Marathons in Italy

The Marathon and Italy have a great love story ❤️. Naturally, for the most romantic country in the world! There is no shortage of 42 km in Italy. One of the very first appeared in 1960 during the Olympic Games Marathon in Rome. Ethiopian Abebe Bikila won the gold medal by breaking the world record: 2 h 15 min and 16s 🥇. An incredible performance, made even more unique because he ran... barefoot! 🦶

Following this feat, the Capital did not host another 42 km event until 1984, when the 1st edition of the Rome Marathon took place. Nowadays, runners from all over the world come to the city of 7 hills to run and party 🥳. Even though the year 1984 is unsettling (thanks George Orwell 😅), in Tuscany it is a date of joy and passion with the creation of the Florence Marathon! An event that brings together no less than 8,000 people. In the region, you can also take a detour to see the Leaning Tower during the Pisa Marathon !

If you are the type who wants to break your record ⌛, there's a race made for you, the Milan Marathon. It is simply the fastest 42.195 km in Italy and one of the fastest courses in the world. The records? Both date from 2019. For women, it's held by Ethiopian Hiwot Gebrekidan with 2h 19m and 35s, for men, it's Kenyan Titus Ekiru with 2h 02m and 57s.

We leave the Lombardy and Milan heading towards the “Serenissima”! Venice, city of love and gondolas. You will inevitably fall in love with the magnificent buildings dating from the Italian Renaissance. Such is the case for the 8,000 runners who travel for the Venice Marathon in October. In Veneto, you will also find the Verona Marathon, an opportunity to visit the city of the star-crossed lovers.

Italy is definitely a running country, filled with beautiful marathons. We've skipped the Bologna Marathon, the X-Bionic Lake Garda 42 at Lake Garda, the Mythos Marathon or even the Ravenna Marathon.