'Eat, Pray, Love' Moment: Marathon On The Great Wall

Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" have been fantasizing about their own trips away ever since the book was first published in 2006. The memoir describes a year Gilbert spent living in Italy, India, and Indonesia. The film version starring Julia Roberts hits theaters on Friday, August 13. Patch is asking that you tell us about your own "Eat, Pray, Love" moments—times when you've savored good food and soaked up sights in far-flung locales. Here's mine: A trip to China in May to do the half-marathon on the Great Wall...

The warnings were ominous. Every time I mentioned to anyone that I planned to do the Great Wall Marathon this past May, I was cautioned about the 3,700 stone steps that would put even the most physically fit person in the world to the test.

But although I'd run no more than six or so miles at the most during my few months of training earlier this year, I decided to go for it anyway.

After all, I told myself, I was only doing the half marathon—not the full. And the time limit of eight hours is a generous one.

The best part was that I would spend a week learning more about the culture and architectural wonders of China. Marathon Tours in Boston organized my trip, which included five-star luxury accommodations at the Renaissance Beijing, as well as visits to temples, shrines and palaces. The trip's cost of about $3,500—depending on your departure city—included airfare, breakfast, visa expenses, and entry to the marathon.

In the end, the mid-May trip surpassed all my expectations. The biggest surprise? That the best part was the grueling marathon itself.

The first section of the marathon takes runners up and across and then down the Great Wall, a trek marked by steep ascents and descents as well as those thousands of nasty uneven steps. Full marathoners complete this section of the course twice, but half marathoners only have to do it once. The rest of the course takes runners through the lovely villages in Tianjin Province, where Chinese families lined the streets to cheer everyone on.

Extending about 5,500 miles in all, the Great Wall of China is not a continuous wall but rather a grouping of shorter walls that generally run alongside the crest of hills on the southern edge of the Mongolian plain. The first set of walls was designed to keep Mongol nomads out of China and was built in the seventh century B.C.

Although the steps range in height from several inches to almost knee-high, I didn't find the course overly intimidating. Most people took their time, stopping often to shoot photos.

The Great Wall race has grown increasingly popular in recent years, and also includes 10K and 5K runs. The most recent marathon attracted a record 1,748 participants from around the world.

On the days before and after the marathon, our very capable English-speaking guide, Lee Shea, corralled my tour group to an array of sights. We saw the Summer Palace used by the royal families of the Forbidden City in summer to escape the city. We visited the Lama Temple with its famous Buddha statues as well as the silk market. One of the highlights was a tour of Hutong, the old city of Beijing, aboard a three-wheeled bicycle rickshaw.

Perhaps the only downside of the trip were the squat toilets, ubiquitous even in the best parts of Beijing. But even these holes in the ground added to the adventure.

During my days in China, I encountered many like-minded people with a penchant for seeing the world. And they do it by running marathons. Marathon Tours, for example, organizes trips to Antarctica, Rome, Athens, Costa Rica and Easter Island. My sights are already set on the Kenya marathon, which takes place every June.

Many runners brought family members, including children, with them. Some of the kids, for example, ran the 5K race while their parents ran the full marathon.

It took me more hours than I care to admit to finish the half marathon—but I did finish it. Amazingly, the fastest runner, Qiang Tong of China, completed the full course in 3:24:44.

Next year's Great Wall marathon is scheduled for May 21. If you're interested, check out Marathon Tours at www.marathontours.com.