It has been said that “All roads lead to Rome,” and this spring, they led LVRR member and First Strides mentor, Nahla Hanna (59), to one of the most memorable races of her life.
On March 22, 2026, Nahla completed a goal she never expected to chase: her 14th marathon, this time alongside her daughter, Samantha Hanna (34), on the cobblestone streets of the Eternal City at The 2026 Acea Run Rome The Marathon.
Nahla began her running journey with First Strides in 2000, when she “couldn’t run a block” and has been involved with this organization for the last 26 years! Her passion for running stemmed from “the sense of well-being” it gave her. She said that “with running, everything changed for me,” and it brought her ongoing joy to show others that they too deserved to feel that same type of happiness. “Training people to do a 5k is amazing.”
While a mother of three, Nahla always made it a priority to lead by example and remind her kids that movement is truly medicine. As kids, she always brought them along for the ride, peddling swiftly on their bikes to keep up.
Prior to Rome, and through years of training and pure grit, she achieved a personal record of 13 full marathons including: New York City, Marine Corps, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. In addition, she completed 16 half marathons and hundreds of other local races.
With her last long distance race being a half marathon in 2020, she had not trained for a longer race in awhile.
Despite this, Nahla had always had a personal goal to run a half and full marathon with any of her kids. Having completed a half marathon with her daughter, Samantha, in 2013, there was still one long standing goal left unchecked. However, that all changed last fall.
Her daughter Samantha had returned from a trip to Rome and decided that she wanted to return to running after a 10+ year hiatus when she focused on strength training. She still had “run a marathon with and for Mom” on her life list, so last October she took a leap and signed them both up for a race of a lifetime.
As part of their marathon training, they completed the Carlsbad Half Marathon on Jan 18, 2026. Nahla was feeling pretty good about the upcoming Rome Marathon until she received an email three days before their flight letting runners know of strict time checkpoints being enforced. With a fear of potentially being removed from the course, Nahla almost decided to skip the race because she wasn’t sure if she would be able to meet that pace.
“When in Rome” she thought – and before she knew it she and her daughter found themselves at the starting line near the Colosseum that Sunday morning.
The day was about 50 degrees and overcast, and it drizzled a few times during the race. Nahla and her daughter stayed warm, wrapped in Delta Airline blankets, that the airline had kindly given them, while anxiously waiting for the race to begin. Nahla noticed pacers and would listen to see if any of them spoke English. “These fabulous volunteers have bright colored balloons, so they are hard to miss!” To Nahla’s surprise, she had an opportunity to meet one of these lovely volunteer pacers and made an unexpected friend, Susan Iuliano, around mile four. Susan had traveled all the way from New Jersey, and was a part of The 2026 Acea Run Rome The Marathon Pacing Team.
Nahla had found herself in a group being paced by Susan, who was doing the 30 second walk / 30 second run strategy pioneered by Jeff Galloway. Susan had been officially trained in this method and she has used it in many of the 130+ Half Marathons she has done. She encouragingly boomed “3-2-1 walk” and “3-2-1 run” every 30 seconds while also managing to connect with the runners who joined her. Susan lives in New Jersey, but is Italian and acted as a tour guide throughout the city. Nahla said they talked the whole time and the miles felt great.
Along the way, they saw so many of the beautiful sights throughout Rome — including but not limited to: The Spanish Steps, Piazza Venezia, The Pantheon, The Vatican, Piramide Cestia, and so much more! They timed it just right and managed a quick photo at St Peter’s Basicilla.
The race ended at Circo Massimo, the famous chariot arena a short distance from the Colosseum.
The event had a bell at the end for first-time marathoners and for those who achieved a personal best. Nahla was thrilled to watch her daughter ring it to share her achievement! Nahla said the next few days in Rome she saw runners with their medals and it was such a feeling of camaraderie. Ancient gladiators would be amazed and mystified by the running shoes, smart watches and other items of modern runners, but would nod with respect at the accomplishment of #RunningLikeA Gladiator.
Run Rome The Marathon also accomplished an incredible achievement, winning The Guinness World Record for the most pacers in a marathon, thanks to the tremendous work of amazing pacers like Susan Iuliano.
Nahla had a great time running with Susan and they exchanged contact information and kept in touch once the two returned home. Thanks to Susan, Nahla went into this race with little confidence but finished it without even feeling sore.
A few weeks ago, Susan reached out to see if Nahla had any upcoming races and they decided to do the St Luke’s Half Marathon together on April 26, 2026. They had a great run and chatted the entire distance (between 3-2-1-walk & 3-2-1-run!). They have already made plans to run the Breast Cancer 5k together in October and hopefully Susan will join First Strides sometime this summer to share her experiences.
Congratulations to Nahla and Samantha for this amazing mother-daughter experience. Congratulations to Susan for completing an amazing marathon.
Where will your running shoes take you next?
