Roma-Ostia Half Marathon

The Roma–Ostia Half Marathon (Italian: Roma Ostia Mezza Maratona or Italian: Maratonina Roma-Ostia)[1] is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in early March in Rome, Italy. The course begins in the EUR district of the city and follows a direct southeasterly route to the finish point near the beaches of Ostia.[2] It is Italy's most popular half marathon, with a record 12,000 entries and 9,485 finishers in 2011.[3]

Roma-Ostia Half Marathon
A view of Via Cristoforo Colombo, where the race begins
DateMid-March
LocationRome, Italy
Event typeRoad
DistanceHalf marathon
Established1974
Course recordsMen's: 58:02 (2022)
Kenya Sabastian Sawe
Women's: 1:06:03 (2022)
Kenya Irene Kimais
Official siteRoma-Ostia Half Marathon
Participants5,695 finishers (2022)
4,534 finishers (2021)
8,458 (2019)

The competition is organised by the Gruppo Sportivo Bancari Romani in partnership with RCS Sports & Events comprises three distinct races. There is an elite level race for male and female athletes, a popular fun run for amateurs, and a "Business Run" which sees teams of runners represent domestic companies in the Campionato Italian Imprenditori di Mezza Maratona (Italian Business Championships in the Half Marathon).[4] The Roma-Ostia race has been held every year since its inception, with the exceptions of 1982 and 1999.[5]

The race was inaugurated in March 1974 and was held on a 28-kilometre course. In its first dozen editions, the Roma-Ostia ranged from a distance of 27 km to 30 km. It was converted into an official half marathon race of 21.1 km for the 1987 edition and has remained so ever since. The course has a point-to-point format and as a result it some editions have had an overall downhill drop, as well as athlete-assisting tailwinds. Due to these factors, some performances have been ineligible for personal bests or records.[5]

In 2011 the course was significantly altered, allowing for faster times and record performances.[3][6] Both the men's and women's course records were set in 2012. Philemon Kimeli Limo's time of 59:32 minutes stands as the men's course record, while Florence Kiplagat's run of 1:06:38 is the current record for females.[7]

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[8][9]

Past winners of the elite race include Stefano Baldini (the 2004 Olympic marathon champion), four-time Boston Marathon winner Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Franca Fiacconi (1998 New York Marathon winner), Olympic marathon bronze medalist Galen Rupp, 2020 Tokyo Marathon winner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, and Mediterranean champion Souad Aït Salem.[5]

Past winners

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Welshman Steve Jones was among the first foreign-born winners of the Roma-Ostia.
 
Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya won the 2002 race.
 
Nadia Ejjafini (then representing Bahrain) became Asia's first winner in 2006.

Key:   Course record   Race distance 27–30 km

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
I 1974   Umberto Risi (ITA) 1:28:54   Manuela Mausoli (ITA) 2:05:59
II 1975   Paolo Accaputo (ITA) 1:29:46   Maria Pirozzi (ITA) 2:07:23
III 1976   Alessandro Cervigni (ITA) 1:27:55   Adriana Pedaletti (ITA) 2:06:43
IV 1977   Antonio Erotavo (ITA) 1:27:42   Adriana Pedaletti (ITA) 2:05:38
V 1978   Umberto Risi (ITA) 1:31:47   Chiara Castellani (ITA) 2:07:17
VI 1979   Marco Marchei (ITA) 1:27:10   Maura Bertetto (ITA) 2:07:55
VII 1980   Marco Marchei (ITA) 1:34:01   Rossana Matrella (ITA) 2:11:46
VIII 1981   Dereje Nedi (ETH) 1:21:20   Silvana Cruciata (ITA) 1:42:06
1982 Cancelled
IX 1983   Bernard Ford (GBR) 1:24:30   Rita Marchisio (ITA) 1:38:53
X 1984   Salvatore Nicosia (ITA) 1:25:04   Silvana Cruciata (ITA) 1:40:56
XI 1985   Steve Jones (GBR) 1:26:25   Maria Curatolo (ITA) 1:43:13
XII 1986   Loris Pimazzoni (ITA) 1:34:13   Angie Pain (GBR) 1:50:13
XIII 1987   Salvatore Nicosia (ITA) 1:02:12   Silvana Cucchietti (ITA) 1:14:32
XIV 1988   El Mostafa Nechchadi (MAR) 1:04:32   Glynis Penny (GBR) 1:15:02
XV 1989   Carl Thackery (GBR) 1:02:10   Graziella Striuli (ITA) 1:14:35
XVI 1990   Carl Thackery (GBR) 1:01:44   Rakiya Maraoui (MAR) 1:14:56
XVII 1991   Juma Mnyampanda (TAN) 1:02:34   Izabela Zatorska (POL) 1:13:02
XVIII 1992   Andrew Masai (KEN) 1:02:18   Anna Villani (ITA) 1:12:12
XIX 1993   Andrew Masai (KEN) 1:02:23   Anna Villani (ITA) 1:12:34
XX 1994   Saïd Ermili (MAR) 1:02:27   Tatiana Oussacheva (RUS) 1:14:59
XXI 1995   Giovanni Ruggiero (ITA) 1:02:53   Rosanna Munerotto (ITA) 1:11:36
XXII 1996   Philemon Metto (KEN) 1:01:53   Patrizia Ritondo (ITA) 1:13:07
XXIII 1997   Stefano Baldini (ITA) 1:00:56   Rosanna Munerotto (ITA) 1:12:50
XXIV 1998   Philip Chirchir (KEN) 1:02:23   Franca Fiacconi (ITA) 1:13:19
1999 Not held
XXV 2000   Francesco Ingargiola (ITA) 1:01:19   Maura Viceconte (ITA) 1:11:07
XXVI 2001   Giuliano Battocletti (ITA) 1:02:24   Tiziana Alagia (ITA) 1:11:29
XXVII 2002   Robert Cheruiyot (KEN) 1:00:06   Gloria Marconi (ITA) 1:11:31
XXVIII 2003   Boniface Usisivu (KEN) 1:01:13   Gloria Marconi (ITA) 1:09:25
XXIX 2004   Paul Kirui (KEN) 1:00:22   Hafida Izem (MAR) 1:10:39
XXX 2005   James Kwambai (KEN) 1:00:45   Rosaria Console (ITA) 1:09:34
XXXI 2006   William Rotich (KEN) 1:00:12   Nadia Ejjafini (BHR) 1:10:43
XXXII 2007   Benson Barus (KEN) 1:00:18   Souad Aït Salem (ALG) 1:10:29
XXXIII 2008   Jonathan Kipkorir (KEN) 1:00:19   Souad Aït Salem (ALG) 1:09:15
XXXIV 2009   Elijah Keitany (KEN) 1:00:59   Anna Incerti (ITA) 1:09:24
XXXV 2010   Peter Kimeli (KEN) 1:01:51   Alice Timbilil (KEN) 1:10:34
XXXVI 2011   Tujuba Megersa (ETH) 59:58   Anna Incerti (ITA) 1:09:06
XXXVII 2012   Philemon Limo (KEN) 59:32[10]   Florence Kiplagat (KEN) 1:06:38
XXXVIII 2013   Wilson Kiprop (KEN) 59:15[11]   Flomena Cheyech (KEN) 1:07:39
XXXIX 2014   Aziz Lahbabi (MAR) 59:25[12]   Caroline Chepkwony (KEN) 1:08:48
XL 2015   Robert Chemosin (KEN) 59:37[13]   Amane Beriso (ETH) 1:08:43
XLI 2016   Solomon Yego (KEN) 58:44   Worknesh Degefa (ETH) 1:07:08
XLII 2017   Guye Adola (ETH) 59:18   Gladys Cherono (KEN) 1:07:01
XLIII 2018   Galen Rupp (USA) 59:47   Haftamnesh Tesfay (ETH) 1:09:02
XLIV 2019   Guye Adola (ETH) 1:00:17   Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (ISR) 1:06:40
2020 Cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak[8]
XLV 2021   Abdisa Tola (ETH) 59:54   Joyce Tele (KEN) 1:06:35
XLVI 2022   Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 58:02   Irene Kimais (KEN) 1:06:03
XLVII 2023   Isaac Kipkemboi (KEN) 59:17   Dorcas Tuitoek (KEN) 1:06:21
XLVIII 2024   Emmanuel Wafula (KEN) 1:01:10   Mary Ngugi (KEN) 1:07:38

Wins by country

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Country Men's Women's Total
  Italy 14 26 40
  Kenya 20 9 29
  Ethiopia 5 3 8
  Great Britain 4 2 6
  Morocco 3 2 5
  Algeria 0 2 2
  Bahrain 0 1 1
  Israel 0 1 1
  Poland 0 1 1
  Russia 0 1 1
  Tanzania 1 0 1
  United States 1 0 1

References

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  1. ^ Monti, Dave (2011-02-27). Course records fall at Maratonina Roma-Ostia. Universal Sports Retrieved on 2011-03-04.
  2. ^ Percorso 2011 (in Italian). RomaOstia. Retrieved on 2011-03-04.
  3. ^ a b Zorzi, Alberto (2010-02-28). Kimeli and Timbilil battle the winds to take Roma Ostia titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-04.
  4. ^ Business Run. RomaOstia. Retrieved on 2011-03-04.
  5. ^ a b c Civai, Franco (2011-03-01). Rome-Ostia Half Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-03-04.
  6. ^ Viola, Elena (2011-02-27). Beyu and Incerti win at Roma Ostia. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-04.
  7. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2012-02-26). Kiplagat sizzles sub-1:07 at Roma-Ostia Half. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-05-15.
  8. ^ a b "ROMAOSTIA HALF MARATHON ON SUNDAY 8th MARCH CANCELED. – Huawei RomaOstia". 4 March 2020.
  9. ^ "World Athletics Label Road Races". World Athletics. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  10. ^ Half Marathon 2012. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-05-15.
  11. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2013-03-03). Kiprop and Cheyech triumph in Roma-Ostia Half. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-04.
  12. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2014-03-02). Morocco's Aziz Lahbabi surprises with 59:25 win at the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-02.
  13. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2015-03-02). Chemosin clocks world-leading 59:37 to win Rome-Ostia Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-02.

Further reading

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