2013 Reports
Last updated: Tuesday, 1 October, 2013Flat & Somewhat Undulating!
Event: Genghis Khan Grasslands Extreme Marathon
Date: Saturday, 6 July, 2013
Venue: Xiwuqi, Inner Mongolia
I was determined that at some point during my year in China, I would run a marathon. Finding one wasn’t as easy as I expected, as despite the size of China running is only just beginning to be a popular leisure activity, so there aren’t very many marathons to choose from. There are probably 3 or 4 marathons around Beijing in the year. Anywhere else involves a flight.
When I heard about the Grasslands, I knew it was the event for me!! It was a “local” event (– only just over a one hour flight, followed by a 2–hour drive) and was off–road and undulating. Sounded perfect. About 30 people from the Hey running group I belong to had signed up, so it promised to be a great weekend.
I arrived on the Thursday before the race. Xiwuqi is a small town (– very small by Chinese standards) so we soon found our way around, and the Cultural Square where the race was to start. In this part of China, western visitors are rare, so we soon became used to people stopping us in the street and asking to have our photos taken with them. When our running group had a gentle run on the Friday followed by doing some stretches to cool down, we attracted a crowd of about 100 people!!
Friday was hot (– about 30°C and sunny). I was a bit concerned about the heat, but as the race was starting at 7:00am on the Saturday, the runners (– at least the fast ones) wouldn’t suffer in the midday heat!
About 500 runners assembled in the square on the Saturday morning. It was a truly multi–national affair, with about two thirds of the runners being Chinese and the other third coming from 28 different countries. The first 2km was on road and then we turned onto the grassland. The organiser’s description of the route gave a clear indication of what was to come: “Challenging, as it is mainly off–road, but technically not very difficult. Other than one short steep climb after 5.5km, the terrain is flat and somewhat undulating in the middle section. However, wind can be a factor. In case anybody is wondering: this is not the race to set a new personal best time. The running course mainly covers prime grassland and sand trails.”
I don’t know where the organisers had been for their run!! My Garmin reckoned I did almost 3000ft of ascent. I know it is not the most accurate device, but it certainly felt believable!
It was true that there was a short steep climb after 5.5km, but that wasn’t the last or the worst of the hills. There were quite a few challenges still to come! Whilst it was hard work, the terrain was not as challenging as Compton. Undulating was a good description – never too steep and the terrain was easy underfoot. It reminded me of running on the Marlborough downs, but with the grassland going on as far as you could see in all directions.
By 30km, I was suffering (– the longest training run I had done was 25km on easier terrain) and the sun had come out and it was getting hot. Now I was longing for an uphill, as I had made a deal with myself that if I kept running on the downs and flats, I could walk the remaining ups. Where were the hills when I needed them?! There were only a couple in the last 10km, so whilst I did walk a little, it wasn–t very much.
The winner (The coach from my running group) won the marathon in 2 hours 53 minutes. The previous month he had done the Stockholm marathon in 2:29, so that gives an idea of the severity of the course. It took me over twice that long (– 5 hours 20 minutes), finishing 21st of the 45 women who did the full marathon. Despite being one of my slowest marathons and struggling at the end, I definitely enjoyed it.
Big city marathons may be good fun, have big crowds and great support, and allow for faster times. But give me the choice and I’ll choose off–road and open space every time.
Jan McCabe