Rome is a historic city where the ancient meets the modern and the past meets the future, and exploring Rome on foot is a wonderful way to appreciate all of its intricacies. But, while the city is very walkable, running here can be a struggle. Between braking for traffic and weaving through tourists on crowded, narrow sidewalks, Roman running often involves lots of stopping and intentional thought that can distract from fully enjoying the run and the city’s awe-inspiring views. What I have found to be the answer to these struggles is Rome’s Lungotevere, a 35km paved bike path which neighbors the Tiber River, located below the level of the city itself.
I’ve been fortunate that the path is a 1mi from my apartment, and runs along the river are such a peaceful, wonderful way to start my mornings! The cons are that parts of and entrances to the Lungotevere are sometimes blocked off by construction. Thus, situations where you have to either turn around or run around the blocked-off section up at the busy street level are not entirely rare, and you might have to run longer down crowded sidewalks until you come across a usable entrance to access the Lungotevere. Another con is that less can be seen from the river. You’ll see the historic bridges and neighboring structures like the Ara Pacis museum and the Mausoleum of Hadrian, but one’s view is otherwise pretty limited.
Apart from the Lungotevere, I’ve attempted two other routes with varying levels of success. I have run up Monte Mario, a nearby mountain twice. It’s been a nice change of scenery and there’s a stunning view from the top, although the route is pretty much a straight shot up the mountain before reaching a circular path on the top. The first time I attempted this run, it was also a very foggy morning and I couldn’t see the city down below. The other route I attempted was to a park along the Tiber River which was supposed to have walking and running trails. I braved the crowds just to be told I couldn’t enter and ended up returning to the Lungotevere in defeat.
Another new feature of Rome for me as a runner has been the cobblestone streets. Depending on the size of the cobblestones, these require focus and aren’t best suited for speedwork but are still suitable for easy running. Saturday, I visited the Appian Way, a famous cobblestone road dating back to antiquity. Along the road there are monuments and buildings from the classical period and the Middle Ages, and just walking down the road itself is an amazing experience. In addition, the road typically has very limited motor-vehicle traffic, making it very pedestrian-friendly. Despite the cobblestones, which can be large at places, I think this road would be wonderful to run at–my only problem is that it would take me an hour to get there, making running at the Appian Way very time-consuming and therefore less than ideal for regular runs. This has been a common experience, that there are routes I would love to run but which are too far away to be a reasonable option regularly.