Dear all,

I’m down to my second last tea bag plus a half stewed one which I will reuse when I finish this email, so the end is close, one way or the other.

Today I went for broke. I completed the hot 42km in about 5 and a half hours, exceeding my best expectations. My body played no part in this madness, today my sheer mental stubbornness and downright refusal got the better of me.

It came because every day on this race you have to repeat the competitive jostling for placing with the same people day after day.

Something in my persona detects the strangeness of the predicament of a day on course. We are in remote Mongolia. A sweeping panorama, a breathtaking expanse of landscape that hasn’t changed for thousands of years. Soon after we started out a large herd of horses thundered nearby, they are native to Mongolia, this is their place, and across this vastness their thundering hooves belong. Same happened soon after with a herd of cattle on the route in front.

Amid this exotic timelessness are lycra clad runners, so out of place, bobbing pin heads on the plain, running like crazy, crossing the landscape simply because it’s there and because it is possible.

So when two of these runners pass eachother, I would expect some communication, a hello, an acknowledgement of existence. Something.

So when a runner passed me today and did not acknowledge my greeting, something inside me snapped. I wasn’t going to let this happen. I bolted. I cranked up my pace, determined to stay ahead of this runner. It was stupid of me. I mean, there’s nothing wrong if a runner wants to stay in their own head space and not communicate, I should not have let it bother me. But a different side of me took over, and I am not sure I am comfortable with what I did. I just cranked up my pace and pushed forward, determined to keep ahead of the other runner. We came into the Orkhon Valley World Heritage area with trees and wildflowers and an uphill section after 20km of level running from camp. I went for broke on the climb and left the runner behind. I reached the crest and ran fast down the other side, there was the last checkpoint just there, and only 8km more to camp.

It was hot and I was exerting more than normal but I kept it up and ran all the way down the valley and around a sweeping corner, there was the Orkhon River and camp ahead, I was hot and exhausted, but I got there and the timing chip was read, finishing the stage, but we had to cross the swift flowing Orkhon River to reach camp. A rope was set up and it was waist deep and fast flowing – exhilarating.

After that big push I was pretty smashed and needed time in my empty tent to recover. After a while I could eat a little.

Recovery was aided by a swim in the big river. The only way to get in is to jump in, let the current sweep you 100m downstream, then climb out in an eddy, all fresh, clean and tingling. So I’m feeling much better now.

It is just 9km to the finish line tomorrow, and then we head back to Ulaanbaatar for the banquet and celebration.

So my final update should be possible by normal email.

Today was fantastic and fast and hard, though tainted by my thinking on why I felt I had to be so competitive and why I forced myself to stay ahead of that very consistent and hard to beat other runner. Anyway, no harm was done. Probably she didn’t even notice what was happening in my headspace, just like I knew nothing of what was in hers.

Until my final update

With lots of love

Ashley

Dear all,

In case you may have emailed me yesterday via the race website I haven’t been able to read it due to no satellite connection. Never mind, thanks to those who wrote on Day 1, I have received those words of encouragement!

Today’s 40km was tough and felt a lot longer and it took me around 6h45m to complete. The main challenge was a 10km stretch of soft undulating sand dunes, a wilderness of sand, a mini desert amid what until now has been endless grassland.

The dunes offered strikingly different scenery. I have never run in such a landscape before, and it requires a lot of energy expenditure. I also had to stop once in the middle of this desert to empty the sand from my shoes, and when I reached Checkpoint 3, which was where the dunes ended, I took off my shoes again and out came a dune worth of sand, so much had I carried with me.

The sandy socks can be thrown out and tomorrow I indulge myself in a new pair for the Long March, which is the big 78km day.

The first part of today was excellent. We climbed into the mountains behind camp on technical single track, and descended the other side. This is a strength area for me and I made good progress in this section as far as Checkpoint 1. I went hard on this section that I knew I’d do ok at. Then the next 10km were flat on a straight dirt track on a plain. I don’t do as well in this type of terrain. Then came the dunes as mentioned before. Then after the dunes was a 10km slog on desolate plains up to camp. And there was a river crossing in this section so with the dunes and this river crossing, today was hard on the feet. Feet  are ok though with no blisters.

Upon reaching camp today, one of the purest luxuries (apart from the cup of tea, shortbread biscuit and sesame snap of course) was the provision of a small footbath to wash feet. Only a few hundred mil of water was allowed but it was enough and my feet feel wonderful in the breeze now. The rest of me feels hot, sore, and grimy from 3 days of accumulated sweat and the same clothes. Back to nature.

It has been much warmer today with the views washed out by a uniform haze that makes the scenery milky and lacking in definition. Think looking at the world through frosted glass.

The warm day and high energy output being needed means I need to rehydrate and since reaching camp I have had a litre of tea and some 2 minute noodles. Thinking about a freeze dried meal and more mashed potato.

Today and tomorrow represent the crux and most difficult section of the race. Make it through tomorrow and the back will be broken. But 76km tomorrow on top of today’s high energy day will be gruelling.

Thanks for reading. My next update may be the day after tomorrow due to tomorrow being so long. The next day will be a much needed day off.

Until then, with lots of love

Ashley

Dear all,

It took me 7 hours to complete today’s 45km. With 24 hours in a day some may say that this means 17 hours to rest. But in fact the racing is 24x7. Those 17 hours at camp are a race to recover in time for the next day’s 40+ km. A race to rehydrate, a race to replace calories. A race to lower metabolism enough for a few hours sleep, a race to rest and recharge tired muscles. This race isn’t about how well you go today. It’s about how well you go today, tomorrow and the next.

On that count I believe I did ok last night and today. This morning I set off at a slow shuffle that broke no records but which I could sustain. I held my ground and may have even gained. The Mongolian steppe is breathtakingly beautiful, a painting in all shades of only one colour – green. It was overcast and drizzle came now and then. There was a long gentle valley and then a climb to a pass after about 24km. It was cold up there but still very comfortable in normal running garb. What followed after the long awaited checkpoint 2 was a beautiful green vale with a few trees, yes there are some trees in Mongolia! It could have been England centuries ago. A soft trail meandered through this dale and I ran it, finding some new energy perhaps from a gel and Clif bar.

With one more day having passed since the head cold broke I feel a bit stronger than this time yesterday even though the distance was more.

Tonight we are staying in gers not tents and ours is large, clean and solid, will be good shelter from the elements.

Wildlife I have seen includes steppe mice, ground squirrels and gigantic locusts. With Mongolia being the world’s largest lawn you’d expect locusts and grasshoppers the size of a small cat I suppose.

Feet a little sore, shoulders very sore from the pack, but all is well and spirits are up. I stopped for a couple of pics today. There are modest rocky peaks with worn rounded granite, it is very beautiful.

Freeze dried meal had. Now for some mashed potato.

Which culture first thought the Earth might be round? I bet it was the Mongols. The sphere is the only shape whose surface is endless. There is talk of a place where land ends and water begins, but here that is but a myth.

Until my next update, with lots of love,

Ashley

Dear all,

Today was my first experience of the enormity that is the Mongolian Steppe. Even as an Australian it is hard to grasp the vastness of the landscape. Green treeless expanse, wide valleys, nameless peaks and ridges. Running 250km in this landscape is like standing still, so immense is the scale of this place it is as if the very concepts of distance and time are meaningless. There are no fences. You could run an infinite distance and yet not move.

Although at 36km this was meant to be an easy day, I found it exhausting. The head cold that I picked up a couple of days before leaving Australia broke only yesterday and maybe this was not long enough. Another factor was  the approx. 10kg weight that I am carrying, it has already given me very sore shoulders. Another factor is that I started out too fast too early, setting off at a nice trot and keeping pace for the first 11km with another runner from Spain. But soon after checkpoint 1 I realised my pace was not sustainable and I was forced to settle back and walk large sections.

The route eventually climbed onto a high ridge that we followed for a way, and the views of horizon to horizon green was incredible, as if the whole planet were nothing but this colossal openness. Then it descended off the ridge and struck out across a plain and you could see the camp from about 7km away.

It is a lovely camp atmosphere with many nice people and a very positive mood. There are just 4 of us in my 6 person tent which gives us plenty of space. My tent mates are a nice couple from Texas and a lady who was at the Sri Lanka race.

 I’m already sore and tired, more than I should be for the distance. So for the coming days I’m going to need to pull back the pace and walk more, lessen the running and take more photos and enjoy it more. I also need to eat through some food to get the weight down.

 Please forward to anyone who may be interested.

 Tomorrow is a longer and harder day.

 Hope you are all well, until tomorrow’s missive.

 Lots of love

 Ashley