Great Wall Marathon: Hongkonger pushes through bleeding nipples and burning legs using rugby ‘grit’

Duncan Swanson climbs over 5,000 steps in first ever race on ‘stumpy legs’ as background in rugby – and ‘a lot of paracetamol’ – helps get him through

The Scot set out to prove to his mother he too could do a marathon, but is now considering taking on more similar challenges

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Duncan ‘Barney’ Swanson finishes the Great Wall Marathon despite stumpy legs and bleeding nipples. Photo: Mark Agnew

Published: 5:01pm, 21 May 2019Updated: 5:02pm, 21 May 2019

Duncan “Barney” Swanson might not have had experience on his side, or any physical attributes, when he embarked on the Great Wall Marathon on Saturday but he did have a dogged mindset.

The Kowloon rugby player was setting out on his first running race of any kind, and had picked the brutal staircases of one of the world’s wonders.

“Being a rugby player means having a bit of grit, sometimes you have to have it for a rugby session or a game, but physically it didn’t help, with short and stumpy legs,” he said.

The race is just north of Beijing. The steep stair climbs are so gruelling that even some of the fittest runners end up using their hands to climb.

“My quads are really sore. I took a lot of paracetamol around the course, so my liver could be in trouble tomorrow. And a lot of caffeine. My legs are just shot,” he said, adding he got a second wind as he entered his second lap of the course.

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