There is one thing first-time Rome Marathon runners discover only on Saturday evening, when it is already too late to do anything about it: the logistics of this race are concentrated in a little over a kilometre of the city. Start, finish, expo, bib collection, bag drop. Everything between the Imperial Forums and the Circus Maximus.
If you stay within that area, the Rome Marathon becomes one of the easiest races in the world to manage. If you stay elsewhere, you have to deal with shuttles, crowded metro trains at dawn and roads closed precisely when you need to get around quickly.
This guide lays out everything you need to know to organise the weekend: dates, course, registration, bib collection, race-morning timings, what happens after the finish and how to make the experience enjoyable for the people accompanying you while you are out there running your 42 kilometres.
The dates: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 March 2027
The 32nd edition of the Acea Run Rome The Marathon takes place on Sunday 14 March 2027. But the weekend starts the day before, which is worth keeping in mind when booking your trip.
On Saturday 13 March, the Water Fun Run – Saturday 5k takes place, a five-kilometre city race open to everyone: it starts at the Imperial Forums and finishes inside the Circus Maximus. No competitive medical certificate is required, there is no age limit, and walking is allowed. It is the perfect opportunity for anyone accompanying you: while you run on Sunday, you can run together on Saturday.
On Sunday 14 March, alongside the marathon, the Acea Run4Rome relay also takes place: four legs of 11, 12.5, 8 and 10.695 kilometres, tackled by teams of four, with part of the proceeds going to non-profit organisations participating in the Charity Program.
The practical advice is to arrive in Rome as early as Friday. Saturday gives you time to collect your bib, take a walk without tiring yourself out and eat calmly. If you land on Saturday afternoon, you have to fit everything into just a few hours, and that is not the best way to arrive at Sunday morning.
The course: starting at the Imperial Forums, finishing at the Circus Maximus
The start is on Via dei Fori Imperiali, with the Colosseum behind you. It is probably the most photographed starting grid in the international racing circuit, and that is no exaggeration: you line up between the columns of Trajan’s Forum and the Basilica of Maxentius, with the morning light cutting across the sides of the road.
From there, the course descends towards Piazza Venezia and the Vittoriano, brushes past the Circus Maximus and continues south, beyond the Pyramid of Cestius, to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. It then heads back up along the Tiber: the Lungotevere, Tiber Island, Castel Sant’Angelo and Via della Conciliazione, with St Peter’s Basilica directly ahead, which in recent editions has been one of the most exciting sections of the entire race.
The second half heads even farther north, towards Foro Italico and Ponte Milvio, before returning towards the centre through Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Navona. The final kilometres pass through the monumental area again and end with the finish inside the Circus Maximus.
Technically, it is a rolling but not difficult course: in recent editions, the highest point was 31 metres above sea level and the lowest 8 metres, with the start at 22 metres. The real difficulties are two others, and they are the ones runners talk about most: the cobblestones and the tight turns in the historic centre. The cobbled sections are not very long, but they appear unexpectedly and can be felt under tired feet. Many runners choose a shoe with slightly more cushioning for Rome than they would use on a smooth course.
One useful clarification: the official course for each edition is published by the organisers in the months leading up to the race and may have small variations from the previous year. The start and finish locations, however, are now firmly established.
Registration: in 2026, it sold out four months in advance
This is the part where it pays to be direct. The 2026 edition sold out four months before race day, closing with 36,000 entrants for the marathon alone. Including Saturday’s Fun Run and the relay, more than 60,000 people wore a race bib over the entire weekend.
This is not an isolated case: the Rome Marathon grew from 8,000 entrants in 2021 to 36,000 in 2026, and is now among the world’s top ten marathons by participation. In 2026, 75% of participants came from abroad, representing 166 different countries.
Registration for the 2027 edition is already open on the official website. If you are planning to run it, register first and organise your trip afterwards: the risk is not paying more, but being left out.
The same reasoning applies to where you stay, for a reason that has little to do with the marathon itself. Rome’s historic centre has a limited number of rooms by definition, because it is made up of protected historic buildings rather than new hotels. When 36,000 runners and their companions arrive in the city, accommodation within one kilometre of the start sells out first, and well in advance.
Bib collection and the Expo Village at the Circus Maximus
The Expo Village is held at the Circus Maximus, fifty metres from the Circo Massimo stop on Metro Line B. Admission is free for everyone, including non-runners.
In recent editions, the Expo has opened on Thursday and bib collection has closed on Saturday evening. The area remains open to visitors on Sunday, but bib collection is no longer possible. The exact 2027 opening hours will be published on the official website in the weeks before the event: check them, because this is the information people most often get wrong.
Two rules that the organisers reiterate every year and that are best known before you leave:
Bibs are not handed out on race morning and are not mailed. If you do not collect yours by Saturday, you cannot run.
To collect your bib, you need a valid ID document and the confirmation letter downloadable from the website. If you cannot go in person, someone else can collect it by presenting a signed authorisation and their own ID.
The Expo itself is worth a couple of hours: you will find official merchandise, technical stands, often some presentations and the atmosphere that many people need to really get into the race. The advice is to go on Thursday or Friday, not Saturday afternoon when the worst queues occur. And above all: do not spend three hours standing there the day before the marathon.
Where to stay: the criterion that really matters
When looking for accommodation for a marathon, the right question is not ‘how much does it cost?’ or even ‘how nice is it?’ It is: how many minutes on foot are there between my bed and the starting grid?
On race morning, you get up between five and six. You have to eat breakfast, get dressed, go to the bag drop, find your starting grid and stand there in the cold for as little time as possible. Every extra step in this chain — a taxi that does not arrive, a packed metro, a road already barricaded — is stress that you pay for later, over the kilometres.
Then there is the part almost nobody thinks about the day before: getting back. You cross the finish line at the Circus Maximus after three, four or five hours of running. Your legs do not cooperate, you are cold, sweaty, and all you want is a shower. At that moment, the only thing that really matters is how far away your accommodation is. Three hundred metres is a walk. Three kilometres involving the metro is an undertaking.
There are three other details that, on a marathon weekend, are worth more than any number of stars:
The possibility of making coffee in your room. At five-thirty on Sunday morning there is no open café in Rome, and accommodation breakfasts almost always start too late for you. If you have a kettle or coffee machine in your room, you can handle your pre-race breakfast the way you are used to, with what you brought from home.
Late check-out. If your return flight is on Sunday afternoon or evening, having the room available for a few extra hours after finishing completely changes the day: shower, rest, change of clothes. Ask for it when booking, not on Sunday morning.
Luggage storage. It is useful on arrival, if you get there early on Friday and your room is not ready yet, and especially on departure, if you check out on Sunday morning before the race and want to leave your suitcases somewhere safe instead of carrying them around.
They are three small things. Together, they are the difference between a successful weekend and a weekend spent solving problems.
Race morning, hour by hour
The exact 2027 times will be confirmed by the organisers, but the starting procedure is now well established. In 2026, runners started from the Imperial Forums in waves: first wheelchair athletes and pushers, followed by the other starting grids at ten- to fifteen-minute intervals, from TOP-A through to the final grid. Those starting from the last grids cross the start line almost an hour after the first runners.
A rough timetable that works for almost everyone:
Three hours before the start: wake up and have breakfast. Eat what you always eat before long runs; this is not the morning for experiments.
One and a half hours before: get dressed, with your race number already attached the night before, and put gels and electrolytes in your pockets.
One hour before: head towards the start area and drop off your bag. Allow for queues and the fact that the area will be fenced off: entering through the wrong access point can cost you ten minutes of walking around.
Forty minutes before: you are in your starting grid. From here on, you wait, and you wait in the cold. An old shirt or a disposable poncho that you can abandon at the start is the solution everyone uses.
As for transport: on marathon morning the metro operates normally, while surface lines in the centre are diverted or suspended. If you need to move around, the metro is the only reliable option. If you do not need to travel because you are staying just a few minutes away on foot, you have already won the first race of the day.
Bag drop and what happens after the finish
The bag drop is organised by the race organisers and works with the bag you receive together with your bib: that bag, and no other. You hand it in at the start area and collect it at the finish area, so put inside only what you will actually need after the race — a dry sweatshirt, flip-flops, something to eat — and leave everything else in your room.
After the finish at the Circus Maximus, the process is the classic one for any major marathon: medal, refreshments, cool-down area and bag collection. Allow twenty to forty minutes before you are out of the athletes-only area.
And this is exactly where the difference we mentioned earlier becomes clear. From the Circus Maximus, anyone staying in the monumental area can be back in their room in less than fifteen minutes, walking slowly. Anyone staying elsewhere has a journey ahead of them.
Dinner the night before and spectators
Rule number one for dinner: no experiments. A cacio e pepe or simple tomato pasta will do the job without betraying the place you are in; heavier dishes such as carbonara and amatriciana are better saved for Sunday evening as the final reward. Restaurants in Rome fill up from 8:00 p.m. onwards, and during marathon weekend it is worth booking.
For spectators, the best places to see you pass are along the Tiber around Tiber Island, in the St Peter’s area and along Via del Corso; the start and finish areas, on the other hand, are fenced off and extremely crowded. For the rest of the day, with the centre closed to traffic until early afternoon, it is one of the nicest Sundays of the year for walking around Rome.
March weather and what to wear
In mid-March, temperatures in Rome are usually between 9 and 15°C, with often clear skies. These are very good conditions for running: cool at the start, warmer during the second half.
The classic rule works here too: dress as if it were ten degrees warmer than the thermometer says. If you are warm at the start, you are overdressed.
What you really need to manage is the wait in the starting grid, which is the coldest part of the day: you are standing still, possibly in the shade, and forty minutes can pass. A disposable poncho or an old shirt that you abandon at the start solves the problem.
One detail that is underestimated in March: if the day is clear, the sun can be strong during the second half of the race. A cap and sunscreen are not overkill.
Frequently asked questions about the Rome Marathon
When is the Rome Marathon 2027?
The 32nd edition of the Acea Run Rome The Marathon takes place on Sunday 14 March 2027, starting on Via dei Fori Imperiali and finishing at the Circus Maximus. The previous day, Saturday 13 March, the Water Fun Run – Saturday 5k takes place, a five-kilometre city race open to everyone, also starting at the Imperial Forums and finishing inside the Circus Maximus. The Acea Run4Rome relay also takes place over the same weekend, dividing the 42.195 kilometres among four runners.
Where do you collect the Rome Marathon bib?
The bib is collected at the Expo Village, set up at the Circus Maximus, fifty metres from the Circo Massimo stop on Metro Line B. In recent editions, the Expo has opened on Thursday and bib collection has closed on Saturday evening, while the area remains accessible to visitors on Sunday without the possibility of collecting a bib. You need a valid ID document and the confirmation letter downloadable from the official website. It is essential to know that bibs are not handed out on race morning and are not mailed: if you do not collect yours by Saturday, you cannot run. If you cannot go in person, someone else can collect it by presenting a signed authorisation together with the required documents.
Where is it best to stay for the Rome Marathon?
The most important criterion is walking distance from the area between the Imperial Forums and the Circus Maximus, where the start, finish, Expo and bag drop are concentrated. Staying within one kilometre of this area means you can reach your starting grid on foot on race morning and walk back after the finish, without depending on public transport or taxis on a day when the centre is closed to traffic. Three specific services also matter: the possibility of making coffee in your room at dawn, when no café is open yet; late check-out for those leaving on Sunday afternoon; and luggage storage for keeping your bags safe after check-out. The Monti district and the Via Cavour area are among the few areas that meet all these conditions at the same time.
How far in advance should you book for the Rome Marathon?
As early as possible, and that is not an exaggeration. The 2026 edition sold out four months in advance, with 36,000 participants in the marathon alone and more than 60,000 race bibs distributed over the entire weekend including the Fun Run and relay. Seventy-five per cent of runners came from abroad, from 166 countries. With these numbers, accommodation closest to the start sells out first and well in advance, because Rome’s historic centre has a structurally limited number of rooms. If you have decided to run it, register and book your accommodation at the same time.
Is the Rome Marathon a difficult course?
It is a rolling course but not a demanding one in terms of elevation: in recent editions, the elevation ranged between 8 and 31 metres above sea level. The two factors that really make a difference are the cobbled sections in the historic centre and the tight turns, which break your rhythm and tire your feet during the second half of the race. Many runners choose a slightly more cushioned shoe for Rome than they would use on a smooth course, and allow for a few extra seconds per kilometre compared with their usual benchmarks on fast courses.
How do spectators get around on marathon day?
On foot and by metro. On race day the metro operates normally, while surface lines in the centre are diverted or suspended and much of the historic centre is closed to traffic until early afternoon. The best places to see the runners are along the Lungotevere around Tiber Island, in the St Peter’s area and along Via del Corso, while the start and finish areas are fenced off and very crowded. For the rest of the day, it is one of the most pleasant Sundays of the year for visiting the city centre on foot, with the only precaution being to allow some waiting time at crossings.
Sleeping four hundred metres from the starting grid
If you have made it this far, the point should be clear: for this marathon, where you sleep is not an organisational detail. It is the variable that determines how you will experience the twenty-four hours around the race.
The Roman Empire Guesthouse is located at 275 Via Cavour, in the Monti district, and its location tells this story well: the Imperial Forums, where the starting grids line up, are four hundred metres away. The Colosseum is four hundred and fifty metres away. The Circus Maximus, where you cross the finish line and where you collect your bib at the Expo, is about nine hundred metres on foot.
This means that on Sunday morning you leave the house on foot and reach your starting grid in five minutes. And, above all, it means that when you have finished, you walk slowly back along Via Cavour, medal around your neck, without having to take any transport.
The guest house’s five rooms — named after five women of ancient Rome, from Rhea Silvia to Cleopatra — have high ceilings, soundproofing, independent air conditioning and, a detail that matters more to a runner than it might seem, a kettle or coffee machine in the room: you can prepare your five-thirty breakfast yourself, just as you are used to doing before long runs.
Late check-out and luggage storage are available on request, the two services that make a difference on race day, and for those arriving by air there is a private transfer service to and from airports and stations.
Booking directly through the website guarantees the best price and the best cancellation policy, as well as a welcome that in Rome is still provided by people rather than numerical codes on a keypad.
If you are thinking about the 14 March 2027 marathon, the advice is the usual one: register first, then book your room, preferably in the same week.