Great Wall Marathon

Great Wall Marathon China – Greg Hall

Race Date: May 21st Results: 2016

It's an early start up at 2.30 am to meet in hotel lobby at 3.20 am to start the journey to yin & yang square the race start. One subject that needs to be discussed is toilets, if you have a routine you follow before you get to a race then I strongly advise you stick to it, the toilets in China are very unhygienic to say the least with most toilets being squat toilets and some without cubicles, take some hand sanitizer and toilet paper with you as well. Preparations haven't been ideal leading up to race day, as part of the race briefing held two days prior to the race we had a 3.5km walk on the wall which included around 2500 stairs, my calves are absolutely smashed particularly the left one.

The briefing and the walk on the wall is such a great opportunity to get a 1st look at what you will be in for and also the opportunity to take all your photos etc before race day.

It's going to be a warm day with 30% expected.

I'm starting from wave 4 at 8am and hoping to be able to get up the front of the wave. The 1st km is flat followed by approx 4 km uphill and approx 500 mts elevation before we reach the entrance to the wall.

The atmosphere in the square was electric and after arriving at approx 6am it was time for the 1st wave to go at 7.30 am, they were on time so it was a nervous wait as I was in wave 4 - 30 mins after wave 1.

Finally after what seemed an eternity I was off. Firstly going along the flat outside the square for approx 1 km then we started the climb up the road to the wall entrance I had heard earlier the day before that the best way to approach this section was to power walk the climb up to the wall saving energy for the actual wall well I did this and I'm so glad I did - it climbed for approx 4km with an elevation gain of approx 500 mts. I was very glad to see the top of that hill. I was feeling strong at this point.

The next challenge now was to do the next 3.5km over the wall with approx 2500 stairs thrown in. I decided that I would walk up the stairs not that I could run them anyway and try to pick up the time on the down hill stairs. I had set an approx time to get that initial 8.5km done in 2 hrs and I think I managed it in 1hr 45min so I was feeling good that I was ahead of schedule.

I was constantly trying to work out times to ensure I got to the 34k mark before the cut-off which was 2pm.

Running down the side of the wall known as the goat track and back through the square was something special at that early stage, the buzz from everyone starting was still evident and it gave me the boost I needed after coming of the wall.

I didn't realize until I came through the square and out onto the road how hot it was,the predicted temperature was for approx 28-30 degrees but it felt more like 34 so I needed to ensure I just kept hydrated all the time. I wore my vest and had my tailwind 1.5lts with me. The organizers had said that water would be plentiful over the course.

Now I just needed to settle into a good rhythm and get the next 26km under my belt and make sure I got back to the square within the 6 hr cut-off.

I caught up with Mel (my awesome running buddy) at approx 14km mark. I was feeling good and comfortable at this point.

When looking at the elevation map before the race it seemed that there was a climb to contend with over the next 20km or so but I certainly underestimated how hard this climb actually was. I felt on reflection after the race that this was the hardest part both physically and mentally, it started to climb up at approx the 16km mark and continued for another 10 or so k's with approx 400 mts of elevation on bitumen & concrete. A big part of this was walked & I must thank Mel who by the way walks like a machine,for pulling me along, at some areas in the race Mel was walking that fast I had to run next to her to keep up. Physically I was doing ok but found it mentally challenging as it just seemed like it was never going to end in fact at about the 28-30km mark I found myself looking forward to climbing back up and over the wall. I started to notice at approx 28km I was getting some rubbing just below the ankle on both feet but more so on the right, I'm not sure why, I had never experienced it before on any of my training runs. Each time my foot landed my shoe rubbed on my ankle & made it extremely uncomfortable for the rest of the race.

Running/ walking through some of the villages was such a rewarding experience the streets were lined with people all along the route young children, teenagers, adults, very old people it was just brilliant and high fives were encouraged and expected by the children. We had actually bought some small kangaroos and koalas which we handed out to some of the kids on our way through the villages.
Well i managed to get through the 20 or so k's and was looking forward to climbing back over the wall. It was a tough slog coming along the road back towards the square it is dead flat & very hot, dirty, car fumes and traffic everywhere. At this point I would like to thank Weston Doley & Simon Gulliver for running out to see if we were ok. We made it with 20 or so mins to spare till cut-off which we were extremely pleased about, at times,although we continued to do the mental calculations along the way we seriously doubted whether we would make it back to the square in time.

As I said we made it and now had 2hrs 20mins to do 8.5km to finish the only thing in our way was a solid climb up the what's famously called the goat track and another 2,500 steps and approx 500mts elevation. Well out of the square we go with a bounce in our step after the cheers and support from the crowd. Approx 500-600 metres then the pain starts this was going to be tough. Up we go and Mel as she does just takes off like a jack rabbit up the stairs and leaves me in her dust but that's ok we really needed to concentrate on our own thing at this time. About half way up I was really feeling the strain along with the heat, estimates of temperature would be somewhere between 32-35%. I had run out of tailwind a while ago and just started to feel a bit sick, I didn't want to be sick but needed to see if I would feel better so I let it go over the side of the rail the only problem was that one of the medics and there were plenty on this part of the course saw me being sick and wanted to pull me off the course well after some negotiations I told them that there is no way I would be coming this far and not finish. They told me if they saw me being sick again the race would be over for me. Luckily enough the bit I did bring up was enough to help me feel better and give me a second wind so it was up and over the top. This climb really hurt there is no way to describe how my body was feeling or how tough this section was, at every aid station I would grab 2 bottles of water one I would drink and one I poured over my head another 2 went in my vest pockets for between this station and the next I figured this was the only way to keep strong continually drinking and pour it over my head.

It was a gruelling 40 mins up and over the wall for the last time before the run down to the square and the finish. I remember taking a few moments at the end of the wall just to soak it all in again and reflect about what I had just achieved. It was then down the last 4-5k's to the finish, I wanted to finish strong so decided to run all the way back, I was feeling good particularly knowing that I was going to make it with a bit of time to spare. While running down the hill an English fella who worked in Dubai tagged on to me and we had a great chat about what running means to us & families, that was just a sample of the camaraderie on the day,everyone one was so helpful and willing to chat. Well we ran down that hill to the road feeling every bit a champion, leading up to the square he let me go on alone to run into the square.

When I ran into the square with 30 mins to spare I felt like an Olympian the crowd was yelling the high fives were along the finish chute and it was a really emotional time as I reflected again on what I have achieved since I started running and to finish this marathon billed as one of the toughest in the world-and then to have that medal placed around my neck was so very emotional and special.

My tip to anyone reading this would be:

If you get the opportunity to do this marathon do it you will not regret it.
Do as much stair training as you can over and over again.
Practice your walking technique you will need it in parts of this race.
Hydrate really well before the race China is very hot at this time of the year and this race drains you very quickly.
If you go with a company like we did don't do a tour the day before the marathon we must have walked around in the sun for 5-6 hrs, not the ideal preparation.

This would be one of the best organized races I have ever been in also one of the toughest things I have ever done there was plenty of volunteers along the route with lots of water, gels etc. and lots of encouragement as we went from aid station to aid station.

I would like to make special mention to my running buddy and great friend Melanie Pullin for allowing me to tag along on the race she has had on her wish list for years.

I would to thank my children and all other family members for there wonderful continued support and encouragement throughout the whole journey.

Lastly to my wonderful wife Sue for firstly agreeing that i could go on this amazing journey and supporting me all through the training for months prior to the race.

What next - I'm going to have a week or so off with no running at all and eat a bit as well. Then it's time to start again for my next adventure the Blackall 100 in October.