The 14th Rome Marathon will attract some 15,00 runners from 76 nations when it is staged here on Palm Sunday, March 16.
The slogan for this year's run is 'We can beat all discrimination'. Of the over 14,500 runners registered so far about 8,000 are Italian and the rest foreigners, making the Rome Marathon the sports event with the highest participation in Italy.
The 42km race will follow the same itinerary as last year, starting and ending, as always, at the Colosseum.
There will also again be a 4km 'Fun Run' for non-professionals which could attract as many as 50,000 people of all ages.
The official marathon will start from the Colosseum at 9am and the ''Fun Run'' will begin 20 minutes later.
There will be a time limit of eight hours to allow those who intend to walk the full course ample time to enjoy their stroll through the Eternal City.
The Rome Marathon will again offer a category for people with disabilities and for the first time there will be an official event for power walkers: Roma Fitwalking.
