Our original intention had been to compete in Venice 2013 but with it being cancelled for this year we opted for Rome – especially as Mike Edwards who we knew from RAFO was one of the main organisers/planners.
Philip Cooper (and his two daughters) were also interested in going – so they booked a flat near the main railway terminus (Terminii) in Rome for all of us.
We arrived in Rome on Thursday to 25c – shirt sleeve job – lovely and that was to stay the same all weekend (at night never below 15c). The out for a meal nearby, then wait for Philip and Helen to arrive just before midnight.
Friday was visit the local CONRAD supermarket (100 yards away) and buy some food for the day. Then a slow walk via various sites such as Tivoli Fountain and Spanish Steps to end up at Villa Borghese for a mass start urban event. As it was a public holiday the whole area was heaving with people. We had a quick look round the model event area before meeting up with the other Brits (132 in all). Lynn, Philip and I had mass starts just after 4pm – so we ran in daylight – just. Fast and furious would be a polite word for the races but great fun with several butterfly legs. We also had lots of holidaymakers and cyclists to avoid. Helen and Simon ran about an hour later and they were in the dark – again very fast and furious. Helen had the best result of the day from our group coming 2nd in her class. Then a walk across Rome and back to the flat, shower and out for an evening meal.
Saturday started with a visit to CONRAD again and then a walk to Terminii to catch the coach to Villa Ada for a cross country event. Very different sort of area from the previous day with quite a lot of climb and sections of very dark green that were to be avoided. Unusually it was a 1:5000 map – amazing what you can do with such a small area. Again Helen came up trumps and was 2nd. Then a coach trip back to Terminii and out later for a nice evening meal.
Sunday was catch the metro from downstairs (about 100 metres) to Colosseo (Colosseum) and into assembly at a nearby school. As it was well before 9am I went for a short walk and took some photos of the Colosseum and Roman Forum while it was quiet. The race was fantastic and in and out of all the famous sites and ruins in the vicinity with a finish overlooking the Colosseum. The whole area was heaving with people. Helen came 1st in her race and I was 2nd. So we ended up staying for prize giving and watching Helen get her prizes for being 1st over the 3 days. We also had a number of Brits who has also finished up in the first three places overall – so took quite a few photos. Then it was a walk round the area looking at the various Roman remains (and taking photos) before we ran out of energy and caught the metro back to the flat. Then out for a nice meal again.
Monday morning was a walk to see the Pantheon. We had intended to catch the metro but needed some cash and every bank machine we went to was out of cash – the joke from all the locals was the Rome had run out of money!! Despite this we had a good walk before ending back at the flat, collecting our gear and having a nice coffee and cake in a restaurant before catching the train at Terminii back to the airport.
Then we got back to Gatwick and walked out to 4.5c – freezing!
All in all it was a fantastic long weekend and one that we would thoroughly recommend.
Chris Branford