my great wall half marathon experience

while still high with my angkor wat half marathon experience last year
i  decided to push myself to a higher limit by joining another half mary
this time at the majestic great wall of china.

good timing since it was vacation time for my children so i decided to tag them along .

this run is in collaboration with a danish n chinese company named albatros adventure marathon . this is one of their "must try" experiences for a runner enthusiast like me.

its a package 6 days 5 nights program  inclusive of the marathon fee, transport and hotel accomodations. one cannot join without getting the package .

most of the participants were caucasians and few asians.  we were billeted in a hotel and given a preview prior to the event for acclimatization.

it was a festive morning of spring last may 17 when the event was held. weather was so cold and chilly. they welcomed us with a live band.

everybody was in high energy . some were waving the flags of their country. a group of students wore their club shirts.

a lot of spectators and participants from different countries were there to witness this much awaited occasion.

2000  plus runners participated in this event. 1200 of them were half marathoners. all came from different parts of the world united in one for their love of running. i was misty eyed at the starting line because i felt sentimental being one of the runners.

it was an uphill mountain climb till the entrance of the great wall starting at 5km.

then it was all endless ascent . i could see some veterans running by the wall. but most of them were just taking their time, unmindful of the run and was just delighted.

with its uneven and rugged steps i decided to walk because i might slip and fall. i was just enjoying every minute of this 5164 steps  taking pictures of the amazing sceneries.

my adrenalin kicked in that i survived the up and down sections of the wall.  sometimes i  would just stop to catch my breath especially at the steepest incline  of 500 m. and do  some "selfies".

the easiest part was the run around the village with the children giving water and bananas.
i finished the run in 2'52".

with the fastest woman half marathoner

the happiest part is seeing my family cheering for me at the finish line and my eldest son enviously saying.."mom, i want to do this someday".

 having been prepared well with much anticipation for this event that i did not feel so much pain after the run . should i have done a full marathon that would  be another story. but i'm not a serious runner.

i was even able to stroll around when we went back to beijing that noon.

overall it was an amazing and rewarding experience ... my expectations were fulfilled for a moment like  this!

not just run but a great wall run.