Hey! I am there. First of all many thanks for all your emails and comments in my blog. You really helped me a lot with that. Now that I can read the comments again I would be happy to get more feedback from you. So finally we are back in the hotel, showered and feeling much better with some kebabs, rice and salad in our stomach :) My feet hurt badly and I will definitely loose 1 or 2 toenails. But the rest of me seems to be ok. We started at 11:00 this morning after the first group at 09 and the 2nd group at 10. The course was set through a river valley and ended in a small village 40km from Kashgar where we found the finish line at a public school. I ran the whole way together with my tentmate Kobi and finished after 1h25, which was pretty good for the 15km. Paul managed to overtake the US-boys again. So everything ended as it should :) We are now having the awards banquett at the hotel with lots of food and booze. So cu later back home! Many many thanks once more to everyone who emailed, blogged and/or made a donation for my charity with the Deutsche Krebshilfe. If you like, you can also donate later. The run continues... ...we will see if it is Atacama or Namibia next year... :)

Stage 5: DONE! 11h03, during daylight, machines were running :), feet are good except for a blister on my heel again that popped itself...
We started at 11:00 after a bus transfer from the camp to the start line. The first group started at 08:30 so we had to catch up with them. Kobi, Paul and I agreed to start slowly (which wasn't too slow) and so we catched up with the rest of the field just before CP2. Meanwhile we also overtook some of the late starters i.e. 2 US-boys who were timewise very close to us (we were 20minutes ahead after stage 4). So the day started promising. Paul and I slowed down after CP2 as it was getting hot and we felt the 170km which we had in our legs already. At CP3 we realized that the US-boys catched up with us again and so we found ourselves under pressure again because we didn't want to let them go. We increased our speed and got out of their sight. At that point we realized that this was Kobi's day to run which is why he left us somewhere between 50 and 60km. He left a message at the 60km Checkpoint telling us that he was sorry. We understood - if you feel strong you don't want to, or better you can't hold yourself back too much. I also left Paul behind then and started to run again as I found some more energy-gels in my bag which was essential at that point. By the way: On this stage I finally found the right method to keep my machine running - 1 bottle of plain water, 1 bottle with energy gel and 1 bottle with electrolytes worked brillant. I didn't eat anything except 50g of beef jerkey which I had to down with lots of water. When I reached the CP at 70km I realized that somebody was following me again and I continued to run until... campsite :) That was the first time this week that I really felt good while I was running. No problem with my stomach at all. I just sweat like a madman when I crossed the finish-line but I was so happy to be there. It was a great finish again with lots of people waiting there. I knew then - I did it again! And this time in 11hours which results in an overall time of about 33hours. 6 hours less than in the Sahara. A result that I like. When I was running I tried to make up some time towards Kobi, who had a very good day and arrived about half an hour behind him. So he is ahead of me now by about 15 minutes... I think I know from last year that I can't make up 15 minutes on 12km. But maybe I'll try or maybe I'll finish together with my friend Kobi. We'll see. I'll definitely support Paul tomorrow who is 3 minutes behind the US-boys and it is possible for him to catch them.
It is hard to explain what is going here. It is very moving when people are crossing the finish-line after 76km of running, walking, stumbling, sweating, falling apart (toenails...) and crying through this terrible desert which it really was between 50 and 70km. The rest wasn't much better. Anyway, I give my respect to every individual who managed to finish this race because we all experienced "where our athletic frontiers begin" or even more, I think that we have redefined our athletic frontiers once more.
That's it then, just another short stage to go tomorrow - Piece of cake then!
I'll be back on monday morning. Anyone who wants to join me for a steak with salad and fries at "Tresor" in Goeppingen at 12 is welcome. CU back home then. Thanks again for all your support and remember, there is no reason to walk, RUN! (Thanks Eberhard).
Frederik.

Stage 4: Climbed our way to "heaven's gate", went over 7 ridges, through rivers... all in all a very nice stage but tough and very hot again, at least for me as my stomach is still causing trouble. And dehydration could become a probIem tomorrow which is why I am drinking water and eating soup as much as I can. Today I started and finished together with Kobi and Paul again. We pushed each other pretty good through the stage and finished 26th, 27th and 28th after 06h30 which is still pretty good. They are both great guys - Paul is in his 40s but he is still running a marathon in 2:50! Kobi and I were happy to run with him. Miriam from was faster than us today. My feet are mostly good, no new blisters today again - I guess due to the Salomon shoes. 

Maybe some of my thougths during the race are interesting:

"Why am I doing this?" - still no answer

"I would like to have a medium-grilled Rumpsteak with salad and fries in the shade of a tree next to a river" - none of these things were in sight...

"Can I run a marathon in less than 3 hours?" - I thought about that when Paul told me that he ran a marathon in less than 3 hours and promised that we could expect 1st row places at the start of the Dublin-Marathon :)

"Will I finish this race? Will I finish this race? Will I ..." - we'll see tomorrow after the long stage. 

Thanks again for all your emails - Your support helps a lot!

One thing first: Please send me emails and don't comment in my blog as I don't have access to my blog here. Thanks.
Ein Hinweis vorab: Bitte sendet mir emails direkt und nicht ueber die Comment-Funktion im Blog, da ich darauf leider keinen Zugriff habe. Danke.  
 
Stage 3: hot and tough again... no HF average (running without HF-monitor feels much more comfortable), about 4000kcal burned, Temperature somewhere between 30 and 38Celsius, climbed about 600 and 800 meters, no new blisters, got 2 holes drilled in my big toe yesterday :)
I started slowly due to my sore legs from the 1st and the 2nd stage but still managed to finish within 5:30 which resulted in 16th position today. The course was great and awful at the same time. First we went through villages, ricefields and rivers followed by an endless climb in the mountains. That was the next time I wished Pierre to hell. I didn't feel well during the whole stage. Every time when I wanted to eat someting my stomach "told me" not to do this... I even can't eat any of my breakfast. I should have known that English Porridge can't be good for a German stomach. Anyway, I finished together with Paul from Ireland again and a woman from Croatia. Kobi was 4 minutes ahead. Michael also finished in the meantime. All in all not too bad. BUT I recommend everyone who wants to do this to think about it twice. I am telling you now because I will  probably not remember when I am back home. It is a tough and painful challenge.  You should know what you are doing when you decide to race out here.
Today I ran and walked the whole stage together with Kobi who felt very strong.I didn't - at least not after CP2 when it got really hot. The temperature was and still is somewhere between 35 and 40Celsius. We managed to get to camp in 4:52 which resulted in 11th position, again, which is pretty good but I think I can't keep up this pace tomorrow. And I know I shouldn't if I want to finish this race. My stomach still doesn't like the elektrolytes or whatever it is and it takes me very long to get the water and bars inside which resulted in cramps again today.
Anyway, the race continues. Let's see how I will feel tomorrow. I hope everything is ok back home! Many thanks again for your emails.
Christine: Vielen Dank fuer deine email. Du kannst in meinem Blog einen Kommentar schreiben aber leider habe ich hier keinen Zugriff darauf. Email ist also besser. Liebe dich, drueck den Hund von mir.?

Day 1 - distance was something between 38 and 42km, weather was hot, stomach wasn't good, legs started to cramp... but:
I had lunch and dinner already and I feel pretty good now. The time was about 4:55. Average hf was 161... I needed 30minutes to remember what the Sahara was like and the question apperad again - Why am I doing this? There is no answer yet. Maybe because I can help the Krebshilfe with that.
Race: We started at 09:15 for the first stage where we had 9 rivercrossings on the first kilometers which were not as bad as I expected. 'The course was nice until checkpoint 2 were the ground started to be rocky and hilly and pretty boring after that. That was when I started to curse good old Pierre again... Unfortunately I lost Kobi after 30 minutes so that I was on my own again like last year. The rest of the course was tiring and I was happy when I reached the village together with Paul from Ireland. Paul overtook me just before CP2 but I caught him again 2km before the finish line. Inbetween I was chased by some guys but I managed to get away from them, even with walking after CP2. 
The village here is very interesting. We are going to spend the night in local houses. The start will be at 8 tomorrow morning, so you will all be asleep then. Let's see what tomorrow brings. I hope I can sort out hydration and electrolytes a little better. My new backback is great. Running with 8kg instead of 13 is much easier - surprise, surprise.
Many thanks for all your emails again!     
Mark: Mike asked me to say hello and many thanks for your email. The mad cow isn't that mad without you but we are having fun :)
Pit: Training mit Rucksack und Elektrolyten im Gelaende koennte helfen.

21:47, Campsite 1, still light and loud as there are lots of locals singing and dancing for us. When we arrived here, in a riverbed 5 hours away from Kashgar the weather wasn't very friendly and it rained but in the meantime we have blue sky and the sun is still shining. There was a welcome ceremony with a horse race in the riverbed where locals chased a goat and some speeches of the organisers and the local representatives with children waving flags all the time. After that we had a nice dinner, some called it the last supper,  with kebabs, potatoes, noodles, salad etc. so that was the last proper food for one week now. My stomach was getting funny this afternoon again so Ithink I will be pretty nervous tomorrow morning. After my experience in the Sahara I want to take it easy tomorrow - so the strategy is: start slowly ... and then taper off? No, we'll see how things go. I can't hold myself back anyway... but maybe Kobi will. We agreed to start together and to make the pace each other. So I am off to "bed" then. I wonder when it is getting dark, the sun is still shining...
Many thanks for your emails! It is good to see that you are following the event.
More info tomorrow after the race then.
Mark: It's a shame you are not here. I think I have to come to Namibia next year then :)
Emma: The BMW is tuned! I only hope that the suspenion doesn't break down.

So there we are again in Kashgar at the end of the world waiting to leave to the desert. I met some people I know from former races, i.e. my tentmate from the Sahara Mad Cow Michael Wellsted and Kobi Itzchaki with whom I ran the hardest bit of the Sahara Race. So, equipment check is at 12:00. My pack is ready and I start to get nervous like in the Sahara last year... Anyway, I am looking forward to the race and I am confident to have a good time as long as my ankle is ok. More news tomorrow after the 1st stage. I am looking forward to your emails and comments. I hope you get some good entertainment back home. CU, Frederik.

There I am once more setting up my last-minute-blog after several hundred kilometers of training and hours of optimising my equipment.
The result of the optimisation is a body weight of 82kg (maybe still too much, but as most of you know I have got very heavy bones ;) ) and a pack of 8.5kg (which was 13 in the Sahara last year!). This will probably cause cold and hungry nights out there but during the Sahara Race last year I decided not to come back with a pack heavier than 10kg. So there we are - all food and drinks packed in ziploc-bags, kcalories counted and rationed for each day, crisps crushed, olive oil prepared to improve main meals, parmesan packed in thin aluminium foil, dried tomatoes and recovery-drinks packed in ziploc-bags... there are lots of nice high-calory treats.

The training was probably less than for the Sahara Race but I think my experience from the Sahara and the reduced weight on my back will help me to finish the Gobi March in an acceptable time. I also got some good training when I was marking the course for the Atacama Crossing in April and when I went mountaineering at high-altitude (5350, 5600 and 6048meters) around San-Pedro de Atacama in April. We will see if that was helpful too.

I think that's enough for the moment. There is more information about my charity for the Deutsche Krebshilfe on my website, see www.fclechner.de

I am leaving to Kashgar today and will be there on friday night. I will try to blog every day of the race but that surely depends if I manage to find the way to the media tent.

Thanks in advance for your support!