Rome Marathon

15th MARATONA DI ROMA ACEAELECTRABEL

“Start your dreams”

March 22nd, 2009: the “Rome 100.000” goal

The Maratona di Roma AceaElectrabel XVth edition will take place on Sunday, March 22nd: the race will start at 09:00 a.m. in via dei Fori Imperiali.
14.894 people coming from 78 different nations registered for the race this year: 8.901 Italian and 5.993 foreign athletes will be in Rome for the Marathon, the sports event with the largest number of participants in Italy and one of the most popular sports events in the world. The Marathon will be broadcast live by RAI starting at 09:00 a.m. on channel RAI 3.
The popular Roma Fun Run will start at 09:15 a.m., right after the start of the competitive 42,195-km race. The 4,2195-km race has gained popularity year after year: more than 85.000 participants of different age and background might be at the start line in via dei Fori Imperiali at 09.15 a.m. Nearly 15.000 athletes will run the competitive race on Sunday March 22nd: the total number of participants might amount to 100.000! Each of them will be at the start line to run for their dream, as the 2009 marathon slogan reads: “Start your dreams”.

A RECORD MARATHON
The Marathon is the Queen of Athletics: the 42,195-km race is the symbol of the Olympic Games (the marathon is the last competition to take place during the Olympics). Maratona di Roma has set 6 different records: it is the competitive sports event which counts the largest number of participants in Italy among all sports disciplines (15.187 people registered for the competitive race in 2007), the largest competitive and non-competitive sports event in Europe (more than 78.000 participants in 2008) and one of the most popular non-competitive sports event (64.000 registered for the Roma Fun Run 2008) in Europe. Moreover, Maratona di Roma is the Italian marathon with the largest number of foreign athletes (6.109 in 2007), and is the most popular marathon among Italian marathon runners (9.708 Italian athletes ran the marathon in 2007). Last but not least, the best women’s marathon performance in Italy was set in Rome in 2008 by Galina Bogomolova (2:22.53).

THE ROUTE
All marathon runners say that this is the most beautiful route in the world. In 2009, the route will be very similar to the 2007 one: the athletes will run the first kilometres along via Ostiense, while the final stretch will be run in the historic heart of the Eternal City, passing through Piazza San Pietro (in 2008 the athletes could not enter Piazza San Pietro because it was Palm Sunday). After the start in via dei Fori Imperiali, the athletes will run on through via del Teatro Marcello, via dei Cerchi, via Ostiense, Basilica di San Paolo, viale Marconi, Porta Portese, Testaccio, and on the Lungotevere toward Sinagoga, Ara Pacis, piazza Cavour, viale Angelico, then back on the Lungotevere up to Foro Italico. The route continues through the Moschea, piazzale delle Belle Arti, largo di Torre Argentina, via del Corso, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna, Fontana di Trevi, via Petroselli, via di San Gregorio, piazzale del Colosseo and back to the finish line in via dei Fori Imperiali.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS: AN ASIA-AFRICA-EUROPE CHALLENGE

MEN: 24 RUNNING FOR VICTORY
24 athletes running Maratona di Roma have personal best times under 2 hours 12 minutes. In 2008 90% of marathons in Italy were won in more than 2h12’, so it is easy to understand the importance of Maratona di Roma 2009 from the technical point of view. Many important athletes coming from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Morocco, China, Russia, and Ireland will run the marathon this year.
All marathon fans are waiting for Paul Kiprop Kirui from Kenya: this runner, who was born in 1980, has a personal best time of 2:06.44. Kenyan Hosea Rotich Kiprop, born in 1979 (2:07.24) Philip Manyim Kipkurgat, born in 1978 (2:07.41) Ethiopian Jufar Robi Tariku, born in 1984 (2:08.10) and Kenyan Francis Kiprop, born in 1982 (2:08.30) will also run the marathon. Chinese runner Gang Han, born in 1978, has a personal best time of 2:08.56

WOMEN: ANNA INCERTI RUNS TO ENTER HISTORY
After Galina Bogomolova’s amazing performance in the last edition (2:22.53, the race record performance, best performance ever in Italy and fifth in the 2008 world’s ranking), several Eastern European and African athletes will run for victory, together with today’s best Italian athlete: Anna Incerti. Anna was born in 1980 in Palermo and works for Fiamme Azzurre. Her personal best is 2:27.42: a very good performance allowing her to run the marathon together with other top athletes, such as Chinese runner Weiwei Sun, born in 1985, personal best 2:25.15; Lena Jemutai Cheruiyot from Kenya, born in 1973, personal best 2:26.00; Ethiopian Eyerusalem Mutal Kuma, born in 1981, 2:26.51; Russian athlete Larisa Zousko, born in 1969, 2:26.26, who was second in Maratona di Roma for two years in a row (2007 and 2008); Abina Maiorova Ivanova from Russia, born in 1977, 2:27.25; Ukranian runner Tetyana Filonyuk, born in 1984, 2:27.25.

A MILLIONAIRE JACKPOT
Maratona di Roma 2009 has a record jackpot amounting to nearly 1 million euros for personal best times. 500.000 euros (250.000 for each category) are the prize for the setting of a new world record (M 2:03.59, W 2:15.25); in case any athlete sets the new Italian record (M 2:07.22, W 2:23.47), he and/or she will receive 150.000 euros (75.000 for each category). The prize for the best performance on the Italian territory (M 2:07.44, W 2:22.53) amounts to 100.000 euros (50.000 for each category). Other bonus prizes amounting to tens of thousand euros will be awarded in case of extremely good performances.

A PORTRAIT OF THE RUNNER AS AN EMPEROR: MARCUS AURELIUS’ MEDAL 2009

Crossing the finishing line means triumph to every marathon runner. All the runners who finish the Maratona di Roma XVth edition will receive a beautiful medal carved by Master Alfiero Nena, Chairman of the Italian Sculptors' Association: the medal portrays Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was also a stoic philosopher.
Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and detachment from material things, as well as keeping passionate emotions and pain under control. In a similar way, marathon runners have to overcome difficulties and endure pain using their perfect knowledge of their body and its own limits if they want to cross the finishing line.
Stoic philosophers maintained that succeeding is an individual task, but helping out people in trouble is highly recommended: this should be every runner’s motto!
The slogan of the social anti-racism campaign, which has been associated to the Maratona di Roma for years is carved on the medal: "Vinciamo ogni discriminazione" ("Let's beat every discrimination").

MARATHON VILLAGE
The Marathon Village is in Palazzo dei Congressi in Eur (Piazza John F. Kennedy, 1). The village covers an area of 15.000 m2 (7000 inside and 8000 outside ), where 80.000 people will visit more than 100 stands. From Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st (from 10.00 to 20.00), several events will take place in the Village. Entrance is free. Conferences, shows, the health track, the signature panel, music, children’ s shows, games, gadgets, official merchandising will sure attract many visitors during the three days immediately before the marathon. The Marathon Village is also the official registration site for Roma Fun Run (price: 7 Euros with bib and official Asics T-shirt).

ONE CITY, ONE CELEBRATION …UNDER THE SAME SKY
As usual, several “collateral” events will take place on March 22nd. This year, the events will be dedicated to science, since 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. The organizers are also particularly proud of the traditional Folk Dance and Music International Festival, with 18 different artists performing on stage and 8 music bands playing in 8 different squares of Rome.

RUNNING IN ROME TO MAKE YOUR DREAM COME TRUE

FROM ZIMBABWE TO BE AN ATHLETE AGAIN
32 year-old Luwis Masunda is a citizen of Zimbabwe, a country undergoing a humanitarian crisis due to a serious economic crisis. Luwis is a great athlete who was the pride of his national team for years: he was the star of the New Delhi Half Marathon in 2004 and of the World Cross Championship in St. Etienne in 2005. A couple of years ago, he had to stop competing because the steel factory he works in cannot pay for his participation to competitions anymore. Luwis keeps on training, but he can’t afford to take part in races, so he wrote Maratona di Roma asking to help him make his dream come true: running as a professional athlete again. On March 22nd he will be in via dei Fori Imperiali.

RICHARD WHITEHEAD: IN ROME TO AMAZE THE WORLD AGAIN
He amazed the world in 2008: this year, he will be in Rome to do it again. Richard Whitehead, the runner from Nottingham with prosthetic legs, last year ran the race in 3:39.00, an amazing performance for a disabled athlete. Richard improved his personal best some months ago (3:14) and now he wants to break his personal record in Rome (his aim is to finish the race in less than 3 hours) and to raise funds for some English Research Institutes.

THE FLYING GRANNY
Betty Jean McHugh: the Maratona di Roma viewers will sure remember this name. Betty, who was renamed “ the flying granny” by the US press, is a 82-year Canadian woman. She has power-horse in her legs: she set the world’s best performances in her age group (over 75) for the 10.000 m, half marathon and marathon. Betty, also known as “BJ” to her friends, will be in Rome to run her first European marathon: her goal is to improve her age group world’s best performance.

ELVIS PRESLEY TURNS INTO A CENTURION AND TRIES TO SET A NEW RECORD
Ian Michael Sharman, a 28-year-old Englishman, entered the Guinness Book of World Records two years ago, thanks to an unusual performance: he finished the marathon in 2:57:03 disguised as Elvis Presley. Ian tried to improve his performance in 2008, but he failed. On March 22nd he will try again, and this time he will be disguised as a Roman centurion.

PRESS VADEMECUM
A Media Center for press and journalists will be set up in the Holiday Inn Rome West Hotel (via Aurelia, Km 8.400). From the 19th to 21st of March (10am to 8pm) media operators will have the possibility to work in a dedicated area of the hotel - the same hotel where the Top-Athletes will be staying.
The Top-Athletes official presentation will take place on Friday, March 20th, at 1.30pm.
On the race day (March 22nd) the media center will be set in the Visitor Center, via dei Fori Imperiali (entrance by via del Tempio della Pace): press-pass is required.