This event was Maurizio’s first race and I was really excited for him to participate with me. He has run a little bit with me the last months but definitely hasn’t been training for a 5K so he was a little nervous. I felt terrible because he had worked 11 straight days without a day off and now I was making him run 3.1 miles. Ouch!! Oh well, he was a trooper and never complained about it.
We had to wake up at 6am. Because Maurizio worked late the night before and we were preparing all our stuff we didn’t get to bed until around 2am. When we woke up it was very hard to get moving and by the time we made it to the train station in Florence we were able to just barely sit in our seats before the train departed at 7am sharp.
We arrived in Roma at 8:45 and quickly made our way to the metro station in Termini. It was already packed with people in their pink shirts! When the train arrived we packed ourselves in so tight, many people didn’t even fit and had to wait for the next train. Everyone was so cute in all their pink gear. When we finally got to the Circo Massimo stop everyone pushed off the train and we all climbed the stairs to the street where we met thousands of others in their pink. It was very cool to see everyone participating.
After we got our t-shirts and race numbers we found a hiding spot in the bushes for our backpack and crossed our fingers we didn’t get in trouble. On a side story my family has a joke about us and a backpack in Rome. When Maurizio and I were in the process of filing for his green card we had to travel to several Italian cities to sign papers etc. When we came to Rome we had carried all our documents in a backpack. Well, the embassy didn’t allow backpacks inside so we didn’t know what to do with it, I asked several hotels if they would hold it that we would even pay but they refused. So, I went across the street from the embassy and just threw the backpack in the bushes next to a tree. When we came out of the embassy there was a sort of Italian swat team surrounding the embassy entrance and the backpack on the opposite street. We had to run up to the Italian officer (who was holding a large gun) and explain that it was our bag and why we left it there. Thankfully we were only scolded for not telling them in advance. So, whenever we have to leave a backpack somewhere we tread with caution. Thankfully nothing happened and our bag was still there when we returned.
The race started at 10am and we were right in the middle of the crowd of thousands. I have to say, of the 3 races I have done in Italy, this was the most organized event I had ever seen. I was impressed considering the amount of people that were there. We took off on and ran the 3.1 miles, which took you past the Circo Massimo, the Roman Parliament Building, The Roman Forums, and circled around the Coliseum. It was amazing and the race went by super fast. By the time we made it to the side of the Coliseum it was already 3km. I couldn’t believe how fast it went by. When we got close to the finish line I ran ahead so I could see Maurizio cross the line, when he arrived it was 30minutes and 34 seconds. He did so well! I was so excited for him. He had achieved his goal of finishing in 30 minutes and not walking once. He said he had a lot of fun so hopefully this will inspire him to do more races with me when we return to the states!
Have a look at some video below!
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