The Rome Marathon preparation presented a rather different challenge to me: getting the medical certificate which should prove that I am fit to run a marathon. (The fact that just ten days ago I had successfully completed one does not seem to prove anything.) I had been there before in 2013 when I did Florence and Pisa, which also required this certificate (it comes down to an Italian law from 1982 after all) and while it had been a sort of an annoyance, it had turned out to be rather straight forward to arrange. Not so this year.
Drawing from my 2013 experience I rocked up at my GP, who was French and kind of familiar with issuing these certificates. The French have a similar law. The checks took 5 minutes. Two minutes later I was out of there, with a stamped and signed paper. Off it went to the the organisers to confirm my successful registration for the race. Only that they did not. Apparently I had the outdated form from last year, which could not be accepted anymore. The new form required ECG, lung test and urine analysis not older than 30 days. So I went back to my French doctor who was surprised by this level of detail required, same as me. £260 was the price tag to get this done. UK prices. I wrote to the organisers and asked if there is another way. And there was: for foreign runners who have difficulties to get these examinations they offer to get it done in Rome prior to the marathon for €70.
Alternatively a proof of membership of an British Athletes affiliated running club would make the need for a certificate obsolete. So I investigated this route. Unfortunately these British memberships seem to have a fixed start day, always running from 1st April to 31 of March. So how do I ensure that when I sign up for a running club end of February, that by 2nd of April (the date of the Rome Marathon) I have a proof of a valid membership for the new and not only for the old period. None of the three different running clubs that I approached could or wanted to answer this question. (Edited: Now I know, there are inexpensive online running clubs like the one from UK Run Chat. You only pay a small fee per year for England Athletics membership and that’s it. But depending on how quickly you need this, you might need to consider some time for the admin stuff.)
So I ended up organising a medical appointment in Rome. The time window for applying had long been closed, but here the Rome organisers were rather flexible and I did get a slot. But there was one condition: I still needed to bring a full urine analysis for the appointment, written in English not older than 30 days. I just had got a whole health screen done, with urine, blood and you name it analysis, but unfortunately that was 45 days ago.
So I went to my GP the third time, peed into a cup the second time within 45 days, paid £26 and got an email a few days later with access to the online portal where I could download and print out the result. Which I did. But the print out looked worryingly informal and my concerns were growing that it might be rejected based on missing formal stamps and/or signatures. An email to the organisers to double check this was not answered. So on the last day I went to my GP a fourth time asked for a stamped and signed copy, which they were happy to do, but I had to come back later. Finally on my 5th visit, when I collected it, I felt I had everything in place to start the journey to Rome. Which turned out to be right.
After I managed to locate my contact in Rome just in time, who would bring me to the medical practice where the EGC and lung test was performed, I got the clearance from a smiling Italian doctor: “Good news”. When I finally was the proud holder of my start number (12 thousand something, which shows how last minute I got the clearance), I felt like a finisher already: running the whole thing now can’t be more difficult than getting this stupid paperwork sorted. And I got an explanation why it is so different this year: the Italian Athletics Federation came up with these great ideas just recently. So if you want to run marathons in Italy, better be prepared.
That is entirely ridiculous!
Well, the Italian GP was surprised that the Germans are not having anything like it and let people just run marathons and potentially into their doom… I did not comment 😉
Italian’s are so wonderful. The Romans taught us how to do most things for example measurement, time, money, parliament etc. Well done Roy with not giving up with your running. You are a very strong person.
Hi Gel, so lovely to see you here on my humble blog 🙂 Thanks for your encouragement!
[…] The idea is to prevent accidental deaths during sport events. That is of course a most welcome effort, but it doesn’t change the fact that getting a medical appointment requires a lot of time and that the medical check is in itself a torture. I am not the only one loathing this practice, as you can read here. […]
Hi Roy
I’ve come across your blog as I’m
Looking to run in Italy, but like you I’m finding the costs of getting these tests me in the UK far too expensive. I’ve made tentative enquiries about getting these done in Italy but I’m struggling. Are you able to guide me with some further info with regards to this
I look forward to your response
Krishan
Hi Krishan, thanks for your comment. I think a good workaround is to join a UK running club that is British Athletics or England Athletics affiliated. There are inexpensive online running clubs like the one from UK Run Chat (https://www.ukrunchat.co.uk/ukrunchat/running-clubs/). You only pay the £13 per year for England Athletics membership and that’s it. But depending on how quickly you need this, you might need to consider some time for the admin stuff. Also keep in mind the membership for England Athletics is fix from 1 April to 31 March, which is worth to consider when you need it for the Rome Marathon that is the first weekend of April. Some companies or unis have affiliated running clubs, so that might also be an option. And if you want to go down the medical certificate route, try to google especially for GPs in London/UK that offer that. I only found out afterwards, that some have specific offers for this medical certificate for a cheaper (yet still relatively expensive) fee. I did get my certificate in Italy for the Rome 2017 marathon, but that was something the organiser offered and I felt lucky that it had somehow worked out. I think getting this organised yourself without local knowledge or help might be quite tricky. I am happy to help if you have further questions! Which race are you thinking about running? All the best, Roy
Hi Roy
Thank you for getting back to me, much appreciated.
Having looked at the options, joining a running club would be the most viable option. The half marathon I’m looking to do is September, http://www.romahalfmarathon.org
I’ve run 13 half marathons to date, one in Paris and once in Madrid, but trying to organise these tests for Italy is proving to be more complicated then I initally thought.
I have done some research into the private GP’s in London but for a certificate that’s valid for a year, it’s a cost that’s not really an option for me. I have contacted the organisers To try and arrange something when I get there but don’t think this is a wise choice.
I will look into the link you provided for the running club over the next couple of days. Hopefully I can get this sorted ASAP!
Thank you for getting back to me, I’ve been really struggling with this
Regards
Krishan
Hi i am doing Rome marathon 2020 i have a medical certificate you are right expensive but can not send ot to them any ideas 💡
Hi Tom, why can you not send it to them? They changed the rules for international runners. It reads to me that if your are a non competitive international runner (not Italian) you don’t need a certificate, but that means you can’t start by your estimated time (but at the end of the race) and your time won’t come up in a leaders board (only next to your name). Not sure if that’s an option for you.
Oh and I found this, maybe it helps: https://www.runromethemarathon.com/en/2019/11/26/running-in-italy-you-dont-need-a-medical-certificate/
Hi Roy Well done you are still running. Keep it up while you are fit and healthy. Gel x
Hi Gel! Thank you so much for your encouragement. Unfortunately I stopped running, when in April I had my first marathon that I did not manage finish. My first ugly DNF (did not finish) in my marathon record. But I just do some walking and more cycling now. x
Hi Roy, Sorry to hear that you are no longer running as you used to enjoy it. Our lives have had a big change as John can no longer drive his eyes not so good. So now we have to rely on taxi and bus. Just have to adjust. I enjoy watching your runs as it’s great to see places I haven’t visited. Gel x
Hi Gel! Sorry, somehow never came to respond to you kind answer! Sorry to hear that John can‘t drive anymore, that’s a big change that needs some time to adjust I reckon? So nice to hear you are enjoying the blog post. I sometimes scroll through it myself, and go down memory lane! I cautiously started running again, so maybe one day there will be new marathon post. xx
Hi Roy, Thank you for sending me your latest news. Quite a lot new rules to go by. I watched the London Marathon. It has really increased in size. Luckily the weather was perfect and even though there was a train strike they runners and supporters managed to get to London. This area is very familiar to me as this is where I come from. Lovely to watch. Love Gel