In stark contrast to last chapter’s pancake-flat race course through colorful, Disney character-filled lands only 60 years old, this chapter’s inspiration comes from the opposite. With its main sections totaling over 13,000 miles and earliest ones built 700 years B.C., the Great Wall Marathon is hardly a walk in the park.  This marathon challenges runners to steep ascents and descents along with 5,164 stone steps.

Whoa, wait, no, I most certainly have not run the Great Wall Marathon!

However, it did cross my mind two years ago as our family was planning its first visit to China.  Ah, yes, scheduling races and runs as part of vacation itineraries…Runner’s World magazine lists this habit as “one of the ways you know you’re a runner.”  But since I wasn’t about to convince all seventeen family members (ranging from 3 to 75 years old) to plan our trip around this marathon, I would just have to be content riding the gondola up to the wall and climbing its steep, uneven paths alongside thousands of other sweaty bodies…not that different from a marathon.

Maybe some things are just meant to be enjoyed from afar.

As our tour bus drove the picturesque countryside from Beijing’s Forbidden City fifty miles northwest to Badaling, the anticipation of visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World grew as the scenery became more breathtaking.  One of the things I have grown to appreciate about our family is its wit and sense of humor.  So, of course, the bus ride to the ancient wonder was filled with conversation about the adjective “great.”  Having only seen photos up to this point, we posed questions like:  “How great is this wall anyway?”  “Couldn’t they have come up with a better word to describe it?”  “Are all other walls mediocre?”  And then the bus rounded a corner which gave our anxious, naïve group its first glimpse of the wall.

And it was – for lack of a better word – great.

It actually and literally took my breath away.  Similar to seeing the Grand Canyon in person, there are just no words to properly express the experience of seeing this endless structure traversing the lush, deep, green miles of mountainside.  I felt humbled.

Now I was really excited. I pictured this moment years ago when my very generous and gracious mother-in-law offered to take the whole Tang family to China.

It had been her heart’s desire to introduce her children and grandchildren to her beloved country of birth and infuse a bit of Chinese heritage into a generation of McDonald’s-Costco-loving-iPhone-dependent-Facebookers.  And that’s just me.  We were about to check off one of the “must-sees” when in China.  I had even pictured myself going for a nice 8 or 9 mile run along the wall while the rest of my family leisurely walked and stopped often to take photos of the unlimited postcard-worthy views.

As we stood in the long line waiting for the gondola to take us up to The Great Wall, I soon realized how uneducated I was about its significance. For one, I didn’t know The Great Wall could be seen from the Moon.  I didn’t know the wall extended to the Gobi Desert and into Mongolia from the eastern coast past Beijing.  I didn’t know the section of wall we were visiting was the first section open to the public as well as being the most frequently renovated and strongest as it once protected nearby Beijing from invasions by Mongols and Manchurians.  On this day, the seventeen-member Tang Dynasty invaded The Great Wall along with more tourists than I have ever rubbed sweaty arms and legs.

It was more crowded than the start line of the L.A. and S.F. Marathons combined.

My dream of running on The Great Wall quickly faded as I saw that this whole section of wall (26 feet high and 16 feet wide at its widest) was more wall-to-wall tourists than brick – The Great Wall of Tourists.  Annoyed also by the noon-day humidity, I was determined to make my way through the crowds to find a cooler, less-populated section to redeem part of my dream.  I did find some redemption as I ventured farther down the wall than most tourists were willing to go since the trek down meant a steep trek back up.  After escaping the most crowded sections, I found it quite pleasant and even relaxing to gaze out into the distance and see nothing but miles of wall and green mountains.

It was surreal.  I realized that to truly appreciate this wall, I had to look past it.  Standing there on the wall itself was not THE great part.  The greatness came from taking in all that it represented.

In running, “the great wall” is really not-so-great from any vantage point. Often referred to as “hitting the wall” or “bonking,” I have fallen victim to visiting this wall many times.  I’ve read dozens of articles to try to gain a better understanding of how it is I continue to hit this wall despite hours of training and proper nutrition.  This excerpt from www.competitor.com seems to cover it simply enough:

“The prevailing belief has been that the wall occurs when a runner depletes his or her very limited reserves of glycogen, a carbohydrate-based fuel source for muscle contractions. The body stores plenty of glycogen to get through shorter races, but not always enough to deliver runners to the finish line of a marathon, especially if their pace is too aggressive.”

“If their pace is too aggressive.” The story of my running life. How many times have I crossed the finish line and looked down at my Garmin watch only to be disappointed that I didn’t hit my goal? More often than not.

Out of the twenty-three marathons I have run, there have only been five in which I hit my goal.

What went wrong in those eighteen races? Mainly, I went out too fast. So, the obvious solution is to stop going out faster than my goal pace, right? After all, if I’ve already calculated that I need to maintain a 9:30 minute mile pace (no one will ever mistake me for a speed demon), what am I doing going 9:00 and 8:45 early on?   Sure, in those first few marathons, I could blame adrenaline and inexperience.

You would think that the physical and psychological pain encountered at Mile 20 would be enough to ensure that I never make that mistake again.

Yet something happens after the starting horn goes off. I feel good. I have this internal dialogue with myself convincing me that I can somehow hold this pace despite training at a slower pace. I think to myself “Today is the day!”

I even repeat favorite Bible verses over and over such as “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Hmmm, somehow when Paul wrote that verse to the church in Philippi, I don’t think he was envisioning this middle-aged mom trying to run a sub-4 hour marathon.

It is easy to take certain Bible verses out of context. Over the years, I have come to appreciate any verses that refer to running – and there are many. But that widely-quoted verse from Philippians 4:13 was actually part of a thank you letter written by Paul as a missionary dependent on the donations from those supporting his calling to deliver the Gospel to the unreached.

“…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Based on verse 13 alone, more people should be running marathons and qualifying for Boston. But as I look at my own track record, this mindset has ironically kept me from more success. I believe the key reason I have failed to maintain a more consistent race pace (leading to hitting the wall) is not being content or convinced that God’s timing is best for me.

Before any race – of any distance – I always ask God to be my coach, running partner, and pacer. I ask Jesus to “guide my stride” and “pace my race.”

Too often after the starting horn goes off, I take matters into my own hands – and feet. I can’t be content with my Coach’s plan when everyone else is racing ahead of me. All of a sudden, I have selectively chosen to ignore verses 11 and 12 because “I can do ALL THIS through Him who gives me strength” just sounds so much better and easier to believe.

Now, this in no way implies that God doesn’t want us to aim high and rely on Him to do the seemingly impossible. But Philippians 4:13 can be a recipe for marathon – or any endeavor – disaster when taken out of context. It is a difference in perspective. Process versus outcome.

Am I willing to trust that God knows the most beneficial pace for me to achieve certain goals in a race…or in life?

We’ve all hit walls in life. How we come out the other side largely depends on our perspective.

Did I learn from my mistakes? Do I see this setback as a stepping stone to the next great improvement? Is this circumstance exposing a weakness I need to address? Do I need to set more realistic goals factoring in the cost to family and friends? Am I content with how God provides each step of the way?

Sure, there are things I could have done to prevent hitting those walls. But much like the way one should look at The Great Wall of China, you can’t just look at one section to appreciate its greatness; you need to look at the whole.