We’re all wiped out.. plenty of naps and putting up our legs to drain the fluids from our feet. We’re all walking funny, a lot of hobbling and limping. I too couldn’t avoid the blisters. Got 4 which were quickly administered by the patient and awesome medic tent. My body remains tired and sore but that’s expected. Need to drink lots of water and take my electrolytes.

 

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for today. Temps are in the 30s, very sunny, but we have lots of shade here. At a distance, i can see the snow capped peaks and closer by, sheep are grazing out in the pasture. We’re camped out in the middle of nowhere with no signs of civilization. Hear that we are quite close to the border of kyrgyzstan

 

We have a treat later from RTP. We’re getting local bread and watermelon which this region is well known for. food has been the predominant topic amongst us - our food cravings and what we’d like to eat as soon as we get home. For me, that’s anything, just anything but freeze dried food.

 

Throughout this race, ive met many interesting people here, very unassuming and humble from all walks of life from over 40 countries. How cool is that, to converge in such a remote locale and to enter a crazy extreme race.  Ive already been drafted to circulate a distribution list of the hk-based entrants, already have set a date for drinks next Thursday, does anyone know of a good watering hole? ;)

 

Aside from your blog comments, I’ve haven’t had any contact with the rest of the world. Global markets could’ve fallen 10% this week and I wouldn’t know (or care). This week, real world happenings have been totally irrelevant for us. It has been a great momentary escape for me.

 

This is my last blog, and I want to end it with a note of thanks to your advice and words of encouragement. See you all soon.

day 5, long day, 75km. not sure what to write here, am just glad its over. we all woke up at 5am to be ready for 645am boarding for a 2hour journey. the atmosphere that morning was somewhat different than other mornings. entrants were a lot more quiet, serious, and very focused on getting ready for the long day. we arrived at the start on time, lots of high fives and hugs ahead of the arduous journey. for me, the first few stages were okie, walking well and taking in the right combination of energy foods. nonetheless it was very hilly yet again. nothing noteworthy about the last half of the course, it was somewhat flattish..was just long..at checkpoint 5, there was hot water for our meals. i just didnt want to spend time preparing, so had chips, a slim jim and cured ham..another 28km awaited me after my 20 minute break . i just want to get back onto the course and finish. just want to get it over with. unlike previous days, i did the long march on my own, didnt want to complicate things by having a walking partner(s). here in northwest china, it doesnt get dark until 1130pm, by then, i had another 8.5km to go. last stage. am psyched. but it was the longest 8.5km of my life. it was pitch black, save for the glow sticks that guided me. the walk felt like an eternity. endless line of glow sticks. the only nice thing about the walk were the stars. so bright and close by that you feel you can grab them. finally. at about 1245am i arrived at the finish, nearly 15 hours later.. fully sapped of my energy that i didnt even change, wash, eat or drink. i just took out my sleeping pad and bag, and slept. weather couldnt have been more perfect. temps in the mid to high 20s with plenty of cloud cover. top finisher came in at around 630pm. and only 1 dropped out in the long day. and the 2 competitors just came in at 1015am.

 

we're all resting today. finally, im finally getting some cravings for my favorite foods (steak, bbq pork, etc) maybe because i have time think about other things besides the race. my mind can finally relax. theyve put us in a nice campsite surrounded by trees to provide shelter from a very hot day. everyone is in a great mood. all looking forward to finishing up tomorrow's 15km run (walk for me) and a much needed hot shower.

day 4...toughest day thus far, just before tmw's long day (75km)..view atop heaven's gate was spectacular..then came 2 stages of steep hillsn walking along the ridges of a mountain range for about 15kms or so..didnt use my poles despite steep inclines akin to double black diamonds  had to use my hands to climb up and down. slipped several times, nearly sprained my ankle twice.. last stage felt long..we mustve traversed 6-7 riverbeds. strong current with water levels well above my knees. but i finished and got away with just some soreness and a small blister. arrived in camp at 630 or so but we need to board a bus at 645 for a 2hr journey to get to the start point..tmw's the big day, hope i make it to the finish .keeping it shprt t prepare for tmw

day 3... theres been a pattern every morning.. ive been very sluggish from the start  maybe i just take longer to warm up than others.. race started as usual, 8am. and once again, competitors were passing me left and right 9damn it)...the GU gel has been a sure thing for me, 1km into the race, i ripped one open, and 10 minutes later i was really charged up..stage 1 was 9.7km and i think i march into checkpoint 1 in around 80 mins. entire race was upward sloping.. but stage 1 particularly suited me, slightly rocky yet firm ground..then came killer stage 2 (10.7km), just up and down hills on the most rocky surface ive ever come across..was most concerned about preventing injuries like a sprained angle or a gashes from sharp rocks..was very important to keep my eyes on the ground and making sure i didnt veer off course....stage 3 was more of the same but less treacherous..4 was continued uphill on an unpaved rocky road..we saw the halfway marker in the last stage so tried to estimate my arrival time..it was a very windy road that seemed to go on forever. think we all feel the distance had been badly measured. 36km in total.. day 3 has been the toughest thus far..tomorrow will be even more difficult, very technical with even steeper hills, think i will use my poles for the first time. tmw will include a ladder climb to heaven's gate, which RTP says is the vista highlight.of the race. i believe RTP has a picture up on the front webpage of gobi2012.  i feel very fortunate, another day of zero blisters and hotspots. am eating well. no obvious signs of dehydration on the course. there is the usual soreness but am stretching. still having a very tough time sleeping under a rough surface, my sleeping pad hasnt been all that helpful. weather has been the same throughout..sunny, breezy, temps in mid to high 30s during race time..hasnt been an issue at all coming from HK..

day 2. started off very sluggish. wonder if its the lack of coffee. brought along nescafe 3 in 1 mix with me for each day but havent had any, worried that i might need to do a #2 on the course and i dont (am unwilling) to wake up any earlier than i have to. ive been the last person in my tent of 10 to get up each morning. but maybe my sluggishnees was more related to my soreness in both the tendon above my left feet and my right shin. the first checkpoint was 7.5km from the start. at the onset,.i just lacked momentum, saw competitors pass me left and right (hated that). almost wanted to procrastinate. towards the back of the pack, i chatted and walked along with others, stopped to take fotos. wasnt in the right mindframe to do my best..finally at checkpoint 1, asked for a couple of tylenols, had a gel and power bar, and 30 minutes later, was a competely different person. got much needed energy, felt stronger and stronger, was focused, didnt greet anyone i passed. i more than made up for my lost standing (ok i said numerous times that im here just to complete but its hard not to feel just a wee bit competitive, quite sweet to overtake someone, haha). then somewhere towards end of stage 2, i caught up with this czech entrant named milan who i had wanted to overtake.  but he was doing very well. so we walked together. although we hardly chatted, think we gave each other a big mental push and encouragment to do a fast walking pace of 6.5km/hr. we mustve passed about 7-8 people. the course from stages 1 to 3 was similar to yday's, lots of gravel but more rolling hills this time. incredible vistas, temps hotter though, around 40 degrees with a persistent breeze. then stage 4 was awesome, 11km of which 9 were on an upward sloping newly paved road. we soon caught up with this gweilo with a hong kong patch who i hadnt met yet. so said hello and chatted much along the way. the 3 of us finished the race together. think we clocked in at 7hrs 35mins. post race felling okie, usual soreness in both feet, shoulders and lower back . lucky again, i escaped blisters and hotspots but my 2nd left toe is forming a bruise. nothing particular to note about this camp, tents are arranged in u-shape formation, we're in the fields adjacent to an village. scorching hot but can deal with this dry heat. soon as i arrived, i dropped my bags and ripped open a slim jims and downed a recoverite. just finished some stretching before wandering over to cybertent with my bag of crushed pringles, miso soup (tks suz!), mixed nuts...best of the day perhaps, just relaxing, recovering and getting to know fellow racers..feeling good so far about the race. fingers crossed that it stays this way..all uphill tomorrow, 35km.

very long queue for the blog... first day.. distance to checkpoint 1 was shortened by 8km due to high river levels.. first day so there was quite an air of excitement  at start time. so we ran a total of 32km. was a gradual incline at the beginning, maybe an elevation gain of around 200 meters before we descended back to levels where we started. the course was all gravel, uneven surface. was tough to gain momentum, was difficult for me to 'grip' the ground with my salomons. i felt fine for the majority of the race.. during the course, i walked with different people, first 7-8 km was with  boyang from hk (turns out he works in the same building as i do), traversed the multiple river beds between checkpoints 2 and 3 with a british couple living in singapore.. river bed wasnt as bad as explained at the beginning. was worried about getting wet and having to face the possibility of blisters forming. but for the last 3/4 of the race, i walked with sumand (?) from bangalore. he was the first indian national to finish atacama back 2011. and hopefully the second for gobi. very interesting background. anyhow, we were both maintaining a 6km/hour pace but i just faded at the last 1km. so finished maybe 3 minutes behind for a total time of 5hrs 45mins...was good to walk with others, often reminded the need to drink and to eat. think i ate adequately during the 32km...2 GU gels, 1 power bar, 1 cliff bar, 2 salt tablets and 3 nunne tablets. body felt fine but i was just tired out.. weather was sunny and windy, temps between 30-35 i think. great way to end the race at the village of kashpushka..we werent told until the morning debrief that we would be staying at villager homes. was an odd scene as we approached the village. we were in a desert and the entire area reminded me of the uninhabited mountainous parts of southwest US..coincidentally im staying at the same villager home as the one back in 2008.. feet are ok, no blisters or hotspots, just general feet and shoulder aches.. hopefully a good day of rest and a tylenol will help me recover

Its been 4 years since I was last here as a volunteer for gobi 2008.  But after much procrastination and goading from friends, am back here this time to compete. we arrived at this campsite about 2 hours ago.  Warm greetings from the kazahk villagers who lined up on both sides, clapping and singing as we walked towards the big red banner  GOBI MARCH 2012. Yup, am finally back here. In short, the campsite is located in the middle of nowhere.. on a plateau with incredible soaring rugged mountains..sunny and temps probably in the high 20s..First thing I did was to seek out my tent to stake out a comfortable spot. So many rocks I had to clear from underneath the thin carpet. Wont be a comfortable rest tonight……Soon after that, just walked around the campsite. Ate some local bread and drank a can of pepsi courtesy of the race organizers.. Very friendly atmosphere, competitors eager to get to know one another. The usual where you’re from soon gave way to questions about my training regimen, endurance race history.. it’s a competitive bunch here.

 

Not many friends have been to this part of china before, but the look and feel of this place is decidedly very middle-eastern. The locals in their local traditional garb, the Arabic signs above the Chinese translations. The local Governor came out unexpectedly to greet us with his entourage.  locals are dancing and singing as I blog. But am easily reminded that im indeed in china, the ever present PLA at a distance…,will need to soon prepare my dinner at 7pm of freeze dried Asian noodles with chicken along with my parma ham..  feeling okie I guess, again, a combination of excitement and anxiety.. really eager to get out there tomorrow.. muscle + tendon around my left knee still not fully recovered. will take it easy from start to finish. 42 km. with multiple river beds, not much elevation. Gotta keep my feet dry, blister free.. signing off….

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