Trail Tales | Discovering Beijing's off-road trails

Tina Lewis, one of Canada's top trail runners, was pleasantly surprised with what she saw at the recent North Face 100 Beijing two weekends ago. "I really enjoyed the course," says the 40-year-old Montreal native, who resides in Boulder, Colorado, US. "It was unique and completely different than what I am used to in North America. There were a lot of steps and untraveled trails. The climbs were grueling but satisfying. The scenery was spectacular - mountain views and canyons. The course brought you through little villages, which is a great way to experience the culture."

TNF100 Beijing has been held every year since 2009 and is part of The North Face 100 Asia series of races that includes events in Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Japan and - new for 2013 - Hong Kong. This year, the Beijing race was moved from Changping District to Zhaitang, Mentougou District, some 90 kilometres from downtown Beijing. The race organiser, Beijing Mentougou Sports Bureau, says the move was done to create a more "professional" and "challenging" course, which consisted of more than 60 per cent off-road tracks, reached a high of 1,660 metres and had a cumulative elevation gain of about 3,300 metres. A 50-kilometre event was also offered.

A nurse practitioner at a hospital in Denver, Colorado, Lewis is a former adventure racer who picked up trail running in 2010. In just a short time she's chalked up an impressive CV that includes winning the legendary Leadville 100 mile race and Miwok 100km last year. Nonetheless, she found the Beijing course "very challenging". "The climbs were steep, the steps were hard on the the body and the windy downhill through canyons made for an interesting and diverse course," she says.