The man who hit the wall and ran on

Long before ultra-running became popular, William Lindesay embarked on a wacky solo mission to run the length of the Great Wall - an adventure that saw him endure fiercely painful blisters, live in constant fear of arrest, and risk the possibility of a lonely and painful death in the wilderness.

The Briton ran the entire 2,500-kilometre distance without a support crew, often in intense heat on sections that were far from the nearest settlement. This year marks the 25th anniversary of that epic journey, one that saw Lindesay detained nine times by local police, and, at one point, suffer the ignominy of deportation.

The run was split into two parts, during the spring and autumn of 1987, to avoid the more extreme heat of mid-summer. Lindesay had been to the Great Wall the previous year with the intention of running its length, but realised he had massively underestimated the difficulty of the challenge, particularly the searing temperatures of July and August.

He set out nonetheless, and was quickly laid low by amoebic dysentery and a stress fracture. But there was one positive discovery during that shortened expedition: Lindesay was surprised to find that peasant farmers living by the wall were hospitable people, willing to provide a bed and sustenance once they overcame their initial shock at seeing a gangly European stranger jog into the village.

Lindesay returned home to England and plotted another assault for the following year - this time with better preparation. The keen club runner already had the athletic credentials for an ultra-endurance mission - he had a marathon time of two hours, 39 minutes and a nippy 10-kilometre personal best of 31 minutes, 30 seconds.