My marathons

Roma Appia Run

The organiser has not published a date. Rome
Appian Way
Appian Way. Photograph by Livioandronico2013, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The organiser says it is the only race in the world run over five different surfaces: asphalt, sampietrini, lava basalt paving, dirt track and the old Roman stone of the Appia Antica.

The course in short 2 lines
  • Five kinds of road in one raceAsphalt, cobbles, lava basalt, dirt and Roman stone.
  • The 2026 course grew to 19 km19 km in 2026, via the Colosseum and Circo Massimo.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryFive kinds of road in one raceAsphalt, cobbles, lava basalt, dirt and Roman stone.

The race is a tribute to the Via Appia Antica, the “Regina Viarum” and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The organiser says no other race is run over all of them.

Sourced

Whole courseLandmarkThe 2026 course grew to 19 km19 km in 2026, via the Colosseum and Circo Massimo.

The 27th edition ran on 19 April 2026 with a 19 km race and a 7.5 km race, each in a competitive and a non-competitive version. Domenico Liberatore won the 19 km in 1:04:59. The Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine come before the stretch along the Appia Antica, and the organiser counts 10,000 runners in all.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

2 gels for Rome, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7.2mile 4.5
  2. km 14.5mile 9

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
19.0 km11.8 mi

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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