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Great Wall Marathon
Great Wall Marathon
Date	May
Location	Huangya Pass, Great Wall of China, China
Event type	Road
Distance	Marathon, Half marathon
Established	1999
Organizer	Albatros Adventure Marathons
Course records	Men's: 3:09:18 (2013); Jorge Maravilla; Women's: 3:32:12 (2013); Silvia Serafini
Official site	Great Wall Marathon
Participants	645 (2019)

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]

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	Was not held
	2021
	2022
	2023
21st	2024	Mark Dickson (GBR)	3:43:32	Nadège Person (FRA)	4:36:34

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.