Marathons in Italy

Marathons and Italy are a great love story ❤️. Makes sense for the country the most romantic in the world! If you’re up for a 42 km in Italy, you’ve made a great destination choice ✈️. Come on, a bit of history never hurts: one of the very first appeared in 1960, at the Olympic Marathon in Rome. For this first edition, the Ethiopian Abebe Bikila won the gold medal while improving the world record: 2 h 15 min and 16s 🥇. That’s already an incredible performance, but imagine that he ran this race… barefoot! 🦶Ahhh, that might just be your next challenge, right? 

Following that feat, the capital didn’t host another marathon until 1982, the year of the 1st edition of the Rome Marathon ✨. Today, marathoners still have this race on their season “to do list”! Coming from all four corners of the world, the city of 7 hills knows how to draw people in to run and party 🥳. Then the years rolled on and in 1984, the Florence Marathon was created in Tuscany! In this region you can also take a detour to see the “Leaning Tower” during the Pisa Marathon! 📍

Since lots of people love going for their “PB” when a bib is pinned on, we’ve got a great recommendation. The Milan Marathon, with the beauty of the city and its flat, fast course, is simply the fastest 42.195 km in the country ⚡️. The records? Both date back to 2021: for women, it’s held by the Ethiopian Hiwot Gebrekidan in 2h19'35", and for men it’s the Kenyan Titus Ekiru in 2h02'57" ⏱️. The numbers are on the table—now all that’s left is to go for it!

We’re leaving Lombardy and Milan heading for “La Serenissima”! Venice, “the Queen of the Adriatic”, the city of love and gondolas. You’re bound to fall in love with the sumptuous city architecture, dating back to the Italian Renaissance 🏛️. And instead of coming on vacation to stroll through the streets, you might as well come for the Venice Marathon, at the end of the year 📆. In Veneto, you can also line up at the start of the Verona Marathon or Padua, which we promise are super gentle 🫂.

We already have a great list ready, but we did talk about a beautiful and grand love story! 💌 Among the other dates to save, you’ll also be able to run on an island with the Elba Island Marathon, go from town to town at the Lake Maggiore Marathon 🚣, or enjoy the seaside thanks to the Rimini Marathon, Palermo or the Mytho Marathon (where there won’t be any room for tall tales 🤭). Otherwise, you can also keep it mellow and run an urban race by setting off at the Ravenna Marathon, Turin or Bologna. Are you starting to see where the romantic story between “the boot” and running comes from? 🏃‍♂️

Once the feat is over, dolce vita will be waiting for you 🌟. When it comes to historic monuments, you’ll have plenty to add to your list. Colosseum, Duomo di Milano, Trevi Fountain, Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral… You’re going to be in for a treat 🤩. You can also save some time for a getaway to a neighboring country. It’s intriguing and, above all, the smallest in the world. Of course, we’re talking about the Vatican! 🇻🇦 And like any runner worth their salt, you’ll of course need a good plate of handmade pasta to recover in the best possible way 🍝. Pasta Cacio e peppe, alla carbonara, all’Alfredo—now you just have to decide (which is probably the hardest part) 🤣. 

“Run a 42 km? Why not.”

“In Italy? Ahhh, then YES!” 🇮🇹