Great Wall Marathon

The Great Wall Marathon is an annual marathon race, traditionally held on the third Saturday of May[1] along and on the Huangyaguan or Huangya Pass (simplified Chinese: 黄崖关; traditional Chinese: 黃崖關; pinyin: Huángyáguān; lit. 'Yellow Cliff Pass'), Tianjin section of the Great Wall of China, East of Beijing.[2][3] Since it first started in 1999, the race has grown to several hundred participants. A locally organized event offering a full selection of runs including a full marathon (42.2k), half marathon (21.1k), 10k, and 5k distances. Aside from the main marathon, a half marathon, 10 km and 5 km runs were also held until 2012. 2013 marked the debut of an 8.5 km "fun run", replacing the 5 and 10 km distances. The course is much tougher than traditional marathons with participants challenged by 5,164 stone steps and many steep ascents and descents.[4]

Great Wall Marathon
DateMay
LocationHuangya Pass, Great Wall of China, China
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon, Half marathon
Established1999
OrganizerAlbatros Adventure Marathons
Course recordsMen's: 3:09:18 (2013)
United States Jorge Maravilla
Women's: 3:32:12 (2013)
Italy Silvia Serafini
Official siteGreat Wall Marathon
Participants645 (2019)

The first and longest running international marathon whose course is entirely on the Great Wall of China. The course traverses through the Simatai (simplified Chinese: 司马台; traditional Chinese: 司馬臺; pinyin: Sīmǎtái), a section of the Great Wall of China located in the north of Miyun District, 120 km northeast of Beijing, and Jinshanling (simplified Chinese: 金山岭; traditional Chinese: 金山嶺; pinyin: Jīnshānlǐng), a section of the Great Wall of China located in the mountainous area in Luanping County, 125 km northeast of Beijing.

Running conditions

Considered as one of the most challenging adventure marathons due to the extreme course conditions. Containing more than 20,000 unrelenting stone steps, many vary in height from a few centimeters to over 40 cm in height, with many of the original sections little more than rubble, and no less than 30 km of running experience on one of the oldest and most recognizable structures in the world.

Although a small portion of the Great Wall on the course has been restored, much of the Great Wall is still in its original state and in ruins. Runners will encounter loose stones, gravel, missing steps, and crumbling walls along with sections taken over by nature with trees and plant life. Runners must use extreme caution as there are sections of the race course where you must exit the Great Wall and run on the trail alongside the wall to avoid extreme hazards. Runners should be physically fit and in shape as this marathon can be extremely strenuous. Each section of the course will offer different challenges. It is suggested to train to help condition your body to prepare for the race.

Course elevation

The Great Wall of China Marathon course varies in height by around 200m (about 650 feet) between the start line and the highest point at East Tower 20. Stone guard towers are spread along the length of the wall, each some 200m to 300m apart. Stone steps and walkways, following the up and down contours of the ground, connect the towers.

The effect this creates for runners is similar to interval training, with an effort required to climb up, followed by a recovery period coming down. Regular training on steps as part of your preparations for the Great Wall is highly recommended.

Time limits

There is a 10-hour time limit for all races, start time is approximately 6:00 AM with a 4:00 PM cut-off time. Participants must maintain a pace faster than the course time limits in order to complete the race.

Winners

Key:   Course record

Edition Year Men's winner Time (h:m:s) Women's winner Time (h:m:s)
1st 1999  Niels-Magnus Jensen (DEN) 3:16:55  Kersti Jacobsen (DEN) V
2nd 2000  Martin-Grønhol Steinbach (DEN) 4:11:29  Ingelise Jensen (DEN) 5:22:30
3rd 2001  Zi Jixiang (CHN) 3:50:24  Jill Westenra (NZL) 4:06:07
4th 2002  Zi Jixiang (CHN) 3:41:30  Lisbeth Nielsen (DEN) 4:12:42
– 2003 Was not held
5th 2004  Josef Miesracher (AUT) 3:38:35  Sarah Cook (GBR) 4:26:03
6th 2005  Gregory Feucht (USA) 3:25:13  Jennifer Burtner (USA) 4:30:57
7th 2006  David Ardern (GBR) 3:38:07  Margaret Stewart (NZL) 4:16:58
8th 2007  Salvador Calvo (ESP) 3:23:10  Sara Winter (NZL) 3:50:21
9th 2008  Romualdo Sánchez (MEX) 3:18:48  Leanne Juul (RSA) 4:09:10
10th 2009  Justin Walker (USA) 3:40:54  Joanna Gosse (NZL) 4:03:23
11th 2010  Qiang Tong (HKG) 3:24:44  Inez-Anne Haagen (NED) 3:56:38
12th 2011  Yun Yanqiao (CHN) 3:18:48  Mari Kauri (FIN) 4:11:19
13th 2012  Luis Alonso (ESP) 3:39:28  Mari Kauri (FIN) 4:10:43
14th 2013  Jorge Maravilla (USA) 3:09:18  Silvia Serafini (ITA) 3:32:12
15th 2014  Ernesto Ciravegna] (ITA) 3:33:56  Sofia García (ESP) 3:57:25
16th 2015  Jason Shen (CHN) 3:41:40  Eleanor Fuqua (USA) 4:18:35
17th 2016  Jason Shen (CHN) 3:30:49  Hannah Muir-Hutchinson (CAN) 4:25:35
18th 2017  Marcin Świerc (POL) 3:14:34  Sofie Nelsson (SWE) 4:11:21
19th 2018  Oscar Perego (ITA) 3:51:12  Olga Baranova (RUS) 4:28:59
20th 2019  Douglas Wilson (AUS) 3:25:25  Kali Cavey (USA) 4:12:27
2020 cancelled
2021 cancelled
2022 cancelled

Previous editions

2003

2003, Albatros Adventure Marathons cancel The Great Wall Marathon due to the SARS epidemic.

2007

The winner was Salvador Calvo, whose time of 3:23:10 broke the previous course record by four minutes.

2008

Saturday May 17, 2008: Again, the previous race record was broken, this time by Great Wall Marathon first-timer Romualdo Sanchez Garita from Mexico. His finish time was 3:18:48. The fastest woman in the field was South African Leanne Juul, who finished in 4:09:10.

2009

Saturday May 16, 2009: There were 1,363 runners in the four distances. More than 40 countries were represented.

2010

Saturday May 15, 2010: A record number of 1,748 participants from around the world ran the four distances.

2011

Saturday May 21, 2011

2012

Saturday May 18, 2012

2013

Saturday May 18, 2013: The fastest runners in the marathon were:

Jorge Maravilla (USA), Dimitris Theodorakakos (Greece) and Jonathan Wyatt (New Zealand) who crossed the finish line together in record time, 3:09:18
Silvia Serafini, Italy, 3:32:12 (a new women's record)

The half-marathon was won by Geoffrey de Bilderling with a time of 1 hour 38 minutes 56 seconds.

2014

Saturday May 17, 2014

2015

The 2015 race was held on Saturday, 16 May.

2019

The 2019 race was held on Saturday, 18 May.

2020

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[5]

2021

The 2021 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[5]

2022

The 2022 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[5]

References
  1. http://great-wall-marathon.com/race-info - Section: Dates
  2. Fishpool, Sean (5 November 2002). "The Great Wall Marathon". Runners World. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  3. "On your marks, get set, race! Alternative marathon runs". Metro (UK). 26 Oct 2012.
  4. Conner, Shawn. "5 Extreme Marathons Only Superhumans Could Survive (and Two for the Rest of Us)". BC Living. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. "Home". great-wall-marathon.com.
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