Trail Running in China

[wushijiao]

Just out of curiosity, I wonder if anyone has any experiences doing trail running in China.

Basically, I'm a huge fan of trail running, and I wonder if there are any places that people have been to where they've been able to find good trails. It seems that, unfortunately, most "famous" or historic places have been thoroughly paved, (although, with millions of visitors per year, it's understandable). Has anyone ever run single track in China?

For the purposes of the discussion, I'd exude HK and Macau. (Note: HK, perhaps surprisingly, is a trail runner's paradise, and on my recent visit to Macau, I found some wonderful dirt trails too!)

On the other hand, perhaps people could share nice hiking/trail running experiences too, even if they were on concrete/paved paths.

[roddy]

In Beijing, I suspect you could find some decent trails out of town by looking at the routes the out-of-town hiking groups use - Beijing Hikers is one, there are others. The trouble is getting to the start points if you don't drive. You could also look for routes used by the Hash Harriers - there's the group in Beijing, but it can't be the only one.

[amandagmu]

There's a group associated with the Heyrobics runners and coaches (http://heyrobics.com) that does some running in the areas around Beijing. When I lived there last year we used to run in between Badachu and Fragrant hills, until the military guys kicked us out... The best way to meet these runner guys.... pm me if you want to know.

The Harrow 10K is happening this weekend, that's outside the 5th ring road; you run along some canals and start/finish in some fake Italian villas neighborhood.... they provide free transport from the worker's stadium and back, and there's an awesome cheap BBQ after the race. It's well-run, probably because there are Brits running it. (NOTE: huge contrast to the April "International Running Festival" 10k in Tiananmen... that was a joke!) I won the women's division last year but I can't defend my title since I'm no longer there. Tant pis. Instead I get to run my lovely trails here in Germany.

Last June I did the 30K Vassa Cross Country Running Festival run by Nordic Ways (Swedes). The course was the best I've seen in China yet! It was basically a gorgeous (mostly pine) forest with a lake nearby.... best of all, I had a terrible run but still wound up placing high enough for a monetary prize and free schwag, paying off my entry fee + a few hundred. :-) Most of all, we had GREAT weather compared to Beijing - about 25 C, a little warm for running, but... with blue skies. [PICTURES HERE] Plenty of water along the course. These guys also run the Grasslands marathon, which I heard was good but I never ran that.

[icebear]

A curiosity related to running in Beijing:

• Do you or other runners you know wear some kind of filtered mask for the pollution? I wouldn't worry about it on the decent days, but I'd hate if my running routine was regularly interrupted by smoggy days.
  
• Is running in smog arguably worse for you than living in it?
  

I wasn't much into running when I lived in Beijing before (went the gym instead), but I've developed the habit since leaving and would interested in maintaining it once back, assuming there is a reasonably healthy way to do it (or, if the health impacts are negligible, given already living there).

[amandagmu]

Basically, you have to deal with it according to level of tolerance and common sense. Level of tolerance for me started at 150 - as in, if the pollution level (which I religiously checked any day I wanted to go run) was over 150, I didn't run outside. By the end of my time there it was more like 250-300 because I had gotten used to it. Was it good for me? Probably not. Common sense, however, told me that on days over ~250 or so I should not run for longer than ~45-60 minutes outside. Alas, I'm a long distance runner, so for me that is not all that long. I chose to do it all in Chaoyang park, which at least helped mitigate some of the pollution/cars being directly in my face. On really bad days ~300+ I would skip running and just go do something with the Heyrobics people, indoors. If I was desperate as hell to run I would just do any easy jog down the canal from home (near Dongzhimen) and home, about 30 minutes in total... Hazardous days of 450+ I did a kickboxing DVD on my computer, inside my apartment and next to the Blueair filter.

Mind you, my first few months in Beijing I could not run on days over 150-200 because I would feel sick. For better or worse, one seems to adjust to the pollution after a while... but I don't think that makes it any better for your health in the long run.

[amandagmu]

Also, seriously, look up those Heyrobics people... there are some solid groups of people who meet regularly to run.

[icebear]

Just wanted to say thanks for the post. I had a similar experience with other outdoor activities there - noticed the pollution bothered me initially, but by the time I left I only really took notice on days above 250 PMI. I just figured running might be harder on the lungs since its more strained/consistent over a fixed period of time than what I was doing for fun. Will keep this in mind when I move back!

[wushijiao]

Thanks a lot for the Amandagmu! Those are some cool photos too!

Icebear: to answer your question, I used to run in Shanghai, mainly running either on a university track or in a public park. I felt that pollution was minimized in both cases, but it was still high. I've said it before, but i were too live in a major mainland city again, I'd probably just get a gym membership and do 75% of my running on a treadmill, and then would maybe take short trips to rural places to do long runs on the weekends. (Although, I must also admit that I've gone from hating treadmill running to kind of enjoying it).

To be honest, I've been an athlete pretty much my whole life, mainly in outdoor sports, and so the danger in doing those activities (at least over the long run) was one reason why I choose to leave Shanghai. Hong Kong's pollution is also really bad, but you can minimize it a lot by living in certain areas, or in running in places in which there are no cars and are in forests. (Or at least that's what I hope).

Of course, it could be that there are other good cities for running in China that I'm not aware of. for instance, I remember going to a temple on the outskirts of Kunming. I remember thinking that once you got outside of the city and started to climb the mountain (ie...roughly 30-50 kuai/20 minutes out) the hill and surrounding greenery could be a decent place to do hill work, and would be relatively unpolluted.

[Emile Chombier]

Hi there,

So am I, I recently did a trail running day in Huangshan (=yellow) mountains near Shanghai. It was a great workout : all pathes are made of stone steps, you probably have a potential of 60,000 steps to climb and descend!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huangshan

The only problem was the crowd because it is very touristic and there are huge cable-cars pouring hundreds of tourists everyday up there. They all looked at me as a weirdo, running like a crazy guy along all these steps and the pathes are sometimes very narrow (one guy at a time can climb or go down, so I had to stop and wait many times) .. The best time is at dawn or dusk. Running at night is also very impressive.

I had the idea of getting in touch with the Huangshan County Government to organize a Ultra-trail marathon there. It would be unique in the world : 100km of steps lost in the wilderness of these mountains! I'm sure it will attract ultra-runners from all over the world. If anyone in China can help me?