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It was an interesting time for my
first visit to Rome - Francis I and Nations VI provided some distraction
from the Maratona in the city on St Patrick's day. In light of the rugby
results, I was happy to exploit my French allegiance and joined my
colleagues in running with a tricolor painted on my cheek. However, this
did not prevent a hint of sunburn on a morning blessed with near perfect
running conditions, nor did it enhance my performance. After a
reasonable, 1:36, first half I just managed to scrape inside 3:25 at
the Collesium finish (3:24:59.956 to be precise!) which was by far my
slowest ever (Including the bacchanalian Marathon du Médoc). I suspect
other geriatrics may be following Pope Benedict's example because this
time was (just) good enough for 1st runner-up in my age category, not
a placing I felt I deserved.
Those who have time on their hands
may be able to spot a Harriers vest (and a white cap) at
http://mysports.tv/events/RM13/redirect.asp?r=1282 (Videos
of the other Harriers running at Rome can be viewed on the video by
typing in their race numbers)
In the unlikely event that you
watch as far as the accelerated video from the race lead car you may
notice a lot of cobbled streets on the course. I found these very
hard-going and have certainly upped my respect for all Rome
marathoners. The first marathon I ever saw (on black and white TV) was
the 1960 Olympic event which was so memorably won by bare-footed
African Bikila. Perhaps I now have more understanding of his great
achievement.
I returned to my home north of
Hadrian's Roman Empire using an EasyJet flight to Amsterdam. A
significant proportion of the passengers on this flight had completed
the marathon and no air-bridge was provided at either Fiumicino or
Schiphol. This was definitely not a case of Easy Boarding for the many
who struggled painfully up and down the stairs!
Bob
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