenth place won portions of the total purse.
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