A 15th-century hospital becomes a refuge for runners of the Rome Marathon

Over the course of the Rome marathon weekend 2026, the Renaissance complex of the Corsie  Sistine in Borgo Santo Spirito, along the Tiber, was temporarily reimagined as a Run House dedicated to wellbeing and running culture. Originally built in 1478 under Pope Sixtus IV as one of the first public hospitals in Europe, the two halls were brought back—through New Balance’s intervention—closer to their original function of care, albeit with a degree of creative freedom and a clear sense of staging.. 

For three days, across the 120-meter-long frescoed nave, the 15th-century architecture hosted a hybrid program that combined a recovery center for body and mind with a cultural platform, offering immersive experiences, workshops, and community runs. The division into two main areas — Sala Lancisi and Sala Baglivi — allowed for the construction of two distinct “dimensions”: one almost contemplative, dedicated to meditation, sound baths, and breathwork; the other focused on post-marathon physical recovery. In between, a quasi-installative sequence of treatment beds, treadmills, and the brand’s latest products.

The program ran from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22. On Saturday morning, breathwork sessions aimed at race preparation were held alongside a community run with Souplesse through some of the city’s most iconic landmarks. In the afternoon, a special live episode of the Common Grounds podcast was recorded following a women-focused 5K run, paired with a workshop and the opportunity to test the new FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5. The culmination came on Sunday, when the space shifted into a post-race decompression zone: a collective ritual of refreshment, music, and physical release, bringing the weekend’s cycle to a close.

The involvement of local communities, including Souplesse and Slipmode, shaped a program alternating between collective and individual moments, contributing to the reactivation of the Corsie Sistine as a heritage site capable of accommodating contemporary uses without losing its identity.