We did it!!! And raised a whopping $29,000 for Hope House in the process!!! Thank you all!!! No one is more surprised than I. And if you had asked me to bet on my chances of completing the 250km self-sufficient Gobi Desert March, I would NOT have bet on me either! Haha…. Anyway, most of what I have to say is up on my earlier Gobi Blog posts… and here is the condensed version!

And if I’ve learnt anything from the race, it’s this – Dare to Dream and Believe in Yourself! You have no idea what you are capable of, until you try!

The Short Story

I have never in my life been so challenged as I have been, at the Gobi Desert Race! My backpack weighed in at 10.3kg (before water, which adds another 1.5kg), and it was amongst one of the lightest backpacks in the race! So on the first few days, I carried 11.8kg of weight across 42km every day. It took an average of 9-11 hours each day depending on the terrain.

§  Day 1 was beautiful – the scenery was varied with butterfly valleys, red rocky hills, budha-faced rock carvings, and green pastures. It simply did not feel like 42km because of the variety of landscape we were lucky enough to encounter. It was also the day I saw goats, yaks, sheep, donkeys, camels, horses, ducks, antelopes, etc. I made it to camp tired but happy.

§  Day 2 was mainly green plains. We walked almost the entire length of the Altai mountains (ok, it seemed like it to me) which made it monotonous and meant that distance and time seemed to blend into one grey mass of a time warp. No matter how far one walked, the mountain still seemed really far away. Even as I entertained melancholy thoughts… I reminded myself to keep on going! Chanting ‘I am a strong person’ helped somewhat. Although there were a few moments where I hoped for serious injury so I could stop walking… the thought was kept at bay by a few spoonfuls of Nutella! Incidentally, my team tells me there was a thunderstorm that night and rainwater flooded part of our tent, but I was so tired, I slept through the chaos!

§  Day 3 was memorable for two reasons – It was the first time I er… ‘did my business’ in the bushes… and the first time I ever climbed 700m up a steep mountain, all by myself. (apparently, I did it the wrong and hard way, but oh well..) Ok, there were a few tears, a few helpful Chinese militia, and the day ended with a renewed respect for the people of China. To top all that drama off… I also thought I was disqualified because I exceeded the cut-off time. Only to learn at the last instance that I made it to the finish line with 2 minutes spare! (can you believe I forgot all about setting my watch 5mins faster…)

§  Day 4 was the day everything went wrong BUT nothing could get me down! The tipping point of the race!!! Not falling into an icy cold stream, cutting my left hand in two places, and bleeding all over my shoes… Not slipping down a muddy ditch because I lost my footing and landing on my butt…. Not even when it rained for two hours and then we were hit by hail stones, soaked, cold, wet, terribly uncomfortable. My spirits remained high and bright and I continued steadily plodding forward… I think I did my best time on day 4, despite it being so eventful.

§  Day 5 was the most dramatic day of all. It is known as the long March because of the 80km distance. For this year, the route included 2000m up a mountain (oh joy). However, 26km into the race, the weather turned dramatically, raining at the mid-level of the mountains, snowing and hailing at the top of the mountains. It started to get really foggy and the organizers were forced to make the decision to stop the race. About 25 of us were stopped at Checkpoint 3 and waited for 4 hours in two little Mongolian farmer huts. Then the rescue vehicles arrived and drove us 2.5hours to the evacuation camp near Lake Sayram. By the end of that journey, I was so cold and stiff, I had to be literally aided by two volunteers to my tent!

§  Day 6 should have been the continuation of the Long March, but as that was cancelled, the Koreans and Japanese competitors bought beer, nuts and hosted an impromptu party in their tent. Despite repeated warnings from the organizers about penalty points… I think everyone was just a little too high and happy to care about time penalties.

§  Day 7 the final leg of merely 14.5km. along the beautiful Lake Sayram… It was the only day I ran. But it was such a wonderful route and so so fantastic to run towards the final finish line! At the end of which there was real food and soft drinks!!! Note – Because of the organizer’s decision to stop the race mid-way on Day 5, the actual distance I covered was 201km.

The People Who Made it Possible

This race was made possible by the contribution & support of these awesome people, and many others I’m sure slipped my mind at the moment… THANK YOU ALL!

§  All donors to Hope House – Thank you so much from the bottom on my heart, for your generous contributions to Hope House! We are all blessed!

§  Adelyne – My most steadfast supporter, also the first to put her hands up to serve as campaign manager. For your 101 whacky fundraising ideas, thank you J

§  Amy – For not laughing at the idea when I first mooted it, and for being one of my biggest supporters in the Gobi challenge, as well as every significant event in my life

§  Annabelle – For your friendship and support, including the awesome banner! Rock on!

§  Arika, Nancy, Gary, Robin, Chi, Kwee Mui & all other strangers who replied to my spam – You represent the best of humanity. Coming forward with an encouraging word despite us being strangers. To new friends!

§  Betty – For your constant support, including running with me once a week to keep morale high

§  Cecilia – For countless serendipitious moments. Because of your ability to generate connections to the big picture, you have brought purpose and meaning to once-disconnected moments in my life

§  Cynthia – For being there every step of the way (+ supplying cake!), being my biggest cheerleader and generally the best BFF a girl can have

§  Danny – For getting all the race gadgets for me – I would have been lost without you! (but seriously, a knife that can cause serious cardiac damage is a little OTT J)

§  Dawn, Diana Ong, Doreen, Elizabeth Quah, Gim Huay, Gina, Jess, Joce, Jovina, Rachna, Rick Smith, Mel & Mona – For your enthusiasm and tireless support!

§  Eddie Teo – Who inspired me with the Paleo diet and helped me lose a few essential pounds to get in tiptop shape for the race

§  Father Collin, the boys & kind people at Hope House – For bringing new meaning into my life, and giving me new eyes

§  Han Ee – For being the best performance coach in Singapore and JB! Providing extremely useful, albeit last minute (on my part) strategies for success!!! We did it!!!!

§  Hena – For putting up with all my nonsense for the last 5 months and not once telling me how mad I am J

§  Irene – For being the most supportive cousin in the world! & for sponsoring my shoes (with Karen). Thanks!

§  Jacq – For your steadfast support and many motivational smses

§  Kelvin – For saving my life up there on the mountains with that improvised hot-water bottle!!!

§  Lay Lim – For your support and inspiration, and believing in the Gobi dream!

§  Louise & Daksha, they were so supportive with their advice on how to mentally prepare for the race each day. I could not have asked for a better tent mates!

§  Grace – For keeping me grounded yet being supportive in a 100 practical ways (such as getting me connected with athletes who have completed the Gobi)

§  Gaurav – For challenging me with this audacious goal, and sparking the beginnings of a life less ordinary

§  Mark James – For providing guidance and advice on race equipment & helping me search for gadgets!

§  Michele – For your inspiration and faith. ‘Push through the pain!’

§  Nic – For being you. And inspiring me on the path to more adventure races

§  Pei En – My Gobi Buddy, thanks for keeping pace!

§  Richard, Sanjay, Chris Mc, Annie, Yuet Ling & Amanda – My dear Merck Friends who were extremely vocal in their encouragement. THANK YOU ALL!!!

§  Steph – For believing in me. Your positive attitude, faith and energy are contagious!

§  Shona – For your faith and belief, as well as providing essential pre & post-race dinners

§  Shoma – For being at the finish line to cheer everyone back each day.

§  Toshi – For helping me carry my bags, water bottles, you are just the most helpful person ever!

§  Yaarit, Teri, Shelley, Jane B., the T&O Global Leadership & my wonderful T&O colleagues – For your unwavering show of support and encouragement! THANK YOU!Thank you!