Visit to the Marathon Course

"If you haven't been to the Great Wall, you aren't a real man."
- Chairman Mao

Hello friends...today was our 2nd day in China and the day for our mandatory walk of the Great Wall sections of the marathon. We took a three hour bus trip (one way) to an isolated section of the wall and the place where the race starts. The long trip meant a 4:30am departure from our hotel in Beijing. We were greeted with absolutely breathtaking views. Above is the view from the race staging area.

Our parents joined us for the course inspection, with the initial idea that they would run/walk the 5k event on Saturday. You can see them waving and smiling after about 1/2 mile.

More to come tomorrow. We just finished a Peking Duck dinner and I'm exhausted.