A Rosen in China: Beijing Half Marathon

I left school with some of the other teachers and together we went to the airport. Simon, Bo and Don (two kids also running the race) took a different flight directly into Tianjin. I went with Tim, Amy (a different Amy), Alice, Bonnie and Lindi. We arrived about two hours in advance. Check-in was no problem, and security was fine as well. We boarded the plane, but we ended up waiting on the plane, in our uncomfortable plane seats for ONE HOUR while staying parked at the gate. The airlines said it was because of bad weather between Shanghai and Beijing. If this was the case I don’t know why they made us board the plane and sit in a sardine can for an extra hour. The food was eh, and there was a lot of turbulence, but we finally arrived at the Beijing International airport around 7:30pm. Our driver met us there and we got in a van to go to Tianjin, an area outside of Beijing (in a different province), about a two hour drive away. Most of us slept in the van. We arrived at our hotel around 10:30pm. We were exhausted, and I was super nervous about the race tomorrow. Simon (my roommate and fellow SCIS teacher) greeted us with the two kids (Bo and Don) he was chaperoning. We got settled into our rooms which were in a courtyard area. The beds were hard and comfortable, but I didn’t get to sleep until about midnight.

The reason we directly took a van into Tianjin, and settled into a hotel that was a 5 minute walk from the race site is because the alternative was to stay in Beijing Friday night, wake up at 2:30 to catch a 3am bus to Tianjin, THEN run 2+ hours. So we decided to pay a little extra and stay in the area near the Great Wall of China/race site.

6:30am- The view from out hotel courtyard

More 6:30/6:45am courtyard awesomeness.

Race spectators(?) We saw these people on our way to the start line.

I ate some food in the morning, and also drank some Gatorade and water (fuel and hydration are both really important), and after I dressed I brought myself, my camera and my ipod down to the race site around 7am. There I saw my good friend Sarah, who also came from Shanghai to run the half marathon! She was also with my friend Caroline, who I ran with about two weeks ago. I met some of Sarah’s hash runner friends, and we chit-chatted until the race began. I missed the “warm up” at 6:30am, but I did a little bit of stretching before my 7:45am start. There were 3 groups that started before I did, but Sarah and I started the race off together, and ran together for most of the race.

Sarah F. and I are thinking, "What have we gotten ourselves into!?"

Simon, "This is my 100th marathon. I run these races for run because I'm a robot," G.

Caroline and I are ready for the race!

Umm, your leg muscles are more important than your biceps. I'm all show here.

Legs

The racers

Some of the Hash racers and I (I'll hopefully try a hash race soon!)

The pistol went off, the crowd cheered, and the runners began to move forward down the path and under the overhang/gate entrance. We ran straight for about 30 feet and I yelled out, “Okay, I’m tired. Race over I’m done!” and many people around me laughed. Swiftly we turned right and started running on a road that ran along a “river” or “stream”. There was a random island in the middle with a bronze sculpture of a dragon, and farther along there was a water slide (?).

Run! Run! Run!

"Ahhh!"

The random water slide

Don't ask me about the horse on the side of the road. There were a few camels too.

We continued along the path, turned right and ran over a bridge, and ran through an elaborate gate. There began our first ascent upwards. We were on a similar road, but it had a slight upward angle and curved around along the mountain/hill. It was supposed to rain on Saturday in Tianjin, but luckily it did not. Originally I was worried about taking my iPod and camera, but luckily it barely drizzled!

The gate

The road upwards

I'm not on the wall quite yet!

ANOTHER gate

Finally, salvation! The entrance to the GREAT WALL OF CHINA!

After about 30 minutes (maybe 5-6k) we arrived at the entrance to the Great Wall of China. Excited as Sarah and I were, at the entrance to the Wall we were greeted with steep uneven stairs that everyone was walking. There were so many people going up the stairs that, even despite the danger of trying to run it, you physically were forced to walk up. After 5+ minutes of stairs, we went saw different stairs that were more even, but with a larger depth to them.

The official entrance!

Stairs

I'm here running on the Great Wall!!

View while running on the Wall

The Great Wall consists of paths that go up and down, and dispersed among the stairs and paths are guard towers. These previously served as entry posts to protect the land from foreign invaders. Included on the wall (and in the guard towers) are small openings for archers to shoot arrows. While listening to music (at a point I was really tired) "Born to Run" came on, by Bruce Springsteen! IT WAS PERFECT TIMING FOR THE PERFECT SONG! That just made me run faster and harder.

Up and down, up and down.

If by this picture, you can't figure out where I am, then I feel bad for you!

Like I wrote earlier, some parts of the wall were so narrow and crowded that we (once again) were forced to walk. Red unstable cloth railings managed to help with balance at parts, but I found the “Walk slowly” signs quite amusing, considering they set up a RUNNING race on sections of wall that tell people that it’s not safe to run.

My favorite picture in the bunch. Notice that the sign is askew.

I'm still smiling!

I spent about 45 minutes (6k? maybe more?) running on the Great Wall. Words cannot explain what a surreal experience it was for me. I thought it would be impossible to trump my previous (and first trip) to the wall at Simatai, but this was absolutely breathtaking. What made the experience even more special was that I was running the longest distance I have ever run in my life along one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Breathtaking.

Amazing!

After we went downhill, and down a winding side path, we ran a different (and more forgiving) section of the wall. I met a guy from Italy who was working in Beijing. I ran with him for about 25 minutes. We went back through the main gate (where the race began) and down the same road with the dragon water slide. We went even farther past down a dirt part, across a bridge (at this point we had parted), and I ran into and through a village. Every time I came across a person who was running in the opposite direction of me, I cheered him/her on! The result would be their smile, which would make me run harder. I was feeling tired and lagging, but then "AlwaysLook on the Bright Side of Life" by Monty Python started to play and that was my musical perk that helped me keep going! At the end of the village part of the run, I hit the 17k marker (a little over 10 miles) and that was the longest I had ever run!!!!!!!!!!!

Running through the village

Some (questionable?) farmland

17k! 10.54 miles! YES!!

I finally went back up the same road (that I ran two times). The unfortunate thing about it is that the race organization did not monitor traffic, so there were many cars and gross trucks that would slowly drive down the street, stare at us, and the result would be horrible car fumes in one’s face. Go figure. The view was still pretty amazing though.

Despite the cars, I still saw some great landscapes.

In the last 4k of the race, I miraculously go a second wind. Despite my tired legs, I went faster and faster until I crossed the finish line. I completed the race in 2:44:15. I was 68^th overall in the half marathon runners (out of at least 200 I think), and I was 9^th in my age group (20-29 year olds). Overall it was amazing experience. I had some trouble breathing after, but I stretched a bit, had some water, got some food in me and was (and still am!) happy!

Here I am experiencing the biggest rush and sense of accomplishment EVER!

Some of the guys I go riding with came to! In the back are Marko, his wife, Mark, and Ola. Front are a woman (related to Ola I think, and Marko's son)