The annual Rome spring marathon will take place on Sunday 28 March. The race, 42 kms long, has attracted more than 9,200 competitors and it will start and finish in the Via dei Fori Imperiali. The race goes to the central mosque in the north of the city and to S.Paolo in the south and takes in the Vatican en route.

The starting gun is due to be fired at 9.20 and the fastest professional runners are expected to cross the finishing line at around 11.25 but stragglers will still be arriving at the finish well into the afternoon. For those who wish to take part but are not up to the full distance there is a shorter course, the "Stradacitta", a non-competitive five kms run, in which 50,000 people are expected to take part.

Registration for the "Stradacitta" can be completed at the Marathon Village, Salone delle Fontane, Via Ciro il Grande at EUR, open daily from 10.30-20.00.

Traffic and public transport in the city will be severely disrupted from Saturday evening until late on Sunday afternoon with the centre of the city being completely closed to traffic for most of Sunday.