2,582 Stairs

My most recent adventure was the Great Wall Half-Marathon in Beijing, China. Yes, I went up to Beijing to run in it (for some reason they couldn't bring the wall to us in Shanghai) and yes i had FUN! completing the course in 2:45:00. I'm already planning for next year.... how to get a faster time (start in front, every man for himself). The run started. 4.5 kilometers uphill on a winding paved road (to get up to the level of the wall)..... once your legs were sufficiently jelly-ized, they threw you onto 3.2 km of steep up and down stairs as you tried to enjoy the view while also trying not to fall to your death off the wall. It wasn't until almost 8km into the race that we finally got to run on something approaching a level surface. The race concluded by winding through a local village where Chinese ladies and kids clapped and chanted: clap clap clap Jia You! clap clap clap .... gude times for all except another girl from SMIC who acidentally took the half-marathoner's turn-off and ended up running an extra 3 miles or so above her FULL marathon :( oh well... besides the extra time, i don't think she actually minded the extra distance. I ended up finishing 87th overall (women) and 22nd in my age-group.