Run Rome the Marathon - from Holocaust to First Saint

 

Next up on the grand tour of Rome is the Ponte Settimia (a.k.a., Il Cobra). This bridge is more fully referred to as the Ponte Settimia Spizzichino. It is suspended over some railroad tracks and connects two neighborhoods together: Garbatella and Ostiense. Talk about a long process from start to finish, though. While an overpass at this location was planned nearly 100 years ago (in 1931), the actual design started in 2003, the project was finally approved in 2009, and it was finished and inaugurated in 2012. Settimia Spizzichino was named after the only female survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau from those rounded up in the Rome Ghetto on Oct 16, 1943 and deported to Auschwitz.

Less than 1 mile away is the Basilica Di San Paolo, which we were introduced to a few miles earlier at Porta San Paolo. 

While it is outside the Aurelian Walls (hence why it is more fully known as the Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), the Vatican actually owns the basilica, built on the burial site of St. Paul. Over the centuries since it was first built in 324, there have been many events which damaged the basilica, and extensive repairs and renovations done to evolve it to its current form.

Down Under Again So Soon? Yep!

Ever since the first time I traveled to Australia in 2000, I made a promise to myself to get back Down Under at least once every 10 years. I managed it in 2010 with a slightly different Australian itinerary. Then COVID ruined my 2020 plans (which included running both the North Shore Marathon in Auckland, New Zealand and the Sydney Marathon one week later). I finally managed to get down to New Zealand for my trip in 2023 and capped it off with a brief stop in Australia to run the Sydney Marathon in its first year of candidacy as an Abbott World Marathon Major. That provided me guaranteed entry into one of the 1st three years of it becoming a major. I made sure to select 2027 to spread out the huge travel time as much as possible. After all, going that far, the trip has to be at least 2 weeks total.

Well, the window just opened to register. Even without knowing the exact date (I knew it would be approx late August 2027), I claimed my spot. Hoping that the earlier time of year compared to the mid-September date I ran it last time will make race conditions more favorable.

Now I need to figure out a few big things:

1) What will my travel itinerary be? I'll likely visit other places in Oceania, just unclear how many days will wind up being Sydney and possibly other places in Australia.

2) How do I apply to be on the pacer team? It'd be great to join the team.

Run Rome the Marathon - Egyptian Pyramid?

 

Next up on the travelogue for the upcoming Run Rome the Marathon, Porta San Paolo and Piramide Cestia. Saint Paul Gate is at the beginning of the road that connected Rome to Ostia, but had been renamed after Saint Paul given it was also the exit from Rome where one could make their way to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. (After all, all roads lead to Rome.)

Just next to it along our route is the Caius Cestius Pyramid. The pyramid, constructed to hold this wealthy Roman’s burial chamber, was actually built in 13 BC, about 300 years before Porta San Paolo. Interestingly enough, for some time during the Middle Ages, people thought the pyramid was actually the tomb of Remus (Romulus’ twin), despite Caius Cestius’ name being inscribed in the stone.

Put Yourself Out There

This was from the London Marathon in 2019. For a couple of months ahead of time, I ran on the treadmill in the gym either just with the stockpot (most of the time) or in the full costume with the stockpot (a decent handful of times). I was putting myself out there so visibly and without worrying about reactions because I was not only doing what I needed to to train as much as possible for the difficulty that the run would turn out to be, but more importantly to get attention for potential donations for the UK charity I was running for.

While I don't think anyone from the gym wound up donating -- despite telling me that they would -- to this day, people intermittently ask if I was "that guy." (Yes, indeed.) While they don't recall the fundraising, they still think back to that as a source of inspiration to start up running. Like the guy tonight, they strike up a conversation using that as the starting point. They ask questions about my marathons, what the next one is, my time, how many I've run, what advice I can give on [x], etc. Putting myself out there is still paying dividends for helping others.

Not dissimilar to every time I run as a pacer for a marathon or other race.

Sneaky Thing - Math

Hmm... this result shouldn't be so surprising. Most (all?) of this year, my runs generally have range from 8 miles on the low end (save for the last week of a taper pre-marathon, when distances are shorter), as opposed to being 6 miles during most of my previous training cycles.

For any given run, it's not *that* much extra, tacks on about 20 minutes more to the workout, and enables me to eat a little bit more -- the real motivation behind it.

But those incremental increases have resulted in a sizable cumulative increase in my mileage. This month alone, I've run 260 miles. (I'm actually averaging 65 miles per week? Really?) Across the first 8 months of the year, I've logged just under 1883 miles, whereas in the same timeframe last year I ran just under 1647 miles. A difference of 236 miles -- nearly an entire month's mileage from this small increase in mileage 3-4 days per week.

I'm about to enter a significantly heavy marathon season with 6 marathons I'll be pacing between now and Thanksgiving. (Unclear about December right now.) Ironically enough, each week I run a marathon will likely have a fair bit less mileage than training weeks, given the number of days I take for post-marathon recovery - and don't count my time on the elliptical in my overall mileage totals. 

Run Rome the Marathon -- Tell the Truth!

Nearly 2400 years old, the Mouth of Truth, thought to depict the Roman god Oceanus, is a large marble mask (about 5 feet across) in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. People can tempt fate by placing their hand in its mouth, as legend indicates it will bite off the hand of anyone who places their hand inside it after telling a lie. 

This approximately 3000 pound mask is presumed to have been used as a drain cover for the Temple of Hercules Victor, allowing it to rain inside the temple. It is thought to have been moved from the temple to the church about 700 years ago and placed at its current position inside the portico of the church about 300 years ago. This is among several of the marathon course's landmarks that were shown during the classic 1953 movie, Roman Holiday, as were the previously mentioned Colosseum and Roman Forum.

Run Rome the Marathon - Next to Starting Area

Next up on our tour of the sights along the marathon course: Arco di Constantino.

This triumphal arch next to the Colosseum honors Emperor Constantine’s defeat over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. It cannabalized parts of prior monuments from Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius’ times. The many sculptures of emperors on it were all modeled to look like Constantine. There is an inscription above the middle arch which declares Constantine the liberator of Rome. Several of the carved scenes depict several activities of Constantine.