The long day is over, and what a relief.  It took me 11:09 to get to the end of what was a very challenging course.  Along the way I got the chance to run with some amazing people, which made time go by much faster than the previous day.  The course was overall pretty flat, but there was a long stretch of riverbed running (20km) which was by far the hardest running I have ever done, and it completely destroyed my feet - I am kind of dreading the 10km run tomorrow.
 
But it looks like I will make it to the finish line after all.  Tomorrow the race starts at 11am, so I hope to be done before noon.  I can't wait to take a shower, I smell so bad right now.  Thanks everyone for your emails and comments, they really gave me a boost. 
 
Waiting to get to the finish line tomorrow and eating some real food (so sick of freeze dried)... but what an awesome experience!
 

Day 4 was a tough one, by far the toughest day so far.  All the stages were ranked difficult (we previously had one stage ranked difficult) and the course was truly brutal, but absolutely stunning.  We started off by running up to Heaven's Gate (3000m elevation), the world's highest natural arch, and the view was amazing.  Following our decent from Heaven's Gate we crossed a series of ridges which killed me and I was passed by loads of people. Once we got out of the ridges, and we hit the river beds, I was able to find my rhythm again and ended up finishing the stage in 6:41, 13th for the stage - a new personal record!  Anyways, right now I am trying to recover and prepare myself for the long stage tomorrow - after completing 4 marathons in four days of what was by far the hardest running I have ever done, I am going for a double marathon tomorrow... Why do I do the things I do?

Day 3 is over and done, and what a day it was.  The start was pretty easy but soon thereafter we hit some farm land in which I really struggled.  We had multiple river crossings so my shoes got soaked again (mom - I don't know what picture you saw but I do not have flip flops with me and really regret it) and on the last river I actually fell in up to my waist.  After all the rivers we started climbing and then continued climbing, and the climbed some more.  All in all, we gained over 1000m in elevation today, and I can really feel it. 
 
Apart from the racing I am really enjoying meeting all the amazing people out here.  My tent mates are all great which makes the camp site at the end of the day even that more fn (not that any rest after running another marathon distance with a backpack through the Gobi wouldn't be fun). 
 
So I am half way done now, and starting to think that I might actually be able to complete this, who would have thought? 
 
Sigal, how is the new job?

Day 2 and still going strong.  Completed the stage in 5 hours and 37n minutes which was 23 for the stage.  Overall the run was beautiful, we were running through red hills and amazing canyons which made the run truly spectacular. That being said, I had a bit of a mess up with the electrolytes - I thought my powders contained electrolytes but turns out they didn't and I really struggled to get through the last 3km.  Tonight we are staying in a field close to one of the villages here, and as I am writing this post there are plenty of runners still coming in.  The atmosphere overall is great, but I am really starting to dread the long day, it is so so hot here, I can't imagine spending 12 plus hours in the sun.  Well, I am off to prepare myself a great lunch (I think today is freeze dried vegetable lasagna).

So this is it, the Gobi has begun. After a three hour drive we reached the site of our first camp. We had an amazing reception by the local community, saw a horse race and cultural performance, and enjoyed pasta dinner. I also met my tent mates - five Americans and  three Brits, and all seem very cool. All in all, the organization of the place is amazing, really far better than I expected. It is still daylight here (though it is after 10pm) but I am going to try and go to sleep to get ready for the first day tomorrow - over 40km. Anyways, though I have yet to run anything, I am absolutely loving it.

What an amazing first day.  We ran just over a marathon in scorching heat, crossing multiple rivers, climbing cliffs, running through villages, and just having a good time.  Turns out my pack ways too much (12.5 kg with water) and was killing me, I am soon about to figure out what I can throw out to lighten the load.  All in all I finished the course in 5:25 (I think) and am now resting a bit.  The atmosphere in the camp is amazing, the competitors are awesome, volunteers are superb, and the whole think is organized fantastically... the only thing I would change is adding air conditioning to the course next year.  Well, I am going to rest now, there is another marathon to be run tomorrow... miss you all!

So I finally made it here.  The trip over wasn't too bad and apart from the flight from Urumqi to Kashgar being cancelled due to mechanical reasons and then taking off 20 minutes later was pretty uneventful.  On the way I met several other competitors and volunteers and after we checked into the hotel some of us, including the guys I have been training with occasionally in Shanghai , went to get some food.  

It is amazing to me how different Kashgar is from Shanghai .  First, it was an almost a six hour flight from Shanghai to Urumqi, and then another hour and a half from Urumqi to Kashgar.  Second, it is a small town (200,000 people) with loads of Arabic everywhere.  The people here are not of the same ethnicity of those in Shanghai and so look completely different, not to mention that instead of "ni hao" they say "salam alichum". 

All in all I have been meeting people left and right and am super excited to start the race.  At the moment I am waiting for my mom to arrive here and my brother, Gil, is also on his way - family reunion in western - who would have thought, but I guess that's how the Hersthtens do.

I just got back to Shanghai from a week and half trip to the States.  It was an amazing trip at started off with running my first ever ultra – the American River 50 mile endurance run.   The race itself was absolutely fantastic.  Running on quiet trails after training in Shanghai felt like bliss. 

I had two main goals in running this race.  The first goal was completing the race, and feeling well enough to go out for pizza and beer with friends in San Francisco later that night.  The second goal was to complete the race in less than 10 hours.  I am glad to say that both goals were accomplished.  Beer never tasted better and the race lasted 9:29:59. 

Of course, there were a few lessons I learnt during the race.  The first was that my shoes were way too small (glad I learned this one before the Gobi).  The second was how to deal with running in hot conditions and how to effectively use electrolytes.  The third lesson was that my training plan for running hills, despite being in Shanghai (extremely flat city,) is actually quite effective.  And finally, that running 50 miles is not nearly as tough as it seems, and actually really fun.

The rest of my time in the States was spent destroying all the fitness that I gained during the race.  I went wine tasting in Sonoma, saw the Red Sox at Fenway on opening day, watched the Celtics play courtside, and enjoyed going out in New Haven and NYC. 

Anyways, that was the trip to the States.  Now I am back in Shanghai and logging in more miles in preparation for the Gobi while enjoying the end of the dreaded winter.  Life is good…

Training in Shanghai for any race, let alone the Gobi March, is an interesting experience.   First, if you start the run too late in the day, i.e. any time past 8:00am, you end up spending the majority of the time dodging cars that seem like they are out to kill you, bikes going on the sidewalks, millions of people (after all there are twenty million people in this city), and last but not least, spit.

For all the reasons above I choose to do my midweek runs in the gym and wake up really really early (around the time a normal person should get back from a night out) to go for my long weekend runs.   This last weekend I woke up at 5am with the goal of seeing the sun rise over the Bund (the bank of the Huangpu River).  Well, my plan didn’t quite work as I got completely lost (still have no idea where I was) and made it to the Bund only after the sun was out.  Nonetheless, I had one of my best runs to date logging in quite a bit of miles, watching the kite fliers and Tai Chi devotees practice on the river banks, and enjoying the beautiful weather after a long rain spell.

Well, in three weeks I am competing in my first ultra, the American River 50, which scares me shitless, so I guess I better get back to logging some more miles so I don’t screw up.

I am about three months away now from the start of the race.  A lot of people asked me why I am doing this, and truth is I ask myself the same question quite often.   After all, only a few years ago I couldn’t walk for five minutes without taking a break to rest.  Back in 2001, I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis.  I spent a few weeks in hospital and in general had it quite bad.  I lost all my energy and was unable to do anything, anything part from eating that is.  I ballooned in weight and felt weaker than ever.  

On one particular day my family was invited to have dinner at a friend’s house.   The friend only lived a five minutes’ walk from our house, but I just assumed we would drive there.  That is, until my dad came into my room.  He told me we were going to walk there.  Walk for five minutes, you got to be kidding me!  Well, about fifteen or twenty minutes later (I am getting old and memory isn’t that great) and after two rest stops we finally made it.  As sad as it may sound, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.

In some ways the Gobi March is much like that walk.  I signed up for the race without really thinking much about it (I tend to do things like that).  When I first took the time and thought about it, I thought there was no way I could do it.  But as the race gets closer, the more I believe know I can do it, and the more I yearn for that sense of accomplishment that comes after achieving something truly difficult, something like walking to a friend’s for dinner.