Great Wall Marathon
The actual marathon was absolutely amazing. I’d heard how difficult the course was so I’d trained very hard for this event. I cannot begin to explain the exhilaration felt at the top of the Great Wall and more importantly knowing I ran the whole way up. The second half was running through very poor villages with lots of Chinese children cheering us on, practicing their English, giving us high five's and running along with us. It was just an awesome amazing experience that in my entire life I will never, ever forget. The weather was perfect not too hot and not too cold.
We spent the night in a farmer's hostel (Huangya Hostel) located close to the starting gate, the beds were hard as rock, our pillows were filled with beans, the showers freezing cold and toilets were the dreaded squatters. Between that and my nerves I got maybe 3 hours of sleep. But, it was still an experience of a lifetime!!
I did the 1/2 marathon in 3:02 hours (my goal was 3 hours, missed it by 2 min.!!!). It’s nice to be 45 and running the 1/2 marathon on the Great Wall of China!
After the race and lots of congratulatory beers, we took a 2 hour bus ride back to Beijing where we spent the night at the much needed Marriott Bejing City Wall home to down filled pillows, pillow top mattress’, hot showers and western toilets! It was nice to be home. After a good night's sleep we headed to Tiananmen Square (Gate of Heavenly Peace) and the Forbidden City. We need to go back next year and finish the Beijing sightseeing as we did not see the many of the city’s greatest historical sites.
Fun Facts &Tips
The Great Wall of China stretching approximately 5500 miles was built over 2000 years ago to protect the northern borders of China. The race takes place in Tianjin Province northeast of Beijing in a somewhat remote part of the wall in the city of Huangyaguan.
Welcome to Beijing, China
The Beijing Great Wall Marathon is an annual event held in May on the Great Wall. It’s a difficult race but at the same time rewarding in the sense you get to spend some time gazing at the amazing views on top of the Great Wall.
Six other runners (one guy is missing) and myself trained for this event during 2009 and all of us along with most of our families attended the race. One person ran the entire Marathon while others ran the half and the 10K.
Beware, if you’re interested in running this marathon, you cannot just show up at the starting gate. You must pre-register with an approved GWM travel agent and book everything through them. The agents are listed on the GWM site. They recommend arriving a couple days in advance to walk-through the course and do some sightseeing but since we lived in China and could not take the extra time, we opted out of this. It saved us a couple bucks and as it turned out, was not necessary. Also, make sure you go with an open mind and a sense of adventure. Staying in Huangyaguan was in itself a great adventure! See Below.
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Hostel - If you look closely you'll see Scott saying "are you kidding me!!"