Do I Dare Love This Race Just Yet?

Another good day in the Gobi. Really enjoying this race thus far. I write that sentence with huge emphasis on 'thus far'. Obviously healthy feet is probably the biggest factor but the Gobi is just spectacularly gorgeous. Bordering on mystical, the rolling green hills offer up leg burning ascents, but they also offer up some free running descents.


Leaving camp at the start of Stage 2 we turned right and headed for the hills. I ran alonside Kiwi Joe Pederson and he hung on the hip of Christian Scheister in 5th place. There was an immediate ravine crossing which most guys ran down into and then climbed up the other side, but forgetting the 8kg pack on my back I tried to leap across. Um, yeah, didn't quite make it. One foot made it but the other didn't so the ravine edge rejected me onto my back in the bottom of the ravine. Awesome and graceful at the same time.

The first 42 minutes was mostly upwards climbs with some short runs following some of the ridge lines. The front 9 runners pulled away right about then as the trail bombed us down a massive hill and into a riverbed. I never saw those guys again...

Picking my way through the riverbed was a huge rush. Sidestepping ankle twisting rocks and managing several small rocky climbs I rolled into checkpoint 1 in 11th position after 15km. In my most mature move as a desert runner yet, I actually stopped to sort out my feet. I had begun to feel a 'hot spot' on my right big toe so I pulled in, yanked off my shoe, rubbed on some hydropel, taped it up and headed off. What was supposed to be a quick stop was actually about 13 minutes giving 6 runners the chance to blow past.

The next two checkpoints were uneventful and simply followed a long, long, long dusty road high up on a ridgeline with a fantastic vista into the river below. The road eventually descended to the river, which I forded with a bit of reckless abandon. Damn my shoes were heavy coming out of that and up yet another steep incline. Unfortunately instead of a scenic green hill it was a dusty dirt trail. I crossed the finish line after another 900m in 17th.

The camp here is settled among some pretty gnarly jagged mountains and actually contains several ancient burial mounds in the middle. Most of the runners are feeling good and only a few have had to drop out but mostly due to injuries. There are also some questions being raised about mysterious 'support crews' out on the course but I'll leave it up to your imagination as to who the benefactor might be.....

All the best at home and good running!

RP