Interested in the Great Wall of China marathon? Find out what to expect at this special event on the Great Wall. Read on for the facts & information…
A marathon is not what Qin Shi Huang had in mind when he initiated the project of building the Great Wall of China. The wall was built solely for defense purposes. With the threat of the nomadic tribes no longer existent the Great Wall of China has now become a major tourist attraction where a number of different activities take place and amongst them is the marathon.
As a marathon course the Great Wall of China is bound to give even the best of runners a run for their money. Having said this it is not impossible to run the entire course of the great wall. You need to be highly determined and extremely well prepared if you want to take part in the upcoming Great Wall of China Marathon.
The course
The Great Wall marathon course has been divided into two different sections. The first section stretches for a length of 9 km. You will be making your journey up and across the great wall. A number of steep ascensions and descents line up this section of the marathon. The runners will be forced to take on thousands of steps as they make their way through this section of the marathon course. Slow and steady is the way to go through this stage of the race.
A point to be remembered here is that the Great Wall marathon consists of two kinds of marathon runners; full runners and half runners. Those participating in the marathon as full runners will have to make their way through this part of the course twice whereas the half runners will only have to cross it once.
Stage two of the course
This entire section will take you through the picturesque surrounding territory consisting of rice fields and old school villages. The length of the course is predominantly flat with a gravel surface to run upon. This is the section in which you can make a dash for it. You do need to save up some energy for an extremely long ascent that comes in at a time when your body is bound to be taxed after covering a huge distance of the wall.
What to expect along the way
If you get thirsty along the way then you can make a stop over at one of the many drink stations situated at a distance of every five km. Some select drink stations will be offering bananas and electrolyte drinks to revitalize the runners. Participants can prearrange for nutritional foods to be placed on certain locations.
In case of any medical emergency a team of doctors and health officials will be at standby throughout the duration of the marathon. They also carry the authority to eliminate any participant they deem physically unfit to continue.
Expect lots of sun and heat along the duration of the course. Therefore you should come prepared with proper shades and a hat that will protect you from the scorching heat of the sun.
