World News for Students of English

19-05-2026 15:00

The Great Wall Marathon is a famous and very difficult running race in China.

It began in 1999 when a Danish company wanted to show the beauty of China to tourists. Today, nearly 1,300 runners from all over the world come every May to try this tough course.

The race is special because runners must climb 5,164 old, uneven stone steps on the Great Wall itself. The marathon is much harder than a usual city race. A normal road marathon takes about 4 hours, but the Great Wall Marathon takes about 7.5 hours because of the steep hills and stairs. The weather can also be very hot, which makes running dangerous.

Doctors and rescue teams stay on the wall to help runners who fall or become sick from the heat. Most people don’t run this race to break speed records; they run it because they want the amazing experience of crossing one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Difficult words: course (the path which runners must follow in a race), uneven (when one part is higher than another; not flat), experience (something what you do or feel).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.