Roma Ostia was born on March 31, 1974, at the time the distance to be covered was 28 kilometers, and the athletes ranked 313!

Today, now in its thirty-seventh edition, it is one of the longest-running races on our peninsula, and is the most attended by Italian athletes. The distance is the classic one of the half marathon (Km 21,097) and the path, mostly flat and very fast, has made it a race loved by runners, who often here, along the road that leads from the capital to the sea, have made their personal record.

[pullquote right] An infinite list of names and faces have contributed to making the history of Rome Ostia. [/ pullquote] From Umberto Risi, winner of the first edition, to Marco Marchei (who triumphed in the 1979 and 1980 edition ) from Steve Jones in 1985 Marathon world record holder to Robert Cheruyot who holds the race record with 60.06; and finally the reigning Olympic champion Stefano Baldini, winner in the 1997 edition and third place last year, six months before the splendid triumph in Athens, behind Paul Kirui, the recent half marathon world champion in New Delhi. Among women, the race record is by Gloria Marconi with her 69.27 obtained in the 2003 edition.
But the authentic soul of Roma Ostia has always throbbed in the hearts of amateurs. With its more than 10,000 members and 8,000 classified in this year’s edition, it represents the absolute competition most attended by the athletes of our peninsula.

In the book you will find memories related to thirty editions of Rome-Ostia, to many characters, places and events that animated the world of Roman athletics and not in this period.
The text rattles off with results and records of this or that athlete, whether it is a top runner or a common enthusiast; it speaks of the birth and death of many sporting events, of the triumphs and defeats of many illustrious personalities, but above all it provides a passionate vision of what has been experienced by the author in the last thirty years: pride, anger, joy, discouragement, emotion.

Download the book in pdf format

Look at the photogallery and retrace 32 years of Rome Ostia