Mt. Pleasant’s Cavey wins Great Wall Marathon in China

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Kali Cavey covers a lot of ground. Running marathons from sea to shining sea and all over the world.

“I did Honolulu three times, Boston, New York, San Francisco. Berlin and the Great Wall of China.” Cavey says.

When she was 18, the Mt. Pleasant runner thought she was just checking an item off her bucket list.

“I always wanted to do it, but never thought I would be able to" Cavey said. "I really thought it was going to be one-and-done... I didn’t think I would do more of them.”

Nine year and 14 marathons later, running is the habit she just can’t kick.

Which brings us to this past May when Cavey conquered her toughest race yet...the Great Wall of China.

“I was a little skeptical at first with the logistics." she said. "We found this race in March and the race was in May. When I commit to something I give it 100 percent. I had no idea what I was doing”

In 8 short weeks, Cavey and her husband were able to sort out the details. But come race day, there was one minor detail Cavey didn’t prepare for.

“Seeing those stairs I thought this race wasn’t going to go well for me.” Cavey said. “It’ll suck. It’ll be hard. I’ll finish it, but I probably won’t do very well.”

How wrong she was. With only a few miles left to go, Cavey wasn’t just doing well...she was leading.

“At that point at the end of the race, I was in first and I wanted to win so badly.” Cavey said. “The thought of winning a marathon. That’s wild right? I never thought that would happen.”

But it did. Cavey finished first, an accomplishment she still can’t come to terms with.

“I couldn’t believe I actually won it. Like I’m lying every time I say I won a marathon. And I get it. It’s wild. Even I don’t believe it sometimes.” Cavey said.

Now, Cavey is back home teaching yoga and working for her next big race. The Dublin marathon in October and Tokyo in 2020.

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