It was a beautiful morning for a marathon. Almost 15,000 runners from more than 70 nations were lined up in corrals awaiting the start of the race on Sunday, March 18. What a spectacular sight! The setting was mind-blowing. Behind us was the Coliseum, the most famous landmark in Rome. Nearby was the Imperial Forum, the archeological ruins of the original Rome center. Both were the oldest monuments of the city-7th century BC.

In front was the huge towering Monument to Victor Emanuel II, the first king of united Italy. Perched atop a hill and dominating Piazza Venezia, the monument looked like a giant wedding cake-dazzling white marble, a wall of tall columns, fountains, topped with decorations of four-horse chariots driven by winged gods and at the center was an equestrian statue of King Victor.

It was a perfect day for a race. I came to Rome from Reston, Virginia to run the marathon with twenty of my friends from the Cairo Maadi Runners Club. (I worked in Egypt for three years until 2004.) We had a happy encounter two days before the Marathon when Ann and I coincidently arrived at the Rome airport immigration line at the same time as the Cairo contingent. In the group from Cairo were many Egyptians, mostly women, a Canadian, an Algerian woman and several American runners. Other Maadi alumni came from various places in Europe and the Middle East. They came from Holland, Germany, France, and Jordan. Again, I was the one who traveled the farthest.

I had visited Rome many times before for work and always managed to squeeze in an extra day to see the sights. I knew Rome fairly well, having jogged through the streets exploring sights in all sections of the city during my exercise runs. I also ran through the streets with the Rome Hash House Harriers on three memorable occasions-once on the Ides of March dressed in a toga.

Rome is known as the City of Seven Hills. When the Cairo group first voted to do the Rome Marathon this spring, I was concerned. I was wary about a possible hilly and, therefore, stressful course. I found an altimetry profile for the course on the Marathon Web site. It showed it to be mostly level. The organizers had blessed the runners with a course that went around the hills (not over them) and beside the Tiber River. But past race photographs on the official marathon Web site revealed bad news for runners. The start and finish were to be run on cobblestones! What was not publicized or mentioned were the several miles that runners would have to pound their feet on hard, irregular cobblestone streets.

Anyway, it was a sunny morning in March and I was in the first corral behind the lead runners. I had my throwaway shirt over my shoulders, my wide-necked Gatorade bottle with me ready to be filled before the start of the race. I almost lost the bottle in Zurich. The security inspector at the Zurich airport wanted to confiscate it-but I persuaded him to empty the bottle and return it to me. I almost missed the flight connection while he dumped the liquid in the sink.

While standing patiently in the corral, I thought over my race strategy. I usually start races too fast and pay dearly for it by the end of the race when I run out of gas. My previous race was the Marine Corps Marathon five months earlier. I ran the first portion too fast and hit the wall at Mile 18. I struggled, walked, limped, and suffered for the last eight miles and finished with a 4:20 marathon.

My two previous marathons were both sub-four hours. In Rome, I planned to start slower and maintain a consistent nine minute per mile pace. At the hotel the night before, I spent time with my friend, Mohsen, calculating what my pace should be in kilometers. For a sub-four hour marathon, I had to average 5:40 per kilometer.

There was a roar from thousands of runners when the cannon fired signaling the start of the race-and we were off.

We ran on the cobblestones, then the course wound around the Victor Emanuel Monument, up a short hill and then along the length of the Circo Massimo-where the chariot races of ancient Rome were held. All of these historical sights made for a dramatic start for the marathon. Then we settled into the long grind of mile-after-marathon-mile.

Just before the 10 kilometer mark, we came on a wide street, lined with pink blossoming cherry trees that reminded me of Washington, DC. I was surprised to see these flowering trees in Rome. (It was still two weeks before the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington.) The towering 90-foot high Pyramid of Cestia, built in 12 BC, loomed ahead. This was still another amazing sight for the marathoners to enjoy.

I had been regularly checking my kilometer splits. They ranged between 5:31 and 5:58. I was more or less on pace-but probably a little behind pace. This was a new experience for me. I was used to running the early miles much faster. But I continued to hold myself back to give my new race strategy a real chance.

I was running easily, checking my splits at each kilometer marker and enjoying the sights on the course.

After some time, behind me I heard thud-thud-thud of a large group of runners about to catch up with me. They came alongside and within a couple of minutes easily passed me. The two lead pace runners had blue helium balloons tied to their shirts floating above their heads. The balloons were marked "3:45:00." I had started way up at the front, very close to the start line, so it was natural for this fast group of runners to pass me early in the race.

The course followed along the banks of the Tiber River, crossing back and forth. We passed through the Ghetto and ran by the 1905 Jewish Synagogue, passed the Islamic Mosque, built in 1955, the largest in Europe, doubled back to Piazza Venezia and followed the Tiber River toward the Vatican.

My pace for the second 10 kilometers was much slower. I couldn't explain why. I was then running each kilometer between 6:15 and 6:26 minutes.

Behind me I again heard thud-thud-thud pounding sounds closing in on me and gradually getting louder. A large group of runners came alongside. They were led by two pace runners with pink helium balloons above their heads that were marked "4:00:00." I saw my dream of a sub four-hour marathon disappear as this group easily passed me and ran ahead to vanish in the distance.

The middle part of the course included Rome's main scenic attractions. Tourists seated at outdoor cafes sipped their cappuccinos and vino at Piazza Navona. They were more interested in the bands, mimes and artists displaying their wares by the Bernini fountains than they were to watch thousands of marathoners thunder by them.

I checked my stopwatch at the half marathon point. It was 2:07:51. A quick calculation indicated that I could finish the marathon in a bit over 4:15:00-if I could maintain the same pace. That was a credible time-but my pace per kilometer was constantly slowing. I ran the next ten kilometers at more than 7 minutes per kilometer.

Again, I heard the dreaded thud-thud-thud of the 4:15:00 marathon group, with red helium balloons. They came alongside and quickly passed me. I tried to keep up with the pack of runners but they quickly ran off and disappeared in the distance. All I could see of that pack were two tiny red balloons floating above the crowd.

We passed through the Piazza del Populo that contained a large Egyptian obelisk. I wondered how my Egyptian friends would feel about their stolen national heritage on display in this famous piazza that was once the scene of many public executions.

We raced past the Fontana de Trevi while hoards of tourists were busy pressing close to the fountain so they could make a wish and toss a coin into the fountain that tradition would guarantee their return to Rome. Not many watched the sweating runners go by.

I cringed when I heard the familiar thud-thud-thud pounding sounds coming up from behind me. I sped up as fast as I could but the "4:30:00" group of runners with green helium balloons quickly caught up and passed me-and raced off in the distance. I was running a slow 7 minutes per kilometer pace and could not sustain a faster pace.

The course doubled back to the Circo Massimo and the Victor Emanuel II Monument. I was running hard and my feet were again punished on the painful cobblestones with eight kilometers to the finish. I kept checking my stopwatch. I wanted to at least finish before the 4:45:00 group thudded past me.

I saw the Coliseum looming ahead. It encouraged me to run hard. Finally I could see the official clock at the finish line. It was ticking down the seconds to 4:45. I dug in, picked up speed, ran hard and in a burst of speed crossed the finish line. The clock said 4:44:20. I looked back and saw the pack of runners in the 4:45:00 pace group thundering across the finish line-after me.

Of all 26 marathons I finished, this was my worst time-but I was glad I finished strong. About 12,000 runners finished the race. What a day!

Post-Marathon Relief
That evening, the Maadi Runners celebrated their accomplishments with champagne and snacks. Every one of us completed the marathon. After dinner, Ann and I started on a regime of Vitamin C, Vitamin P and Vitamin G - standing for Cappucino, Pizza (or Pasta,) and Gelato. We faithfully took these vitamins daily for each day of our remaining eleven days in Italy. Italian food and wine are excellent. And we enjoyed them everywhere we went- without gaining weight.

The big upset of the 2007 City of Rome Marathon was 23-year-old Chelimo Kemboi from Kenya in a time of 2:09:36. Chelimo, wearing bib number 26, beat out favorites Jose Manuel Martinez of Spain and course record holder Alberico Di Cecco of Italy. However, he did not beat the course record set in 2005 by Alberico Di Cecco 2:08:38. In 2006, Kemboi won the Dubai Marathon in 2:15:01. Second place -- Jose Manuel Martinez from Spain 2:10:12 Third place -- Jonathan Kosgei from Kenya 2:10:25

The winner of the Womens Division was 28-year-old Souad Ait Salem from Algeria in a time of 2:25:08, setting a new course record which had been held by Tetyana Hladyr from Ukraine. Second place - Helen Kimutai of Kenya 2:26:46 Third place - Helena Javornik of Slovenia 2:28:53

The 2008 City of Rome Marathon will be held Sunday, March 16. For full information about the event, see the race web site.