- Title: CHINA: ATHLETICS - GREAT WALL MARATHON
- Date: 23rd May 2005
- Summary: (W2) TIANJIN, CHINA (MAY 21, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. RUNNERS WARMING UP 2. PARTICIPANTS' FEET 3. RUNNERS DOING JUMPING JACKS 4. CLOSE OF GREAT WALL MARATHON BANNER 5. RUNNER WARMING UP ON GROUND 6. GROUP OF RUNNERS WARMING UP 7. RUNNER PUTTING ON SUNBLOCK 8. GROUP OF RUNNERS POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH 9. (SOUNDBITE)(English) MILLA BECK SAYING: "No, just for fun, just for fun. We don't care how long it takes just as long as we all get around in one piece. Obviously, we will to do it in under three hours but (laughs) if it's four, it's fine." 10. CLOSE OF MARATHON LOGO 11. RUNNERS STARTING MARATHON 12. WIDE OF RUNNERS 13. TWO SLOW RUNNERS 14. CLOSE OF FEET 15. CHILDREN WATCHING 16. SCOTTISH RUNNER IN KILT 17. MORE OF RUNNERS 18. BACK VIEW OF RUNNERS ENTERING WALL GATE 19. PARTICIPANTS WALKING UP STAIRS 20. PEOPLE WATCHING 21. PEOPLE WALKING UP HILL 22. WIDE OF PEOPLE ON WALL 23. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE OF WALL 24. CANNON ON WALL 25. PEOPLE RUNNING PAST CANNON 26. SPECTATORS CLAPPING 27. RUNNERS COMING DOWN STAIRS 28. WIDE OF RUNNERS EMERGING 29. SPECTATORS 30. AUSTRALIAN RODNEY LONG FINISHING RACE 31. CLOSE OF MEDAL FOR FINISHERS 32. (SOUNDBITE)(English) RODNEY LONG, SAYING: "I feel very tired. My legs tell me I haven't done enough training on the hills, because it's very steep, very steep." 33. SPECTATORS CHEERING 34. CLOSE OF RING ON FINGER, MAY SAYING IN ENGLISH "KATIE WILL YOU MARRY ME?" WOMAN SAYS YES 35. MAN STANDS AND KISSES FIANCEE 36. MEDALS FOR RUNNERS 37. AMERICAN GREGORY FEUCHT, MARATHON WINNER, FINISHING RACE 38. FEUCHT RECEIVING GARLAND OF FLOWERS 39. (SOUNDBITE)(English) MARATHON WINNER, GREGORY FEUCHT, SAYING: "I didn't know I was going to be the winner for quite a while because on the wall, I got some really bad cramps in my legs and I had to stop for a couple of times to stretch them out and so..." 40. WIDE OF FINISHING AREA 4.03 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 7th June 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TIANJIN,CHINA
- Country: China
- Reuters ID: LVA68F8SMQBAAP11NWKYWVBTOLQ
- Story Text: More than 700 people from around the world gather in
northern China to run in the hilly annual Great Wall marathon.
More than 700 people from around the world gathered
in northern China to run in the Great Wall marathon on
Saturday (May 21).
Runners endured a punishing route with exhausting
ascents, steep descents and more 3,700 steps on an unspoilt
stretch of
the Great Wall near the northern city of Tianjin.
The race includes four miles (seven kilometres) on the
wall itself. Most participants walked up the steep steps,
finding it too difficult to run up.
More than three hundred people signed on for the full
marathon. Others ran part of the route.
It was the first marathon for Briton Milla Beck, who
travelled to China with three friends just for the race.
"No, just for fun, just for fun. We don't care how long
it takes just as long as we all get around in one piece.
Obviously, we will to do it in under three hours but
(laughs) if it's four, it's fine," he said.
Runners from more than 35 countries competed. Most said
they were there for the experience than to win.
The route passed through two sections: a hilly portion
across and down a part of the Great Wall and a flat portion
around leafy villages.
Rodney Long said running on the ancient wall was a
unique experience. It was built over 2,000 years ago to
guard against invaders.
"I feel very tired. My legs tell me I haven't done
enough training on the hills, because it's very steep, very
steep," he said.
One couple agreed to get engaged after finishing the
race. Spectators cheered wildly when a woman accepted her
boyfriend's proposal.
The winner was American Gregory Feucht, a resident of
Shanghai. He finished with a time of three hours, 25
minutes and 13 seconds.
"I didn't know I was going to be the winner for quite a
while because on the wall, I got some really bad cramps in
my legs and I had to stop for a couple of times to stretch
them out," he said.
All who finish the marathon receive a grey medal.
Feucht received a garland of flowers.
Organisers aim to increase the number of runners each
year, up to few thousand.
Built out of masonry, rocks and earth, the Great Wall
is one of the largest construction projects ever completed.
The Great Wall winds up and down across deserts,
grasslands, mountains and plateaus stretching approximately
6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles ) from east to west of China.
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