Preparations not ideal
Training conditions were not ideal for this year’s run. My kind of work is always hectic at this time of year, but that wasn’t all. Emil had been confirmed in April, which required a good deal of preparation. At the same time, the boys had returned from another short trip just before departure for China. They had been on a long weekend to England to go to a football match in Liverpool. To top it all, I had been training for a month with a sore foot which was still a bit swollen.
New airport
Nevertheless, we left Denmark arriving in Beijing on the morning of Wednesday 14th May, landing at a completely new giant airport built for the upcoming Olympic Games. The runway was not right next to the airport buildings, so we had to take a Metro to the baggage conveyors in the arrival hall.
Hotel conditions
That year, we were to stay at the Qianmen Hotel, where I had previously stayed one night the day of arrival, and for the third year running we were to stay at the Yuyang Hotel in Jixian after the inspection tour to the Wall on Thursday. The hotel had previously been a bit of a disappointment, but this year we got a pleasant surprise. There were now computers and Internet in the rooms. They may have upgraded in connection with the Olympics.
Day excursion
On Friday 16th May, I went on an excursion with the group. This time our guide was Jakob Blaabjerg Pedersen, who lives in China and is a highly competent tour guide. What is more, he is a very nice person. I have been lucky to enjoy Jakob’s company many times in subsequent years.
The day’s tour took us first to the local market in Jixian, where we got an impression of how private initiative was making a return to Chinese society after being repressed for many, many years. The free market was in a state of fervent growth.
Next stop was the Duleshi Temple, originally built during the Tang Dynasty in the period 618 – 907 according to our calendar. The temple is particularly famous for its ancient wooden pavilion and a large number of rare frescoes.
Finally, we drove further east to see the Way of the Spirits, which consists of large stone figures of animals and humans, and we also visited the graves of the Qing emperors. This is a huge, impressive burial site where five of China’s emperors, 14 empresses and 136 first concubines are entombed.
The pasta at the party that evening was the most delicious I’ve ever tasted. After two years with the thumbs down for the hotel’s kitchen, things had really looked up.
Better breakfast
The day of the race, 17th May, started with breakfast and to my great satisfaction I was able once again to ascertain a considerable improvement. There were bananas and jam on the tables, among other things. Jakob had obviously made his influence count, and on the bus he offered us more bananas and biscuits, too.
Earthquake tragedy
The ceremonial speeches lasted longer this year for rather tragic reasons. The day before I left Denmark, the northern province of Sichuan had been hit by a huge earthquake which had cost the lives of more than 50,000 people. The opening ceremony was affected by this tragedy. Everybody was urged to donate money to the victims, and a minute’s silence was held for the dead.
Manageable run
The marathon was nowhere near as tough as the year before. We had the weather on our side. The sun was not burning hot, and the temperature was not extreme. We had feared it would rain and make the steps on the Wall and a goat track dangerous, but only a few drops fell along the route.
My run was going completely to plan, and I was up the mountain and over the Wall within 40 min for the first time. From here, the run proceeded reasonably well. The fact that I had not trained that much for a year was not a big problem.
Fortunately, the marathon organisation functioned really well this year. We got what we needed in terms of water, power drink and bananas. My negotiation of the Wall the second time around also went well.
Moving welcome
Almost at the end of the run, one of the people from my group came towards me and said the whole group was waiting for me. A bit further along one of them gave me a Danish flag, with which I was to cross the line.
The whole group stood there cheering me as I entered Yin and Yang Square, as did everyone else in the stands. At the finishing line, I got the world’s longest bear hug from Thomas, before it was time to shake hands with a lot of people I knew and some I didn’t know. Then it was time to go over to the group and thank them emotionally for their fine gesture. After some food, a beer and an interview with cnn.com it was time to head for Beijing.
Finisher jersey
On the day of the inspection tour, I had bought a fleece jersey with the marathon logo on it. I decided to make it my own personal GWM finisher jersey with all the years I had run on it. The jersey would then be updated every year. On the Sunday, I went to the Silk Market to talk to the tailors. The first couple of them either couldn’t do it or didn’t understand what I was on about. The third was able to do the job. Now it was just a question of negotiating the price and agreeing when it would be ready. Everything was in place.
On my return to the hotel, I had to struggle with a taxi driver over the fare. He wanted to drive without the meter and intended to cheat me, but I was a bit too experienced, so that didn’t work. We did find a solution, however.
Wonderful gala party
This year too, the huge gala party was held at the big Beijing Hotel. This was for the third year running. The evening went according to tradition, and Søren Rasmussen made a speech about the marathon’s history and how it had come into being. I thought it was nice to hear about the marathon’s Danish origins, a fact not everybody was familiar with.
Dave, Thomas and Henrik Jørgensen presented the prizes. The latter had been an official since 2004, and as the winner of the London Marathon in 1988 he is fully aware of the significance of the 42.195 kilometres.
That year’s winner was the Mexican, Romualdo Sanchez Garita with a time of 3:18:47. Again, he had set a record for the run since the route was changed in 2000.
After the winners had been announced, Dave’s wife, Fran, got to her feet to pay homage to various people for their performances. She also mentioned me. As I remember it, what she said goes something like this:
“There are about 6,000,000,000 of us in this world. You are among the very few, who have completed the world’s toughest marathon. Among you is one person, who has completed all nine of them: Henrik Brandt from Denmark. Henrik, would you please stand up.”
I stood up and was applauded by the entire amphitheatre.
Respect for the victims
Monday I had a meal at McDonald’s, where I quite unintentionally made a fool of myself. When I had eaten, I wanted to order one more burger. But then I wondered why there was nobody else at the counter and why all the staff were standing up straight in silence. Without giving it a thought, I started to place my order. But in words and with gestures they let it be known that they were observing silence for the many victims of the earthquake. Out of respect for the victims of the tragedy I immediately stood still, too. It seemed like an awful long time, but I was later told that from 2.28 to 2.30 p.m. there had been two minutes’ silence throughout China. While we stood there, I repeatedly heard sirens. All the traffic outside was at a standstill, with many cars hooting their horns and sirens going off in the streets. The flags were at half-mast everywhere, and three days of national mourning had been declared throughout the land.
Evening visit to the hutongs
On the last evening, a good number of us went with Jakob to the nearby hutongs, where we drank beer and enjoyed grilled lamb on spits. It was very cosy, and the food was delicious.
The Olympic City
The final little experience on that year’s trip was had on the way to the airport. We drove out into the vicinity of the Olympic City. Here at a distance, we could see the new Olympic stadium, known as the “Bird’s Nest”. We also saw an official Olympic building shaped like a torch and a completely new tour. Unfortunately, getting any closer was not permitted. This was understandable enough, because the official opening of the games was only a few months away.
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