Tried it all? Run the Wall!

Location:
China

Tale of Pain

That was the slogan on the shirt you got for running a marathon on the Great Wall of China. The shirt was in the bag with the rest of my registration materials the day before the race, and when I saw it, I took it out, held it up in the air, turned to my friend and said, “Man, that is ugly.” The shirt was hideous – white and yellow, with red trim on the sleeves, big blue lettering on the front. I’ll probably never wear it in public. Even the morning of the marathon, when I caught the bus at 3 a.m. for the three-hour ride to the start of the race and threw on the shirt to keep myself warm, I thought, “Man, this shirt is ugly.”

Around Mile 13, my legs began to give out. I had just finished running to the top of an extremely steep hill when both of my calves and my left quadricep cramped up. My legs gave way and I fell to the pavement. And as I was picking myself up, my first thought was, “This isn’t good. I’m not even halfway finished.”

During the marathon, you had to run up a three-mile stretch of the Great Wall, and you had to do it twice – first at Mile 4, then again around Mile 20. Somehow, I made it back to the point where you had to run up the wall for the second time. I took one step back up the wall and both of my legs gave out and I just crumpled to the ground. The steps were brutal. With each step, it was like the energy was being sapped out of me. Eventually, I had to bend over and use my hands to help me get up the steps. I ending up crawling up the steps of the Great Wall of China. I never envisioned a scenario where I would be unable to walk up ten steps at a time, and even now, I still don't really understand it. It was just this deathly exhaustion. I would crawl up seven or eight steps, then sit down and rest. Seven steps. Then rest. For about 1,000 steps.

Some people would reach the wall for the second time and just quit. Their bodies wouldn’t let them continue.

Before that, it hadn’t been too bad. The race wasn’t held at the part of the wall closest to Beijing where the tourists go. It was about three hours north, near two small villages called Duanzhang and Chedaoyu. Parts of the race weaved through these villages, with roads lined by Chinese people and small children cheering on the 400 foreigners. Most of the runners had come as part of a tour group, a requirement for getting the entry visa into China. I had already been living in the country to teach English, so it was much easier for me to join the race. Still, there were hardly any Chinese people running the marathon. I asked one of my Chinese friends why Chinese people didn’t run marathons, and she replied, “I think Chinese people…are more reasonable.” Which made sense. While I was face down, crawling up the steps of the Great Wall of China on all fours, the whole thing did feel a little unreasonable.

Sometimes, though, when we were resting, we would stick our faces through these holes in the wall where the wind was blowing through. The Great Wall was high, and you could see the whole valley below, covered in green, like a postcard. One guy who looked like he was going to drop dead, stopped and looked out at the valley. Then he just turned to me, smiled, and said, “Amazing.”

Most people didn’t take any pictures during the marathon. It was hard enough running 26 miles without having a camera flopping around in your pocket. But I do have one picture. The second time up the wall, I stopped to rest. I looked to my left and saw the next five towers I still had to climb, screaming upwards. The wind was blowing lightly, and I looked ahead and saw the valley below, completely undisturbed, only my fellow runners around me, the Great Wall of China stretching off into the distance.

It’s the only picture I need. I see it every time I’m rummaging through my shirt drawer and see my ugly, gaudy yellow marathon shirt. I don’t ever wear the shirt, but I love to look at it.

Further Information

Travel tips: If you're coming from the United States, contact Kathy Loper Events. Almost everyone from the U.S came with her group. I didn't have to come as part of a tour group, but we spent a lot of time with Kathy's, and we had a great time.
Must see/do at this place: Smell the roses. No other part of the Great Wall of China compares to this one.
You should avoid here: Plummeting to your death. China is a little looser with safety regulations than the U.S. When you're walking on the Wall, it's "caveat emptor."
Other helpful information: I took part in the 2007 Great Wall Marathon on May 19, 2007, though the date isn't mentioned in the story.

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