Hi everyone, last night I am really sad to report that Nick Kruse  from the U.S. died from exposure in GobI race. I think he was 30 or 31. I only new him for four days and ran with him a bit a long the trail. On day four I stopped before the canyon, but Nick wanted to push on despite the heat and his total fatigue. Unfourtunately Nick past out in the Canyon and it took time to get him out, He was taken to hospital. Unfourtunatly he passed away last night. Very Sad.  Kind or a somber note to end a great vacation, but also a reminder to always be careful and know what your body can and can't do.   Getting ready for long trip home.  brian

ok just had to throw this in becuase I thought is was kind of funny, if you all recall my bizarre cab ride for the Saharra desert to Cairo. Well I took another Cab ride from the Gobi desert to urumchi. I get in the car and the cab driver speaks no english and is smoking, so I am like great this is going to be a fun three hour drive. He starts talking to me in chineese, and continues to do so for  about 10 mins looking at me, and me just nodding, no clue what he saying. So I ask him to stop at store for water and cok a cola. The only  english wordhe know :). This interaction took about 20 mins, till he figured out what I was talking about. he spoke 0 english and I spoke 0 chinees . we did stop at a store and got my coke and a water.. then got back in the van. He starts talking again to me in chinnese and I just nod and he pulls out a cassette tape. I am like oh this is just like the sahara where the guy smokes and played muslem prayer music for seven hours.   AHHH but no it was the Bee Gees and Jive Talking. He proceeding to sing along with the song word for word and perfect english, in the high pitched voice, heck i thought he could have been Barry Gibb if i wasnt looking at this chineese guy with this great big smile feeling the groove, well he continued on through most of the tape till I was singing with him " how deep is you love". Ah life funny sometimes when you think you got it all figured out, you driving down a truck filled highway with some chineese cab driver who can't speak a work of english and probably has no idea what he is singing, but can sing everyword to every Bee gees song. Even crazier I was singning with him. He was dinkling water , i was drining coke and we were grooving to hits of Bee gees on a highway in China, who would have thunk it. Life is good. sometimes :). it just one of the those moments in life you will never forget. priceless

The gobi desert may be the most beautiful place I have scene yet. The mountains and the scenery is just breathtaking. China as well is much different then I expected it to be be. The cities are clean, and infrastructure here is incredible, there is some haze polluttion in the big cites, but there is a lot going on. The highways are jammed with tranport trucks carrying all sorts of stuff, , buildings are going up everywhere. I drove by a windmill farm that was like 40 km long thousands of wind mills. I could'nt believe it. Finally the people, they are very social and much more friendly then I would have expected for a population of 2 billion. Everyone has just been so nice. So my mesage to all the kids who have been following. I know I said that finishing the race would be a win, well sometimes in life its not about winning, it about making the right decisions at the right time. Life is about compromise and finding the positives. For me I met some amazing people, I visited a country and now that I have been here has totally changed my perspective on the chineese people and there culture and has wiped out a lot of western stero types that i have had planted inside me from tV and such.. This was second chance for me that I am so glad I got. I trained harder and am probably the fittest I have ever been. I had to go back to see if I made changes could I get a different result and I believe I did. I have learned that my body can't go more the 4 hours in 40 degree heat, its happenned time and time again. Its a gift I always find to know your lmits.  If you can realize these earlyon life will be easier. over the last couple of years I have learned that being stbborn or just trying to be right at all costs, is just not helpful. I did the best i could, i would not have changed a thing... well maybe not have ran on day 4 :(. In saying that , we all have to realize in life we will make mistakes and how we react and handle and cope with those mistakes is how we define our character.

Arrived for stage 4 right on time, rumour was it was going to be very hot, and some were suggestion going fast early to beat the heat. In the Sahara when I went fast I got really sick, the first day in gobi, same thing. So you would think I would not try and do this again would you ? Well maybe the lack of sleep was affecting my judgement, but I decided to go out a little faster to beat the heat. Well by 10 km in, I was starting to feel bad, ran out of water before first checkpoint, so laboured in to first check point which was 14 kms. Sat down and tried to reccouperate, ate some food and water and kept moving because it was getting hot fast. Shortly into second leg around 3 hours in i was really starting to feel bad, then starting throwing up. This is bad, loosing all your food and water is like gas in a car, so I was leaking feul bad. I tried to eat and drink more but once my stomach was upset I kept throwing it up. I carryied on so slowly , I thinking I threw up six times, with the last time being so hard I got the worst mucle cramps in my abdomen. I tried to message my ads to get the cramps out, but when i did that the mucles in my thumbs and  calves were siezing up. This is good news and bads. from experience from Sahara i new exatly what was happenning, bad new was there was really not much i could do, except find some shade behind rocks and move a little bit at a time, next check point was at 26 kms. Its amazing how fast the sun and heat can zapp your energy. I could barely stand. The mind and heart wanted to go but legs would not. best way I could describe my legs was like I had just did 100 squats, they just would'nt move, and when they did more cramps, which really hurt..I was in trouble and need IV asap. Finallly another competitor caught up to me and said he would send them back, at same time photgraphers in jeep pulled up. Said the checkpoint was only 1km away, and they would take me to doctor.

hi everyone, well tuesday night we stayed in a local villiage and instead of tents we stayed in local huts. At first I though this would be pretty cool, however found the huts to be heat, traps, dirty and mouldy. Adjacent to our hut was a little pen where they kept goats and chickens. and on the other side was local family with 2 babies. So till about 1am in the morning all i heard was babies crying and animals doin something, and when I wasnt hearing this crazy sounds, I was sneezing. So after 3 marathons in a row, i was pretty unerved. At about 2 am , felt something crawling on my leg, so turned on my headlamp to see ants in my sleeping bag, yikes. so got up and moved to higher ground but never lost the feeling that I had ants in my sleeping bag the rest of the night. we had a three am wake up call, and at 4 am had two hour bus ride to next race. Was very very tired in the morning.

Hi everyone, got pretty sick towrads end of stage 4, ok now, will write later

hi everyone stage 3 complete. lucked out this morning as it was mostly cloudy and sun never came out till i finished :). first 10 kms was running thru riverbeds. Pretty tricky with rocks and got preety soaked, which felt good, but paid for it with a couple of blisters. Next part was flatt and strait for 12kms, then the final 12 km were rolling hills or to me mountains. hit the wall an couple of times, but am pushing thru. Going foreward an improvement from the sahara, so thats the positive. But to me each stage is so tough. my legs and feet feel like rubber and hurts to even think about walking, but still am managing. tonight we are stayin in local village, in there houses. No electricty or running water in these parts so supper in a bag. tommorrow is stage 4 and is rated high on difficulty scale. we have to get up at 3 am, take a bus for two hours and stage 4 starts at 6 am  yuck. thanks for encouragement i really appreciate it. Tommorrow is another day, if i can get thru that then the monster in the room. 99kms on thursday. still have nausea, much worse when sun comes out. It gotta be at least 40 now with sun out. I have to run and get in the shade :)

The media guys helped me to the jeep and when we got to checkpoint 2 there was a mass of sick people and doctor was busy. He assessed me and said I needed to go back to medical center at camp, asked if I could get IV and go back to where the media guys picked me up. Once you get IV its like you are a new person. Unfourtunately i guess the rules are if you get in vehicle you are out of race. Did not know that, and the doctor would have had to come to me and give me IV there. Anyway I was too sick and dead on my feet to make a fuss.It seemed more logical to go to checkpoint where everybody was then for him to come to me and leave everyone else.  We got back to camp, and things were breaking down. there was a lot of sick people and this just made me feel more at ease that I was not out there. I was hearing on radio, people getting emergency IV's right out in the field. People were being found passed out. In one case a guy was found unconcious with a weak pulse, people were crying , it was really quite shocking and heart breaking. One American had to be evacuated out of the canyon, by Camel then transported to Hospital , he is there in Serious condition. I think this rattled a lot of people and a number withdrew today before the 99kms. I just hope the aid stations are closer together and more water is available. Going out on the basin is so hot, and dangerous. It will be over 50 degrees so I worry about some of my new found friends. In saying that , I am happy with my results. 4 marathons in 4 days in the gobi desert , would have liked to complete the last stage, but made a promise to everyone that if the danger level got to high I would not take any unnessarry chances. I guess in reality the desert made the decision for me, and i was fourtunate to be in the spot i was, and not down in the canyon where getting help is much more difficult

hi everyone, just finished up stage two, shorter stage but tough. forgot to mention yesterday, but got a little lost, if you know me I not always best for direction  so ended up running two extra kilometers. Our camp was at 2300 meter. So today we spent the first 14 km up and downs these mountains. the second half was basically running in a dried up river beds, with big stones. My feet took a bit of a beating. Things are starting to heat up. Its close to 35 in camp. the next two stage are rated difficult, so I'm a little worried can make it. Everyday, at some point I always ask myself can I go on, and have an argument with myself. seems when I get to camp feel better and am ready to go the next day. these mountains  are so beautiful, and the Gobi desert so far, may be the most eye catching place I have ever scene. l am getting lots of nausea, but managing with medication. tonight my shoulders are extra sore from the pack.  Tomorrow is another day, and if I can get thru it , it will be better then I did in the Sahara. these people that do that are just incredible. thanks for all the positive comments and emails, they make a big difference.
 
thx for following Brian
 
ps good news haven't tru up today .........yet
 
don’t forget the boys and girls club.

well folks got on bus yesterday at 3 and drove for about two hours, where the locals had an opening and welcome celebrations. Mostly traditional and ceremonial dancing and singing in original outfits. very cool. then back onto the buses and into the desert.Unfortunately buses got stuck a few times. so ended up being an extra couple hours. Got to camp and met my roommates, 3 from china, two from Japan and two from Denmark. All very nice but limited conversation because of language barriers. forgot to mention race starts in the mountains so no one was prepared for 5 degrees at night, and elevation. So it was pretty chilly and didn't sleep to well :(
 
Race day felt good and first half of race was ok. however got a wake up call in the second half as we basically went up and down mountains. My legs were on fire and took lots of rest. They were so steep and long up to 1km at a time. Check out photos on site and down hills were straight down and just as hard if not harder. After about five kms of these I was toast, had to sit down and  eat and rehydrate, was cramping and starting to get nausea. Well pushed on what seem like forever and rolled into camp in a time over 7 hours :(. then sat down for a few minutes and then had to go behind tent and throw up. Very tired and sore, but positives are feet  are good, couple of hot spots and legs are strong. just have to try and figure out the nausea thing. none the less its going to be a long week. every stage hurts, and its always something that just breaks you down to tears everytime. today it was those mountains and the altitude. Wow. Anyway spirits are better and tomorrow is a new day. the stages are I'm told are to get progressively harder. which is impossible to imagine. this  was probably the hardest stage  or marathon or atheletic event ive been thru.:)also weather will get hotter. the mountains were beautiful, just not to climb.:)
 
off for some supper in a bag yum. Doing my best. also if you have some excess cash, remember the boys and girls club. great organization that could use some help.
 
Rae tell forest and River I love them very much :)/  chat tomorrow. hopefully better can still walk and keep on going. taking it slow. Mom and Cathy stop worrying :)
 
Brian
 

I left  Frdericton 11.20 on Tuesday and arrived at 8 pm  Wednesday in Beijing. Long trip, but feel pretty good. WE are 11 hours ahead, so tying to get caught up on time and day and night. Thursday got up and did a quick tour of the Great wall very cool, and did a little shopping for the ladies. Thursday night which would be Thursday morning back home, I tried to sleep but could'nt fall a sleep. Friday morning got up and went to airport around 10pm. Well another 5 hours on a plane and another cab ride and I have finally arrived in Urumchi.  Not a lot to say about trip, pretty uneventfull. They speak chineese here in China :):), and I speak two words in chineese, so things have been a bit challenging with actually getting on planes, finding bags, and getting cabs to take you where you want them to take you, but I managed to get here whithout too much trouble. Feeling good, tired, but good. Met my roomate Thadius from Singapoor. Will start the packing process tonight. Tommorrow we leave for desert around 3 pm, so next time you here from me, will be after first marathon on day one Sunday. Thats if my cyber card works in the desert.  Lets hope its goes better then Sahara first day. :) Cheers and talk soon Brian

Last blog before China, feeling pretty strong and confident. No injuries and have everything i need. Next plan is to get to china with bags, and get to Urumqi healthy and strong. Gettin pumped up and focussed. Great 15km run last night , one more 10km run on Saturday. Article below from Gobi march in 2005.

Well this week is never ending decisions of what to pack and not to pack, how much food etc. Well I will go with 7 breakfasts, 7 dinners, 12 GU's and 12 protein bars. Plus electrolyte pills, energy drinks and recovery drink packets.  For luxury bringing, 3 bags of chips and some sugar cubes. Also this week, spent a few days and finally tracked down a DC power charger for my GPS. Lets hope it works. Also for those having space issiues in bag, two words, compression sack, really does help space management.  trying hard to stay motivated last week, but did 17km, 21 km, 37km, 8km and 11km.  The 37km seemed long and boring, but besides some sore feet and tired legs, was not too bad. Got bag now under 25lbs, which may seem heavy but in Sahara it was 32lbs, so an improvement, maybe I forgot to take the weights out :)

Ok today is may 20 and a little under six weeks to go. Took most of last week off, with work and stuff, so starting to crank things up again for my last 4 week cycle of training.  Not sure how to plan it out but, will have a two day event of back to back marathons, Im am thinking  in two weeks, and test out the rest of my equiptment.  Then tapper down and get healthy and strong.  In beijing for two days, so if anyone has a reccomended hotel close to airport fell free to let me know. May check out great wall in that time span before heading to urumqi on that friday. Little worried about smog.  The good news just finishing getting all my stuff and the usuall trying to figure out what magic I can do to get it all in the bag.  Cheers

Brian

Today is Tuesday May 11th. Enjoyed a nice little run jog with my 25lbs in the fredericton Marathon. Finished in around 5 hours and 28 minuites. It was much better then expected, except for the odd looks from all the runners, and people not having a clue why I would run with weight.  Ah the memories of the sahara, to painful to retell to everyone who ran by me :). I figure with heat in Gobie can add another hour on that time each time around. Bad new I broke both my big toes nails and another one as well. So I guess that will be good news in china, three less toenails to worry about. As for how I felt during the marathon, could have went faster I think, but trying to come up with some sort of pace for desert and heat.  Worked on some different hydrations systems, and electrolype pills. All in all things wents well. May do one more marathon at end of month. Then just work on shorter distances maybe with more weight. Things looking better, confidence and  strength is coming up. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on gaiters in Gobi, will we need them ? , it looks like pretty rocky terrrain. Also it says its the lowest place on earth, but I read there may  be some elevation , does anyone know anything about that ? .  Cheers

 

ok this week, things starting to get more and more serious as I try and peak close to event or even better at the 100KM marker on day 5 :). For the Saharra I peaked about two months before and was just tired and burt out when got to the Saharra.  Well being in the Saharra getting sick, throwing up,  diarrea and all that good stuff plus loosing all the my toemails, (remember to file those toe nalis down ). Ive decided that was not a lot of fun, so this time around much more preparation is needed. This years goal  run less, move slower, pay more attention to your body, hydrate and take elctrolyte pills. Carry less weight. pack some sugar for some of thoses crashes when you just have 2 or 3 KMs to go. sleeping pills and ear plugs. More quality food for energy and recovery drinks. Make sure your Ipod charger works before you go, test every thing before you go.  Sunday, going in the world Famous Fredericton Marathon :). I am sure I will be getting some strange looks throwing on my 25LB nap sack, and my little hydration stysem and such. will look a little off that I am actually putting weights in my nap sack. The race will be a good chance to experiment with some stuff. Plan on running some and actully trying to do some planned walking at a fast pace. ive been battleeing some runners knee or tendinus, for you laymen out there it just means my knee is really sore and hurts more when i run on it :) There is a seven hour cut off time, so should be a pretty good  test for first marathon of year with weight. Should be able to do it and get a bunch of stuff tried out before I start having hallucinations in the gobi desert :). Hope everyones training is going well.  

Ok test time to see if Blog is up and running. Training in progress this weekned a 30km run /hike planed for Saturaday with 30lbs. Then Sunday , just a 10km run no weight. Working through some achilles issues so doing the slow build.