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Gobi March Blogs 2010

Barry Chan

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Gobi March (2010) blog posts from Barry Chan

01 July 2010 02:58 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Hi, I have had an early start at 6 am after we were taken by coaches to a place and head for checkpoint 1 and 2 which is the exact whereabouts of Flamming Mountain.  Beautiful sceneries all around although the terrain is full of sand dune - the decision to keep my broken piece of trekking poles has been good and that half piece still helps me a lot in doing those uphills. After a bit of water filling, we headed to the final section which is the never-ending gullies around the desert area - this labyrinth like of trails at the centre of desert seemed to be very hot (over 40C) and I got severe headache after completion.  On my way in the gullies I saw an American and Canadian having problems, they were actually having medical treatment at checkpoint 2 but still chosen to continue.  I tried to walk faster trying to get help from RtP staff and it took about 30 min before I can find one.  Hope those people will be ok.  We will be having the Long March (100km) on tomorrow and I need to make sure I have enough sleep tonight.  I shall try my best.
 

Comments: Total (10) comments

Posted On: 12 Jul 2010 02:49 pm

Hurray! Really proud of you! You are a real challenger.

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 11:44 am

Stage 5, 我開始覺得你好似愈行愈上電咁!! You walked even faster than Trailwalker!! 真係熱到要行快d返終點? 有冇可樂o架??!! ^o^

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 10:52 am

Sawadee krup! Welcome back!

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 09:42 am

Don't worry! I belive you can overcome these difficulties.

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 09:40 am

Unbelievable!! So hot!! Anyway keep going, we all waiting for you back to office!! (^~^)

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 06:31 am

add oil add oil, End in sight

Posted On: 02 Jul 2010 03:53 am

So far so good. Our works are okay. Take care. See you. :D

Posted On: 01 Jul 2010 02:33 pm

To be able to walk in such heat is really an unbelievable achievement!

Posted On: 01 Jul 2010 02:26 pm

祝賀你已成功完成五天的行程, 繼續努力、加油!! 小心身體。

Posted On: 01 Jul 2010 01:58 pm

火焰山下沒有鐵扇確難受,頭痛難頂不要怕,支持力量不斷送上.好好休息做個好夢,明天會更好. 努力加油無有怕!!!

29 June 2010 09:34 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Hi, I finished stage 2 yesterday but could not update my blog because of congestion at the cybertent.  Stage 2 was a pleasant one with a lot of beautiful scenaries - we started off having rolling hills and plains.  The fact that I broke one of my trekking poles in stage 1 had caused me a bit of trouble on down-sloping as I need to be extremely cautious to making sure I do not break my remaining one.  We then passed through a dry river bed and a large canyon and ended up spending another wonderful night on top of a cliff.  Stage 2 was comparatively easier - and the weather was much warmer compared with the previous 2 nights.  Today we had an early start at 8am, and the terrain is deemed to be moderate and difficult. It's canyon again we have to cross rivers 6 times - and I have to take off my shoes and socks to prevent blisters from developing. It was then followed by a long 11km upsloping through gravels and it reallly hurts the feet.  I managed to go along with other tentmates and headed to camp 4 without major troubles.  A bit of stockcount - 10 toenails remain intact, with one and a half turning purple.  Luckily, no blister so far.  We will have a descent to Turpon Basin (Flamming Mountain) tomorrow and I just heard that it is going to be an early start and everybody has to leave camp by 4am and it will take us 3 hours to travel.  It's going to be hot tomorrow and the strategy is not to hurt in the first 4 days to pave way for the 100km long march.  Will keep you posted. 
 

Comments: Total (3) comments

Posted On: 01 Jul 2010 07:27 am

The race is really not easy, but don't worry, you will overcome any difficulty with your strength, try your best to complete your race, we all support at any time. Add oil! Add oil!

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 02:38 am

Sounds like you are enjoying it and I knew you will be enjoying it despite of the big challenges in this event - Keep up the good work !

Posted On: 30 Jun 2010 01:32 am

So happy to hear that you completed Stage 3. Even though you broke one of your trekking poles but I am sure you can complete all stages!! We all support you! :)

27 June 2010 08:28 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Hi, Elizabeth and I completed stage one today.  The event briefing said stage one is supposed to be moderate but it's even harder than doing hiking at Nam She Tsim (Snake Peak) in HK with your 10kg backpack.  I had a bit of of bad luck, and I slipped over from a quite steep slope on the downhill walk and broke one of my trekking poles - now it is a bit difficult to tell if it has any effect on future stages.  The backpack is heavy and I've got a bit of backpain now..and some cold too night time it gets really cole, probably 8C with chilly wind around 4am. Tomorrow will be onto high hills and plains - so need to take a good rest tonight.   

Comments: Total (13) comments

Posted On: 01 Jul 2010 06:38 am

好勁!完成Stage 3. 沖涼,洗頭,剃鬚,样样做整.精神爽爽继續行Stage 4 ,5,6........ 加油,加油!!!!

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 02:05 pm

Add oil, do your best, take care and good luck!

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 01:30 pm

Stage 3, 勁過河仲要洗埋頭先至行8個鍾, 你都算爽囉... 不過你要行快d喇, Elisabeth就快快過你喇!! ^o^

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 11:37 am

Stage 3 今天勁過河喎!爽唔爽! 明天Stage4火燄山!睇下見唔見到鐵扇公主,問佢借把扇行快的!但小心行錯路去左盤絲洞遇到蜘蛛精! 加油!

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 08:25 am

Try to get a wooden steak during your trial to replace for your trekking poles, nothing is impossible for you, we all believe that!! Keep watching for your daily news!! Keep posting!!

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 06:27 am

Add oil, add oil, ar!!!

Posted On: 29 Jun 2010 02:34 am

Hi Barry, Glad to hear that you completed day 1 - Keep up the good work and I'm sure you will complete the rest of the course easy ! The entire HK Finance team misses you and is awaiting for your return.

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 07:40 pm

Excellent progress Barry altho I am concerned to hear that you fell. You never were too sure about the treking poles - so I guess that you press on regardless. Coming up for the third day - well done - thinking of you.

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 12:00 pm

斷左支行山杖,又使乜驚! 英格蘭輸4:1比德國入唔到8強!咪仲慘! 加油!仲有4個stages,你既表現應該好過朗利!!

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 05:11 am

Hey congrats. Can you manage to cello tape back the broken pole? By the way, you look really sexy in the photo with only your tshirt . Did you also tear your pants on the way down hill...lol.. Can't wait for your next update Laterz..Celin

Posted On: 28 Jun 2010 01:21 am

Hi hi, take good care of yourself!! We all support you here and proud of you. Enjoy your adventure. ^0^

Posted On: 27 Jun 2010 08:48 pm

No buts! Don't let the incident with the pole break your morale. Just pick yourself up and take it one step at a time. You can do this!!

Posted On: 27 Jun 2010 03:53 pm

每步都小心多d, 一定ok 嘅, 最緊要冇受傷~~ 加油呀!! 少咗支行山竹咪再輕d囉, don't worry!!

26 June 2010 09:14 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

We departed from hotel for Camp 1 at 3:30 pm.  It took us longer time than expected to reach Camp 1 due to some hiccups - as you may understand, large coaches through those narrow countryside roads and somehow we were trapped in loose gravels / mud.  We arrived at Camp 1 at around 8:15 pm, and everybody has been busy preparing for dinner, I had a pack of freeze dried meal (800 kcal) and it was easy to prepare - just put in hot water and within 3 min the food is soaked and ready to serve.  The taste is of course awful and now I realise that my wife can actually cook much better food than I thought for the past 17 years and I missed her instant Japanese noodle.  I just attended a lesson on how to tape feet to prevent blisters and I'm going to tape mine tmw morning. We will be starting at 9am tmw for the stage 1 - 32km  which starts on dusty road before heading up into the hill and plains, and down to Camp 2.  The weather is chilly at around 15C and I hope I could have a good and safe start tomorrow.  By the way, I still need to trash some of the stuff and it is still very heavy.  Anyway will keep you posted. 

Comments: Total (1) comments

Posted On: 26 Jun 2010 04:33 pm

All the best to your race tomorrow. 32km is just a piece of cake for you :)

25 June 2010 10:19 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

The checking of gears has been done with a weight of 9.5kg.  It's definitely too heavy and  I will try trash / eat some of my stuff when arrive at Camp 1.  Will keep you posted when arrive at Camp 1 tonight.

Comments: Total (1) comments

Posted On: 26 Jun 2010 01:27 pm

明天32km. PB冇難度. 好似會經過天山. 睇下執唔執到天山雪蓮! 加油!

25 June 2010 09:35 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

My flight from Bali to HK late Thrusday was further delayed by accident at the Bali airport and I was not home until close to midnight.  After a few hours of rush packing at home I headed for airport again 5pm to catch a flight to Beijing then to Urumqi.  Both Elizabeth and I arrived at Urumqi safely at around 6pm.  The weather here is surprisingly heavy rain at 18C - I am a bit worried if the weather should persist as I have not brought with me a lot of warm clothes as the forecast said it should be around 26-41C.  Each particpant will be allocated a room to be shared with another participant, the RtP staff told me that my roommate is Patrick and he is the guy that I have met 3 times during my training at HK trail, what a coincidence!  The official competitor check-in will be conducted at 10am tomorrow and after lunch at aorund 2pm we will be departing the Camp 1 and stay there for a night before the Gobi March officially start at 7am on Sunday morning.  Everything seems okay so far except that I still have a bit sore muscles from that team building game (chicken run!) at Bali.




 

Comments: Total (2) comments

Posted On: 26 Jun 2010 05:16 am

Yes, he's Patrick Wei. He just told me that he had done ironman before!

Posted On: 26 Jun 2010 03:55 am

Hi Barry, are you referring to Patrick Wei? He is a friend of mine and he loves to run. It is a coincedence that I randomly picked your blog to read and stumble on patrick being your roommate. Good luck to you both and enjoy the run. ;)

21 June 2010 10:42 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

It's now 4 more days to go, I have just glanced through my training log...with all intentions to build a good base, I have been adding mileages on weekend practices and have covered 183, 196 and 217km for March, April and May respectively, before tapering off in June with only 130km.  It goes without saying that all these practice sessions were done with 9-11 kg loads filled with rice bag and dumbbells.  I have been following Eric's guidance on training - easy terrain and less mileage when I am beat up and more when I feel good.  It proves very useful for an endurance event dummy like me.  Anyway, not much high climbs though, but more on varied terrain routes.  Thanks also for the valuable advice from Mike Wellsted - I ended up buying every piece of useful gear he has recommended and guess what my pack is now 10kg+ and I definitely need to repack with less weight before set-off.
As you can see my blog is now alive and I look forward to receiving your comments and encouragements.
I am glad that RtP has accepted my special request to stay and share the same tent, amongst others, with my colleague Elizabeth, so that I would not feel alone in the desert.  In the meanwhile, I'm having fun with my fellow ISS APAC colleagues in Bali before heading for Gobi this Friday.
Will keep you posted with further blogs upon arrival in China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments: Total (15) comments

Posted On: 26 Jun 2010 05:21 am

Dear ABC君, Thanks for your advice. I'll keep that in mind.

Posted On: 23 Jun 2010 05:09 am

Hi, Boss, According to your track record, there is no doubt you can complete the race very likely. The place like Gobi, you better pay more attention on the weather and the physical changes, +oil

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 04:04 pm

hi boss, do us a favour ... ... do come back!!! take care and enjoy your "trip". btw, don't forget to take more photos (of course the good shots!!) and share with us after your trip. see you in the office!!!

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 01:54 pm

Just a thousand big smiles to add to your pack from all the children in Hong Kong you and your ISS friends will give joy to. I admire your courage and wish you from us all at Theodora, success. Keep well.

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 10:43 am

BTW 溫馨提示~~ 喺沙漠要互相幫助, 見到人老抽要停一停, 幫一幫! 唔好再見死不救呀...!! ~~ 可能人哋第二日會幫番你呢!!~~ hee hee...

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 10:33 am

等你... <<七月五號強勢回歸>> 祝你 "超爽" 完成~~

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 09:37 am

We are very proud of you, don't give up!! Looking forward to get your daily news in Gobi!! Don't worry too much la.....

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 07:38 am

Boss! Never die!

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 07:17 am

Hi Barry, why you don't post a close up photo that you wear the new sunglasses ar??!! It should looks cool~~ ^o^ >Jenny Liu

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 03:00 am

Be good and guess u will enjoy every pace.

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 02:56 am

Hi Master Barry, Glad to know you joined the Gobi Race. I back to work la.....Please take care and doin well on your training. We are proud of you~~Lets share with us when you're back!! Cheers~

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 02:44 am

Hi...hi Barry, I am happy to know your situation. You need remember to protect your eyes, legs & skin! We are supporting to you! 加油呀!Elise

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 02:22 am

Hi Barry, You look well prepared the race. Anyway take care. Don't worry about us. We will back office and complete all the reports on time. We would like to have some souvenir, of course not the sand of Gobi Desert. Take care. We are waiting you back for signing cheques. Thanks. Eliza

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 01:33 am

Barry, By looking at the record in your first blog, Gobi desert shouldn't be a problem. I suspect that you will have time for sight-seeing. If you have spare time, can you catch a large lizard while running and bring it back to HK for me. Thanks! Don't forget to write blog everyday so that all of us know how you are doing. OK! Eddy

Posted On: 22 Jun 2010 01:09 am

Good Morning~ Barry, How's your Bali trip? Only 4 days to go we will be there. I have to say thank you to Keith and you. Keith gave me a chance to join Gobi March 2010. Thank you for your help, always remind me, look after me and gave me some positive suggestion. I believed you have very well phyiscal tranining. This is the goal we are striving toward. I am looking forward to 7 days in the Gobi desert. Can't wait......