Hi folks

Sorry for my delay in getting the final blog post on completing the Gobi March. I wanted some time to reflect on the whole amazing experience. I had very high expectations of Gobi after a life changing Sahara Desert run last year. So much so, that anything that wasnt like Sahara just wasnt good enough :-) Not that I was expecting to see Sand dunes as far as the eye can see, but you get an idea in your head of what Sahara was like and you kind of expect things to be the same. It was very different in many ways.

Firstly it really did not seem like a desert. Aside from the stormy weather and rain, it seemed more like a countryside in Scotland or England or Central Europe. Green fields, rivers, mountains, hills, more hills, more fields etc It was still beautiful, dont get me wrong, but not Deserty. I dont think the Goby Countryside March quite has the same appeal though as the Gobi Desert March.

Secondly it did not feel as remote as Sahara. We passed many locals in villages, or farming or living in their Yurts. This was not necessarily a bad thing. It was great to see how the locals lived and most were very supportive and smiling at us crazy people in lycra running through the fields. Also having armed personel monitor all of our moves was a little strange. Not sure what they thought we would get up to in the middle of nowhere but there it is

The one thing that did remain the same from Sahara was the amazing people you meet. Definitely meeting staff and fellow competitors is one of the main highlights of these events. And strange to meet so many fellow Hong Kongers for the first time all the way in Gobi. Look forward to staying in touch with many new friends :-)

Many of you have asked me, was it tougher than Sahara. I think Sahara was more challenging in that you had the intense heat, and no shelter whatsoever in between checkpoints. I recall the checkpoints at Sahara being like an emergency room at the hospital with people collapsed all over the place. It seemed like most folks did not stop at checkpoints in Gobi at all or if so, for only 5 minutes or so. Also training in Hong Kong in the hills is probably much better suited to the terrain of Gobi so maybe made it seem easier

But at the end of the day as I look back on the amazing adventure and all the issues that happened and pain I went through I smile and think that was all part of the experience. It would nt be much of a challenge if we all came back without issues or pains.

My personal goal was to push myself to achieve my best performance and I feel I done that. I really gave it everything all the way up to the last day.....driven by a hilarious competition between myself, Steve Brydon and Chris Ballou for 44th place and resulting in seconds difference in our final overall time. I did think if I could make top 50, I would be really happy and so am fair chuffed with the final result. (74th in Sahara).

So 2 races down, 2 to go. Atacama or Antartica next year perhaps :-) Will keep you all posted

thank you so much for the fantastic support and words of encouragement during the race. I will reach out to you all seperately. To my Uncle Gil, thank you for the limerick. I have posted below for others to enjoy

cheers
Colin

The Sahara was a tough one for Col
He thinks he had a ball
He really dug deep
He even ran in his sleep
Now can't remember if he did it at all

He had a fairly good start on stage 1
It was over before it begun
Although much tougher each day
We're all proud to say
He did it the son of a gun

But would the Gobi be harder we don't know
He just had to run with the flow
Sounds like he felt good
Anticipating the dried food
Like Duracell energy it's making him go

So this young man called Jack
Gobi started so no turning back
Nice and easy heel and toe
Just look at him go
His times are on the right track

Now this poor lad who's not so old
Is handicapped as he's full of cold
At each stage he gets fast
And don't let many past
That's cos he's brave and bold

Full of cold off he went
Knowing it involved some ascent
wishing for less sun
He flew off at the gun
Ad half way done his energy spent

Now with the fist stage complete
And without signs of blistered feet
It's great to say
No nail drilling today
He's got this Gobi run beat

Off fast again on changing terrain
Not to good if it starts to rain
A nice fast pace
For most of the race
With the spider catching up again

Your time it matters not a jot
A challenge is all that you sought
If you have a bad race
Because you upped the pace
It also matters not a lot

Faster and faster still
Racing easy and giving you a thrill
Without the cold
Definitely more bold
Then almost as fast as Gil

Doing well and on the right track
Don't look behind cos there's a yak
He's following you
And the big spider too
They might hitch a ride on your back Jack

Stage 4 done you did amazingly well
Reducing each stage time was just swell
With his blistered feet
Out in the heat
Hope you popped them and ran like hell

Ignored these blisters and aching feet
The Gobi desert won't have you beat
Run with all your might
Even they the night
And the finishing surely will be sweet

Two marathons all in one go
It does 't matter If the time is fast or slow
You've ran to impress
Without due distress
Now you're the star we all know

No satellite again today
It appears that you've done ok
Not sure if a short race
That's now taken place
And you've all gone out to play

We see the weather has been cold and wet
And there might be some running yet
So with 14k still to run
Oh more great fun
The the Gobi medal you will get

So with just a stroll in the park to do
Even if it was dark too
Challenge is complete
Forget blistered feet
We all take our hats off to you

Hi folks Yesterday was supposed to be a 75km day but we experienced some pretty bad weather so the race got cut short at around 55km. At one point we got up to 2800 meters and there was ice and snow. I felt pretty good though and didn

Wow some amazing emails and blogs from so many family and friends. 2 days worth. finally the satellite upload and download is working Thank you thank you thank you! Today was so so. I felt good at beginning (cold subsiding yeah) but tired at the back end but managed to get a 5 hour 55 which was my goal (sub 6 hours) so Im pretty pleased. Little quicker each day. Little concerned about the long day tomorrow. Not sure I could have ran another marathon straight after finishing today, but I guess a lot of it is in the head. Need to prepare myself for tomorrow and try to take it easy out the gate......thats the plan anyway :-) Blisters are popping up all over the place now including a nice blood blister. No toenail drilling so far but there is still the long day tomorrow so there is time lol Really hoping I do ok tomorrow and can post some good news on a succesful finish. After that there is just a 14km jaunt to the finish line, so unless I get an injury, finishing tomorrow really means I done it......fingers crossed :-) Looking forward to a succesful day tomorrow and reading your comment when I get back to camp

Hi folks There was some satellite delay in getting emails uploaded yesterday but hopefully ok today. You should get 2 uploads together today hopefully. So as you may have already read I was not in a good way yesterday. After some meds and a good nights sleep, I felt a lot better today although not 100%. Got off to a cracking start and made some good headway. Tougher course today with 1200 meters total elevation gain but managed to come in 34th which I am delighted with, just over 6 hours. Ran all the downs and flats although there were some pretty serious climbs. Anyway day done and onwards to day 4. Lets hope I have a similar day as today :-) Feeling much better now which is a good sign. Some blister work to be done tonight.....yeah.....another freeze dried meal.....yeah......so much to look forward to lol Anyway thank yo;u so much for the comments. I didnt get any today due to the satellite issue so hopefully I will have more to read tomorrow :-) cheers Colin

Hi all, Struggled to get out of bed this morning. Really choked up with the cold....or is it man flu lol. Really was running on empty this morning. Could not find the energy to move and had to dig really deep. First 3 stages really sucked. Somehow managed to pick up the pace in the final stage and made up some ground. Managed to finish in 6 hour 40. Similar day to yesterday, 42km with 800 meters of ascent. I did lose some places today and think I came in around 62nd today which I am still chuffed with considering just how bad I felt. Backpack felt like a ton weight First thing I done when I got back was to come to the cyber tent to check the emails and blogs. Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement. Has really cheered me up on a tough tough day.....I really hope my cold subsides and I feel better tomorrow. Tomorrow is a tough course with lots of elevation gain so fingers crossed. will check back in again tomorrow. look out for some pictures of me looking absolutely exhausted on the website. Wont be pretty :-) cheers all Colin

Started off pretty fast again (did I learn nothing from Sahara lol), and really felt terrible. Stuffed up with a cold which maybe didnt help but no excuses :-). Got some form after 20km mark although battling with cramps even though I took about 15 salt tablets and numerous electrolytes. Guess I just sweat a lot, lol Was pretty tired by the end. Temp was really high but not quite as bad as Sahara although there is a ton of climbing at Gobi. About 8,000 meters of elevation gain. Today was only 1200 meters but with the heat and the full backpack on (forgot how that wears you down) it was pretty tough. Today was 43km and I finished in 6 hour 45 which put me in 48th position out of about 150 I think which Im really chuffed about considering how I felt. There is a lot of really experienced runners here so is a lot tougher competitive wise. I am though here to do my own race and goal is to finish. 1 of 6 stages out of the way.....the hardest is still to come 2 blisters so far which have been taped up nicely, no drilling of toes so far....fingers crossed (well toes crossed) Still getting to know tent mates. Few old friends from Sahara in camp which is fantastic including Steve Brydon. I did see a massive Spider in our tent about the size of my hand, brown with big body and hairly legs but no bites so far. not sure what kind it was Thank you all so much for the comments so far. I am reading carefully every day cheers Colin

Just sitting at briefing before heading onto camp. Thank you all for the well wishes already. Really means a lot. Many superfit athletes here which is a little bit intimidating but I just need to run my own race. Goal is simple..... Finish..... And if I can finish with a smile on my face and a stolen Scottish flag even better. Talk to you all soon Cheers Colin

Well here we go again. 7 months since Sahara have came round so quickly. Preperations probably have not went as well as I would have wished but never the less I'm heading on that flight tomorrow to the remote town of Bole, where the adventure begins. Hopefully my experience for Sahara will help me make it to the end.  Sorry to all my fantastic followers for the late post, and hope I do you all proud.

Cheers
Colin