[Photo provided to China Daily]

At the very top, an altitude of 3,200 meters, the runners could turn around and see the course behind them.

"This point in the race was to reward the runners for all the hard work done," says Smieszek.

After that, the trail headed down toward the finish line, where a fire, food, music, and friends waited.

Speaking about the trail, Yun Yanqiao, who won the first prize, says: "There were many ups and downs, and the last 20 kilometers rose 1,500 meters, and was practically vertical and needed both hands and feet to pass.

"It was an amazing run," says Yun, adding that the Gobi and Danxia landform were pleasing to the eye and made for an easy running experience.

The 29-year-old, who lives in Beijing and entered the race to promote a low-carbon lifestyle, says: "I saw contestants use rubber foldable cups instead of disposable paper ones.

"Running is part of a low-carbon lifestyle and I usually walk or run if the time allows it," he says, adding that people living in big cities often take a bus even the destination is one stop away.

Yun, who discovered his love for running when he took part in the Beijing Marathon in 2006, right before he went to college, completed the race in 21.5 hours.

After that, he begin practicing systematically. He then stood seventh in an event featuring running, boating and cycling at Shandong province's Taishan Mountain in 2007.

"I then took a shine to cross-running, which allows one to get close to nature and does not make running boring," he says.

Now, running is an integral part of Yun's life, and the runner, who lives near the Olympic Park, wakes up at five every morning and runs 20-30 kilometers before heading to work.

His efforts have paid off.

Yun has won many long-distance running events, including ones staged in Gansu's Dunhuang and Zhangye, and Minya Konka in Sichuan province, this year.

"The whole point of running is to make peace with yourself and enjoy it. If you follow someone else's pace you might end up messing up your race," he says.