This is Nottingham -- A WOLLATON runner is trying to raise £1,000 by completing a marathon on the Great Wall of China. Rob Avery-Phipps, 21, who is currently studying a master's in international relations at The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), is planning to run the Great Wall Marathon in the Chinese province of Tianjin. The marathon is run on the Huangya Pass section of the famous wall and involves negotiating 5,164 stone steps, as well as many steep ascents and descents. Rob, who is originally from Wollaton, hopes to raise more than £1,000 for End Polio Now, a charity that aims to eradicate polio worldwide. The 21-year-old who is studying in China thanks to a scholarship from his local Rotary Club, is a keen runner, having competed in competitions for UNNC. This will be, however, his first marathon attempt. He's been training in Ningbo, the city he's called home since September last year, although finding enough steps to train on has been a challenge. He said: "The Great Wall Marathon is a lot tougher than other marathon courses, thanks to the thousands of stone steps competitors have to negotiate. What's been difficult is that there's simply nowhere in Ningbo that has similar-sized steps in such vast quantities for me to train on!" Rob, who is hoping to return to the UK after completing his studies in August, is writing about his experiences on UNNC's China Student Life blog http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinastudentlife/
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