Anyone who has run it knows that the Stanley Park Seawall is our Great Wall. With unobstructed waterfront views of the North Shore, Point Grey and the beaches of Spanish Banks and English Bay it’s easy to get lost in the scenery but impossible to get lost on the nearly 9k paved loop around Vancouver’s best-known park.
Is there a better way to celebrate the Lunar New Year than to run Vancouver’s great wall? Okay, maybe there are a few, but is there a better way to burn off a few calories before celebrating the Lunar New Year?
Click here for The Great Wall 19k route on FriendFit
Those without Garmins will note that there are small brass plaques embedded in the stone blocks of the seawall at half-mile and half-kilometre intervals. They are a little hard to read at running speed so the trick is to run the Seawall enough to learn which are which.
Click here for a little history of the Seawall or here for the official Parks Board page about the Seawall.
The James Cunningham Seawall Race, hosted each year by the Lions Gate Road Runners, is a 9.5k run around the Seawall which pays tribute to the man who spent 32 years overseeing construction of the Seawall.
If you feel the need to compare the two great walls, there is always the Great Wall Marathon in Tianjin, China.
You really appreciate the Sea Wall, especially when you live in Calgary. Of course the great Wall marathon in China is amazing, I ran the half marathon on the Great Wall in China in 2008. Thanks for the Blog post.