I consider myself something of a runner. I've done a couple of half marathons and 10-milers, along with plenty of 10ks and 5ks. I've done trail races. I've done sprint triathlons. I've run in order to train, and I've run just for fun. But there is one thing I swore I'd never do.
A marathon.
Now, I like running just fine. If I didn't, I wouldn't have forked over the money for race fees and running shoes. I'm not going to punish both myself and my wallet. But training for a marathon takes a lot of time. To me, a long run should take 1-2 hours. Not 4. That's just nuts. I mean, that's half of a normal workday. Just RUNNING. And if the long run takes place on the weekend (which it probably does), that's time that could have been spent consuming bottomless mimosas and watching football. Priorities, people.
I've been perfectly happy sticking with distances of 13.1 miles or less. But then my friend Amy just had to send me this: great-wall-marathon.com.
SWEET JESUS THERE'S A MARATHON ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
The course covers 2 sections of the Great Wall, which is pretty dadgum steep and has horribly uneven steps. The rest of the course is pretty hilly, too. It's also supposed to be hot and humid. They don't have many water stops, and from what I have read, no port-o-potties, either. And it's China, so, pollution. Yay. Not surprisingly, this is considered to be one of the hardest marathon courses in the world.
So naturally, Amy and I are doing this in May of 2015. I went from not caring at all to run any garden-variety marathon to wanting to run one of the most difficult marathons in the world in a foreign country. I am an idiot. Logic is a lost cause in my world. But I really can't resist the chance to do something crazy in a country that I've never visited. And Amy knows that.
Amy hasn't done a marathon, either. We clearly have some research to do. And a LOT of training. But we have 1.5 years to figure it all out. If this doesn't kill us, it's going to be amazing.
A marathon.
Now, I like running just fine. If I didn't, I wouldn't have forked over the money for race fees and running shoes. I'm not going to punish both myself and my wallet. But training for a marathon takes a lot of time. To me, a long run should take 1-2 hours. Not 4. That's just nuts. I mean, that's half of a normal workday. Just RUNNING. And if the long run takes place on the weekend (which it probably does), that's time that could have been spent consuming bottomless mimosas and watching football. Priorities, people.
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| Done! Now where's the champagne? |
I've been perfectly happy sticking with distances of 13.1 miles or less. But then my friend Amy just had to send me this: great-wall-marathon.com.
SWEET JESUS THERE'S A MARATHON ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
The course covers 2 sections of the Great Wall, which is pretty dadgum steep and has horribly uneven steps. The rest of the course is pretty hilly, too. It's also supposed to be hot and humid. They don't have many water stops, and from what I have read, no port-o-potties, either. And it's China, so, pollution. Yay. Not surprisingly, this is considered to be one of the hardest marathon courses in the world.
So naturally, Amy and I are doing this in May of 2015. I went from not caring at all to run any garden-variety marathon to wanting to run one of the most difficult marathons in the world in a foreign country. I am an idiot. Logic is a lost cause in my world. But I really can't resist the chance to do something crazy in a country that I've never visited. And Amy knows that.
Amy hasn't done a marathon, either. We clearly have some research to do. And a LOT of training. But we have 1.5 years to figure it all out. If this doesn't kill us, it's going to be amazing.
You're welcome!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! There's a really steep hill in Rock Creek that I used to run regularly when I was training for the SF marathon. I'd suggest running the hill & steps at Meridian Park. Anyhow, this sounds amazing and I'm sure you'll kick ass!
ReplyDelete