I finished the long stage yesterday.  It was roughly 50 miles.  Fortunately I finished before dark - we started at 10am and I finished I think around 9pm.  It doesn't get dark here until 11pm or so because all of China is on Beijing time so in the far west of China where we are it gets light late in the morning and stays light late in to the evening. 

The first half of the race went fine but I was starting to get tired by checkpoint 5 ( a bit past halfway).  I was running with Kevin, so we stopped and had a meal and then continued on.  The last 18 miles or so was really hard because I had a lot of blisters, I was nauseated and my ankles and hips hurt.  But I finished. The cutoff time was 10am this morning and a lot of people finished late in to the night and up until the cutoff this morning.  It gets cold at night and very dark so I feel for those who were on the course through the night.

We had a bit of rain yesterday during the run and a giant dust storm which made it hard to see.  The clouds stirring up the desert looked like funnel clouds.

Today is a day of rest and recovery.  Most people are slowly rehydrating, eating, resting and taking care of their feet.  Tomorrow we finish with a short 9-10 mile run and then back to Kashgar for a shower and celebration!

The scenery continues to be magnificent.  Where we are right now reminds me a bit of Colorado (though hotter - and with very few people in it) with high plains running into a majestic mountain range.  As I write I am looking and some of the most beautiful snow capped mountains I have every seen.

Yesterday we actually started with a two hour bus ride to get us to another part of the desert.  We passed within 200 yards of the Kyrgastan (I know this is spelled wrong - sorry) boarder.  You could see the boarder guards, the checkpoints and dozens of trucks lining up waiting to get in to China.  It was very interesting to me that this was the former China - Soviet Union boarder.

Today was the longest and hardest day so far.  I think we covered about 24 miles and the terrain was very hilly and rocky. We started the day by running a few kilometers up hill to a place called Heaven's Gate.  Heaven's Gate is a natural stone arch at the top of a mountain with magnificent views in all directions.  I would imagine there is a good picture on the website.  We then ran for several miles up and down rock canyons.  I fell several times and my feet got beat up but I survived and enjoyed the spectacular scenery.  The remainder of the day was in and out of salt flats and dry but rocky river beds and then on to a real river crossing (the first time my feet got wet), through a village and then a few miles along a construction site that is one of the many highways being built here in the desert.

I feel relatively good today, though my feet hurt and I have a swollen right ankle.  Kevin,  Rob and I are all still in the race and having fun.  Twelve people have dropped out or been pulled out of the race so far - including three of my tent mates (a Canadian couple and a woman from India).  Almost all are due to severe dehydration.  This race is very strict.  If you have to take an intravenous fluids you are out.  Other races I have done have allowed you one or two bags.

Thanks to all of you for your emails and encouragement!

Day 3 complete!  I think we covered about 22-24 miles today which would put us roughly 60 miles in to the race.  Today was harder than the first two days.  Stages two and three were up and down steep rocky canyons.  It was hard to keep my footing.  I fell a few times - once on a thorny bush and messed up my leg a bit, but I'm still running.  The last stage  was then up hill for then entire 6 to 7 miles...  My legs were so shot from the canyons that I had to walk most of the stage.  My only consolidation is that everyone else was walking too!  Overall I think I am doing fairly well compared to many of the other participants.

The scenery continues to be beautiful.  Our campground tonight is in a small isolated canyon surrounded by steep pink hills on three sides.  It's actually chilly here right now.  It feels like 65 or 70 degrees.  I think it is because we are relatively high in altitude today.  It was much warmer earlier today during the run and I expect it to be hot tomorrow.

The villages out in the Gobi are fascinating.  They all look a bit the same with mud brick homes or real brick if they are nicer homes.  They kind of blend right in to the desert.  Interestingly, most of the villages have electricity, though there is no sign of stores or any type of commerce.  It is all farming (we have passed some huge irrigation channels that bring water in to the desert from the mountains) and there are lots of sheep and goats.  We have also seen an occasional camel here and there.

Bye for now.

Day 2 finished!  I'm tired but I feel good given the circumstances.  We covered approximately 24 miles today through some absolutely stunning scenery.  The first stage (7 miles or so to the first checkpoint) looked like what you might imagine Mars to look like with the exception of a few green bushes here and there.  The terrain was red and pink rocks and sand with craters we ran in to and back out of.  Running on the rocks was tricky as I slipped and fell a few times.  Stage two took us up and down rocky mountains, through dried up river beds and over lots and lots of loose rock.  My feet got a bit beat up on this stage due to the constant pounding on my toes so I imagine I will come home minus a few toe nails!  Stage three was more of the same, so stage four was a welcome relief as we got to run it mostly on a newly paved road.  The downside was the road took us up a very steep mountain pass so we were running a steep uphill for a couple of miles (truth is I mostly walked this part.  When we actually got to the summit and looked down at the beautiful valley I found my energy and ran for the next few miles as I let gravity carry me down the mountain.

We are now camped outside a small village surrounded by the snow capped mountain peaks of Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.  It's very remote and very beautiful.

I think we have only lost two racers so far who have dropped out.  I suspect most people will complete the race.  It's easier than others I have done due to a lower temperature (around 90 degrees) and very little humidity.

I'm off to rehydrate, rest, take care of my feet and prepare for tomorrow..

First day completed.  Today was a relatively easy 18 miles or so.  I’m tired but not too drained.  Only 132 miles left to go!

The adventure started on Thursday night when we arrived in Kashgar in the Xinxiang Autonomous Region of China .  Kashgar is an interesting place.   It’s fairly poor but has big wide boulevards everywhere as though they were built by the government for the city they  hope to have someday.  The people are Urghers (forgive my spelling) unlike the vast majority people in China who are Han Chinese.  They speak a different language in this region, though I am told everyone in China learns Mandarin Chinese in school.  The people here are also Islamic.  Most of the women wear headscarves and brightly colored beautiful dresses.  The food is central Asian.  Friday night we went out for a feast of lamb, goat and kabobs.  In Kashgar we wandered through one of the largest outdoor markets in Asia and explored the old parts of the city where all of the buildings are built of mud bricks and where you get lost in the labyrinth of alleyways!

Yesterday we boarded the busses for a 2 ½ our trip into the Gobi desert over a mountain pass that was definitely one of the scarier rides I for e every had!  Imagine a dirt road that could wash away anytime and only wide enough for one car or bus at a time, spiraling up the side of the mountain with no guardrail!  It was definitely a road not intended for busses and if one tire were to go over the edge…..  well the entire bus would have gone tumbling down the steep mountainside.  The driver did not seem worried but rest of us certainly were gritting our teeth and hoping for the best!

We camped last night outside a small village surrounded by some of the most beautiful desert mountains I have ever seen.  The rocks were pink and red and green and off in the distance you could (and still can today) see the snow covered mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  The local villagers did a ceremony welcoming us with music, dancing and horses.  The villages out here are mostly as they probably have been for 1000 years.  Everything is built of mud bricks and it is basically subsistence living, BUT there is electricity.

The run today was beautiful – not too hot (probably 90 degrees) – and very scenic.  There  was a heavy wind, so I am covered in the reddish pink soil of the region.  The scenery was as vast as I have ever seen.  I could see the horizon touch the mountains and earth all around me.  And as I looked up at the blue sky I felt like I was in a giant fishbowl with the curvature of the earth visible in every direction.

Our run finished in a small village called Tashpushka.  Rather than sleeping in tents tonight we are sleeping In the courtyards of the housed in the village.  All of the houses seem to consist of several open rooms surrounding a courtyard.  There is a mosque in the center of the village.  The goats and cows roam freely and there are children everywhere – mostly fascinated by this invasion of people who look different and wear funny cloths!

I am having a great time and loving the adventure!  What a contrast this is from the modern, bustling and wealthy city of Beijing.  Our adventure starts tomorrow again at 8am!