Course & Elevation
The Great Wall Marathon is a marathon on the Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall of China in Tianjin, east of Beijing, held on a Saturday in mid-May and organised by Albatros Adventure Marathons. It has been run since 1999, when the first edition drew about 350 runners; the organisers now describe it as a sell-out event of 2,500. The marathon, a half marathon and an 8.5 km fun run share the same setting. The course is billed as asphalt and gravel with 5,164 steps on the Wall itself. More than 6 km of the full marathon is run on the Wall, while the other races spend about 3 km on it. The marathon has an eight-hour time limit, and the 2027 edition is planned for 15 May with a 7:30 am start. Entries for international runners are sold as part of tour packages. The course records are 3:09:18 for men and 3:32:12 for women, both set in 2013. The organisers bill it as the most demanding marathon of your life along one of mankind's greatest monuments.
Course Facts
Weather
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
21°C
Temperature
50%
Humidity
20%
Rain Chance
In mid-May the nearby lowland town of Jizhou averages highs around 27°C and lows around 15°C, with low humidity and rain on about six days of the month; the Wall sections lie higher in the hills.
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