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Beijing Int'l Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Beijing Int'l Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.0 
Organization 2.5 
Spectators 3.6
Number of comments: 41 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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Will Stenzel from Beijing, China
(10/17/2005)
 "Only if you're in BJ and have $60 to throw away." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Beijing Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Unlike others, I did not have problems with the organization. I registered on the last day, and a helpful staffer called me later to organize payment. Luckily, I am a student, so making repeated trips to the CITS office were feasible -- for others, this might be a problem. The race itself has numerous problems: 0. No marathon is really a good value, but this one is just feels like a scam. 498 yuan will feed you for months in China, but for the marathon, it buys you only the right to fight for position with thousands of students who registered for free. If you run this one, you'll understand what I mean. 1. NO FOOD. Runners littering the street weaving from exhaustion -- literally nothing to eat and limited water. 2. Menacing soldiers every 50 meters of the course. My friend came out to cheer and was nearly arrested for unknown reasons. There appear to be designated cheering sections, and these were very pleasant. Ja yao! 3. Not fun. The start is quirky enough, with mobs of university students, TV cameras and loud patriotic music. It's incredible -- we're launching a marathon next to Mao's resting place and the Forbidden Palace. Is this globalization or what? Prepare for at least 150 shoving, angry runners fighting for each toilet. After that, it's a long slog through wide-open polluted city streets with grumpy smoking bystanders. 4. The brush off. After finishing, you are reminded not to sit on the grass by dozens of guards, then hustled out of the stadium with a little bottle of water and an oversized t-shirt. Thanks for your money -- now go away. 5. Beware of the 'bag scam.' You place your gear on a truck before the race. At the end, many foreigners find their bags have disappeared. I made a big fuss and it magically reappeared. 6. Mysterious timing systems. The time I recorded was significantly different than the official time. Odd. On the other hand, just witnessing the mentally and physically tough Chinese runners may be worth the price of admission. One guy finished with me and asked me for help lighting his cigarette. Yes, people are running marathons in dress shoes, sandals slacks, jeans, backpacks, and more -- and they're doing it faster than you. Cramping? Just stop for a minute and bang furiously at your legs. Good to go. This race made me wistful for the fun marathons back home. Ah, for the days of free massages, gear expos with lots of freebees and air you can breathe. | |
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B. C. from Beijing
(8/30/2005)
 "Do it if you are in BJ - and don't expect much" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Beijing Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Need improvement: 1. Water: water was all gone from 30k on for slow (4-hour +) runners. 2. Traffic control: you have to run alongside the traffic after 20k if you are slow. If you live in China and don't plan to travel elsewhere to run, then, why not. It is fun. You get to see BJ in a different way. The spectators (some of them pretty annoyed that they didn't know about the traffic control) are nice. | |
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Marcus Van Noppen from Aarschot, Belgium
(10/25/2004)
 "Once in your life" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Beijing Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I was very pleased to finish the Beijing Marathon, despite not totally recovered from a muscle injury. The Beijing Marathon is not too bad, but there are things which should be improved before one could say that this marathon has professional organization. At the start it was not clearly marked where different groups should go (men, women, half marathon, etc, had different starting points). It's no good that the women start 15 minutes later than the men. I saw the top Chinese female runner, Sun Jung Jie, shouting out her way through the men after I reached the 5km-point. How can this be a good race for the women? For me personally, the race was okay. I could run quite freely except one time I had to shout out loud to avoid a few dozens of people crossing the road like they were blindfolded. Along the course it was like the whole police force of Beijing was present. To hold up the traffic takes so much effort and I admire this part of the organization. The air was not really clean but I expected worse when I read some critics before starting this marathon. I could get enough water, and maybe I was a lucky one, but the sponges to cool off my head were mostly dry. Along the route there were many people to encourage you shouting: 'Tcha Jau' or something. This helps at difficult parts towards the end. After the finish, they gave you a towel, a medal, and an oversized T-shirt. To get my certificate I waited two hours, and I saw people fighting like ants. I heard the bad news that two people died in the race. There were many students and many untrained people. But I also heard that the organization is asking the schools to join this marathon to make this event a big thing. I don't think this is good. It gives the marathon a bad name. Most runners are not real runners. Many don't wear running shoes, some run in their jeans! These people don't belong in a marathon. Overall, I think that the Beijing Marathon could be better organized, as it has existed already for a long time. And there are only four years to go until the Olympics take place! But I also think it's a great experience to run the Beijing Marathon as it's a strange environment in another part of the world. Maybe you should run this just once in your life. | |
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J. B. from Bangkok..Thailand
(10/22/2004)
"Never run here again" (about: 2004)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Lack of refreshments, poor toilets available (with very bad sanitation), and not enough certificates for time-limited finishers. | |
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A. K. from Hong Kong
(10/19/2004)
 "2004 Beijing Marathon has much room to improve " (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 The weather on race day (Oct 17, 2004) was perfect for setting a new PB, but due to my being sick for all of September, I had no time for training at all. As a result, although the course was fast and thousands of fans stood along the whole course, I only ran a 3:46. The water supply and refreshment drink are very good in both quality and quantity. However, due to too many untrained runners (more than 50%), if you want to run a good time and not be jammed, prepare to stand in the front of the line at the starting point. One very bad point is the medical back-up; two runners died during the race - a 20-year old boy died at 18 km and a 62-year old man died 100 meters from the finish line. Finally, the distribution of the finishing certificate is extremely messy - totally lacks organization. For this part, I should give it zero stars. I think they will improve next year's marathon, as the Olympics are coming here in 2008! Please give them more time to gain experience and learn how to organize such a massive event! By the way, the souvenirs for the full marathon finishers are plentiful, but if you run 5km, 10km or the half marathon, you will receive nothing!!!! | |
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Jerry Pi from NYC, USA
(10/17/2004)
"BQ'd on it, but NEVER DO THIS MARATHON" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Beijing Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Used the BJ 2004 for my BQ. I made it but not without hassle and NUMEROUS PROBLEMS. The organization is atrocious. I arrived the Thursday before the marathon to get my number, and they gave it to me as my name translated into Chinese. They say they cannot enter English letters into the system to register participants. So I contact the CAA (organizer of this event) to tell them of the change. I get my number from some college, then have to travel across town (Beijing is a BIG CITY) to the CAA office to tell them that my NAME is incorrect. So they type some letter out to correct the name. I just don't TRUST these guys to get anything done so I call again Saturday to Mr. Cai of CAA and he assures me the change is made. After I finish the race, I get the race certificate and it STILL has the INCORRECT CHINESE pronunciation of my name on the certificate. I run (more like WALK b/c my leg are shot) to get numerous officials to change my name in the database b/c this race was my BQ and I don't want any ambiguity to this whole process once the Boston Athletic Committee comes to authenticate my results. Organization is a joke. Too few porta-potties, serve this orange soda/juice concentrate that has NO endurance benefit and crowd control is atrocious. Especially with late-race water stations, there are just NO cups of water to take. I miff'ed at crucial points b/w 30k-40k water stations b/c most of the cups placed on the table were EMPTY. As for the course, it's flat and pretty fast. You can read about scenery from other reviews but there are three noticeable elevation points, at 10km, 20km and 40km - but nothing massive. But the toxic industrial and automotive fumes will get to you. It also seemed that a good portion of the male spectators also SMOKE along the running path - UGH! Fan support could be better. Most of the people in the city didn't even know there was a marathon in town. Seemed like most spectators were more interested in letting us run by so they can cross the street. NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL. BTW - going through CITS is a complete rip, $100+ for an entry ticket when it costs half as much if you register through other organizations!?!? That's what happens when you book through a state-owned travel agency... Ran the race a return to my roots, thankfully I BQ'd on this, but never again for me... | |
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C. C. from Beijing, China(Canadian citizen)
(7/28/2004)
"Don't travel too far to run here!" (about: 2003)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Beijing Int'l Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I only ran the half-marathon in 2003 and it wasn't that great. The only interesting thing on the course was the Forbidden City (starting point), and it goes through the heart of the city. The roads were only half closed and there was a lot of polluting traffic(when Beijing is already one of the most polluted cities in the world). This also makes it very loud because you have all of the horns honking, and they honk a lot! However, the crowds are plentiful and cheer you on. The course is very flat, and it would be very difficult to find a hill in Beijing. The organization is poor and I'm lucky that my nice running coach at school (I go to an international school in Beijing, and I am currently in grade 11) did the registration for me, as I hear it is very complicated (they even changed the starting date a few days before the race). The aid stations were good, however they only had water and some sweet orange flavored drink. The finish for the half marathon was on the side of a road somewhere and was very uneventful. There were no timing chips, so the time was inaccurate, and I never got my finishing certificate, and they ran out of medals. All there was to look forward to at the end was more orange drink and a towel. | |
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G. T. from Edmonton, Canada
(10/15/2003)
"Don't run this for a PB" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I ran this in 2002 and found that it was a frustrating experience. Since all the runners for 5K, 10K, half and full marathon all start at the same time, the marathoners are left to try and dodge their way through about thousands of people running with backpacks, dress pants, dress shoes and dresses. It's quite easy to get boxed in. The crowds along the way are quite nice as even though many BJers are stuck in traffic on buses, they will cheer for you and wave. The aid stations carry water and a very sweet concentrated orange-flavored drink. Basically some sugar water with flavoring. You are allowed to bring your own supply of drinks though that will be put at certain aid stations during the race. The finish is anticlimactic as spectators are not allowed into the stadium. | |
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A Runner from Korea
(10/31/2002)
"The Beijing Marathon fun but not the best" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I used to live in Beijing for two years so I am quite fimilar with the Beijing Scene. I ran this year's marathon Oct. 20, 2002. The course starts at the Tiananmen Square passing in front of the Forbidden City, then off to the streets of Beijing. This year's marathon took runners west to the Long River leading to the Summer Palace, then turning onto Fourth Ring Road, then double backing for 5Ks at the 35K marker, and finishing at the Asian Olympic Stadium. The course was flat and fast. The weather was perfect with great fall weather. One thing to watch out for in Beijing which any person living there will say, is the pollution! The runners this year were very fortunate, pollution levels on race day were at a very acceptable level. We had a rain storm pass through a couple days prior which cleaned out the air. The fans were fun and lined up the streets shouting 'jia you' which means add oil, translate the meaning versus the words, you come up with 'let's go!!' The support on the course was adequate, water, orange drink of some kind, and spouges every 5Ks on the .5 markers. Be careful with bicyclists (some made it past the police road guards) as they sometimes do not pay attention and WHAAMM, down goes a runner. That runner was angry. Then you finish at the Olympic Stadium to a quiet crowd and someone will place a towel across your back. (Spectators were not allowed to enter the stadium) Turn in your chip then off to claim your bottle of water and banana. The T-shirt and bag were low quality but hey for the person who visits China for the first time, this marathon is a great way to see Beijing without having a tour guide forcing you to buy something at the Friendship stores. | |
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A Runner from New York
(10/23/2002)
"Don't cut the corners in China!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Oh, what an experience it was! The organization of this Marathon is practically non-existent. Few months before the Beijing Marathon I sent 4 or 5 emails to the Organizing Committee begging them to tell me where to register, where to pick up the number. They never replied. God bless Nanda (I found her thanks to her comment below), Randolf and Jennifer, the local runners that helped me to register, and to the volunteers who took care of the water and sweet drtink stations. Next day after I bought the plane tickets, I discovered that the date of the Marathon was changed, so I had to return the tickets and buy the new ones. Two days before the Marathon they changed the starting time and the course. At the start, on Tiananmen Square, the runners had to go to the public toilets nearby. The fistfight started between the local participants trying to get to the toilet cabin. On the way back to the start we were blocked from the entry by the no-nonsense soldiers. The start was given for the Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K simultaneously. The first half of the course was fine, with enough greenery to be able to breathe in spite of the usually low air quality in Beijing. When all the non-Marathoners finished their distances, only a few hundred runners continued on the course, it looked like mostly the foreigners. At that time we were running on a major industrial road with lots of stinky traffic right along us. Then suddenly we were not just near but between the buses that were going to and leaving from numerous bus stops, so we had to watch not to get ran over by one of the buses. The spectators, many of them just waiting to cross the street, were very amused and sympathetic of a small bunch of mostly not very young foreigners, and enthusiastically waved back to us from the street and from the passing buses when we waved to them. At the end of the course, I overheard one runner saying, ?I feel as if I smoked two packs today?. But the most amazing thing about the course was the presence of unsmiling soldiers (in addition to lots of police force) standing at full attention every few feet throughout the entire course. What for? To shoot the runners that were going to cut a corner? If this is one of the top 10 international Marathons, as they claim, then I am the Zulu Princess! |
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