Registration open for the annual Rome marathon.

The 22nd edition of the Maratona di Roma, which begins and ends at the Colosseum, takes place at 08.40 on Sunday 10 April.

More than 16,700 athletes from 115 different countries are registered for the 42km-race, including 9,250 Italian runners. The foreign country best represented is once again France, with almost 2,000 athletes participating, while Britain comes next with just over 1,000 runners, followed by Spain with 640 participants.

The 2016 race features 37 runners who have taken part in each of the 21 previous editions while the youngest contestant is a British athlete from Essex who will celebrate her 20th birthday on the day of the race, accompanied by her 29 friends.

The winners of the men’s and women’s titles last year were both Ethiopians: Abebe Negewo Degefa with a time of 2:12:23 and Meseret Kitata Tolwalk with 2:30:25.

The time limit for crossing the finish line is seven hours, and anyone who fails to reach the halfway mark within three and a half hours will be required to give up. Those who last the distance however will be rewarded with a medal, a goody bag and a foil wrap to stay warm.

In addition to the main event there is the non-competitive “Stracittadina” 5-km fun run in the Circus Maximus area.

The marathon will result in numerous traffic diversions and street closures, for details see the Muoversi a Roma website nearer the time. For full details including registration see marathon website.