Great Wall of China Marathon

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The Great Wall Marathon is an annual marathon race held in May along and on the Great Wall of China. The race has grown over the years to several hundred participants. Aside from the main marathon, a half marathon, 10 km and 5 km runs are also held. The course is much tougher than traditional marathons with participants challenged by 3,700 stone steps and many steep ascents and descents.

In 2007 the winner was Salvador Calvo, whose time of 3:23:10 broke the previous course record by two minutes.

The 2008 version of The Great Wall Marathon happened on 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 by 4:09:10.

The next Great Wall Marathon will take place on Saturday May 16, 2009.