The Great Run

Book excerpt: Everyone said it couldn't be done; even internationally renowned sports scientists such as Dr. Tim Noakes. Certainly no-one had done it before, though many had tried: to run the Great Wall of China, end to end, non-stop. The journey would start in the Gobi Desert, cross the jagged Taihang Shan range, and end at the Bo Sea. It would involve blood boiling heat and mummifying sandstorms, soul-numbing mountain nights, incidents with bandits and draconian officials, pig's-hean soup and witnessing large-scale environmental devastation. But on-one had counted on teh tenacity of South African nature-lover Braam Malherbe. In runningthe main intact section of the Grat Wall, 4 500 kilometres end to end, Braam and his running partner David Grier set a world first. But Braam would have to call on reserves far deeper - physically and emotionally - than even he realised he had. China was never going to let him off lightly; then again, it would not leave a worthy traveller unmoved or unchanged. What began as a running-away, from long-buried childhood trauma, family suffering and loss, as well as hurt felf for the state of the planet, would eventually become a journey towards inner peace and understanding. The book concludes with the writer running into a new vision of healing the planet, step by small step, one person at a time.