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Gobi March Blogs 2010

Robert Tull

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Gobi March (2010) blog posts from Robert Tull

02 July 2010 10:06 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

Stage 5 over. After a good start (too good?) I watched all my targets slip away...finish by midnight, finish by dawn, 24 hours, 25 hours. Finally came in 26hrs sth. It just became a slog. Get to the next checkpoint. Rest. Drink. Electrolytes. Food. Up again. Took a three hour sleep at the 78km checkpoint. The sting in the tail - the last 5km was a hike up over the dunes. Once again the goal recedes again.
Finally I crested a dune to see two figures shouting 'Finish line ahead'. I have never been so grateful and relieved.
 
All cooled down and relaxing once more.
 
The programme says 22km over dunes tomorrow for the last stage. Can they really do that to us?

Comments: Total (6) comments

Posted On: 05 Jul 2010 11:34 am

Wow, the long day sounded brutal and to finish with sand dunes after such a long slog is pretty sick !! Well done on finishing mate - completing the 100km stage on its own is a huge achievment so to do the full 250 is even better !! Hope you enjoyed the beers on the last night - very well deserved !!!

Posted On: 04 Jul 2010 10:50 pm

Awesome achievement!

Posted On: 03 Jul 2010 12:12 pm

Well I'm impressed even if you didn't achieve your own targets! Hope you've had a good rest and are all ready for the final leg.

Posted On: 03 Jul 2010 06:43 am

Hello Rob, so glad to hear you have completed stage 5 successfully,Well done! Best of luck for today x

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 11:40 pm

Really glad and relieved to know that you safely finished long stage. Please take care and gambatte on the final stage!!

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 09:52 pm

Hi Rob, Amazing effort - fantastic and well done for sticking with it and getting through the ordeal even when your goals shifted. enjoy the last 22k - if thats possible! martin

30 June 2010 02:17 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

The game changed today. The sun came out, and we had sand. Lots of sand. Was feeling very confident after yesterday and, setting out at 4am local time, just before sunrise, I put on a bit of a fast shuffle. After just over 3.5 hours and 22km (ish), we turned off the track and up into the dunes. Very hard going! It took another half an hour to cover the last two km to checkpoint two, and from here to the finish it was all walking.
The next/last stage took us over 'Flaming Mountain'. Only 11km, but 2h40m to complete. Long slogs up gulleys which must have been nicely shaded earlier in the day, but which now offered little protection from the cloudless sky. But, it's all just a matter of keeping going. Still managed to finish in the top half (just!).
 
We are spending the night at 'Uighur Ghost Town', which appears to be a museum. We are sleeping on the floor of the main exhibition hall. Red dust everywhere, but cool.
 
Learned a bit for tomorrow. We have a 98.5km day, but mostly easy. Am aiming to maintain 4kmh, and finish in around 25 hours. Slow, steady, lots of water.
 
Thanks to all who've sent me emails & comments. If you haven't got a reply, it means I got your address wrong!

Comments: Total (3) comments

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 11:05 am

hey rob, stellar effort in getting through the long day. my total respect to anyone who is able to complete that distance in that heat. amazing. well done, you should be soooo proud of yourself! hope you have enough legs & feet left to make it through the final stage. go go rob !!!

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 05:20 am

go, go, go, run, run, run, Rob! Ganbatte-kudasai. big dessert are waiting you after the desert.

Posted On: 01 Jul 2010 03:04 pm

Hope you are well and surviving today's long run. gambatte!!

29 June 2010 08:45 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

Great day today. Feeling very bullish. All (almost) downhill, overcast and cool. 32km and managed to run the middle 11km. We're staying in a village tonight, courtesy of the locals who look at us like they've never seen semi-transparent licra before. Actually staying in rooms with blankets on a kang. There is even a cold river to sit in & wash after the run. Apparently one of the guys has a TV in the room and was watching Holland v Slovakia (rumour?).
 
Looking forward to tomorrow now, trying not to think about the 99km section for stage 5. We are now at ~1000m, and altitude effects are gone. The flip side is of course higher temperatures from here...

Comments: Total (7) comments

Posted On: 01 Jul 2010 08:54 am

You are amazing, Rob-san. It seems an extraordinary tough race to me. Hope you are well and return to Tokyo safely. Gumbatte-kudasai !!!

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 03:58 pm

Glad to see you are doing so well, my nine mile walk yesterday pales into insignificance! Keep it up and look after yourself x12

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 10:32 am

Well done Rob, looks like you are doing well and keeping excellent time so far. Look after yourself and hope Stage 5 goes as well as the previous stages x

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 08:29 am

hi rob, Hope all was good on stage 4 and the early start ok- from the results it looks like it was a longer one. I've been reading a few of the other blogs this morning on a day off - what an epic event. Sounds like a bug is going around - hope it doesnt hit you. I'm off to run in the lakeland fells today - by comparison a tiny day's run. I did a 15km in the hills last week - got lost and totally knackered- made me think how totally brilliantly you are doing. Quote of the day from Caballo Blanco...'think easy light and smooth...if you get those three you will be fast' Have a good rest and look after yourself in stage 5 m

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 08:05 am

Hope you are well. You looked good when you were crossing the river today. By the way, I liked your hotel slippers you had yesterday. ;-)

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 02:06 am

Well done mate, you are doing an awesome job out there - keep going and keep it steady ahead of the long day. Glad to hear you are blister free and ache-free , i am sure you are in the minority there so you are doing incredibly well looking after yourself. Poor Japan lost on penalties last night which was a shame although it was a contender for the dullest game at the world cup ,so you had it easy in the desert missing that rubbish !!! :-) Hope stage 4 went well

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 01:48 am

Great work Rob. Keep it up. We are cheering you from our comfy couch in Toronto. Best wishes. Nick & Terri

28 June 2010 08:41 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

Stage2 done and all good. Finished around 2pm today, so lots of rest this afternoon. This was probably the easiest stage. Over some small hills and down a beautiful river canyon. Feet a bit sore, but no major probs yet. Spending a lot of time sleeping. Still at 1880m, so still a cool breeze. Getting hotter though...

Comments: Total (5) comments

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 09:15 am

Enough about you - let me tell you about me. I have bought some new underpants from Marks & Spencers. I rather like them, but I sometimes freeze at the decision I have to make about which colour to choose each day. Sometimes I can barely face that choice.

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 08:52 am

Howdy Rob, Well done mate. I suspect keeping your feet in good order is key so good to hear they are holding up. Was going to suggest attaching a G&T to a stick held in place just in front of you (the old carrot'n stick) but given your comments on the climate will save this for one for the latter legs. Japan vs Paraguay tonight. Whoever wins makes the quarter finals for the first time. The whole of Japan shall be watching as will I. Japan in amazingly good form. A win is possible. Hoping for a dull market tomorrow! Hang in the buddy. Hamish

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 06:29 am

hi rob, Just looked at the current results page- looks like you are in at the end of day 3 with a good time. Sounded like a tougher day from the descriptions of the route- good job rob.Hope the feet are ok. m

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 06:14 am

Hi Rob, Glad the day went well and scenery is memorable. Great that you are sleeping loads and good luck with the sore feet. As already remarked - you're a lucky bastard for being spared the England footie debarcle - hats of to you for finding such a bomb proof and extreme way of ensuring you avoided the match. Have a good one on day 3! martin

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 04:00 am

g'day rob, well done on getting through 2 days, hope that today is another day you remain chafe, blister, aches & injury free. i bet you will regret your wishes for warmer weather ! how you manage to sign up for an event like this after being out for so long is beyong moi! go go rob.

27 June 2010 08:19 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

Too cold to write much today - we are now qat 2150m, and it's going to be a cold night. Given the march finishes at -150m, i'm hoping for some downhill and warmer climes soon. Today was harder than expected...only 32k, but lots of up and down. Feeling good now though - chicken tikka for dinner!

Comments: Total (9) comments

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 11:36 pm

Good luck Rob! Seriously high respect for this feat.

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 02:51 pm

Glad your stage 2 time was a bit better. Questions were being asked. Please save some of your chicken tikka dry rations as Anjali would like to try them.

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 12:21 pm

well done, Rob! Hope you sleep well and good luck on next stage.

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 09:31 am

Well done Rob! Hope it warms up soon. Keep running x

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 07:38 am

Please come home safely, my darling !!!!

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 05:45 am

Congratulations Rob! You are a superstar!

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 01:28 am

Well done on your completing the stage 1. I'm glad that you are doing well and surviving. Keep on going and Ganbarehhhh!

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 12:59 am

Hi mate, well done on the 1st day , thats a very good start and an impressive time aswell given the undulations. I'm glad you are feeling good and hope you are enjoying all of the stunning scenery out there - the pics look amazing. You have also done remarkably well to avoid seeing England get crushed by Ze Germans 4-1 last night - it was awful. If you have met Stu Gates please pass on my congrats from me and wish him well for the remainder (he was too tight to set up a blog by the look of it , haha ! ) Keep going mate and enjoy.

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 12:00 am

Hope the chicken tikka went down well, and you didn't freeze overnight...good luck!

26 June 2010 08:46 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

It's cold! Drizzle yesterday and cold and bright today. We left Urumqi by bus after lunch for a 4 hour journey out to the 1st camp. Stopped halfway for a selection of speeches by local dignitaries. Then further and further up the valley away from civilization. Bleak and inhospital, arid plain surrounded by arid hills, with white peaks behind, still capped with snow. Then descent into a green valley, and the camp.
Looking forward to tomorrow. Only 29km for the first day! Easy!

Comments: Total (0) comments

24 June 2010 02:20 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

Kit, kit, kit. Just weighed the pack - 6.5kg +2 litres water = 8.5kg...& only 1 spare pair of socks. Bottles or bladder?....arrrghh...

The night before departure. I feel I have no idea what to expect. Sitting in Tokyo, the Gobi seems so far away, and hard to relate to: difficult to imagine myself there, let alone running though it. One step at a time. Get on the plane, and see what happens.

Comments: Total (0) comments

16 June 2010 11:50 am (GMT+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo

Just found this site...very handy. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/1795

42-43 degrees. Gulp.

Comments: Total (1) comments

Posted On: 18 Jun 2010 02:09 am

Gulp indeed! The one thing to remember is that it is at least a dry heat rather than a humid heat. That doesn't sound like much consolation but it does make those kind of temperatures slightly more comfortable! Good luck in the race. Sam H - RacingThePlanet

14 June 2010 02:07 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Training, such as it was, is now pretty much over. Peaked last week with about 80km (to be fair, some up and down a mountain). 250km in the real race. Tapering from here on in, and only 13 days away from the first stage. How bad can it be? Just got an email from the organizers saying that temperatures were up to 50 degrees the last time this course was run. How hot is that? Cold and wet in Tokyo at the moment. There was still snow on the ground for my Last Big Run last weekend...

Comments: Total (0) comments