At last, we arrrived at our hotel in Kashgar at about 2300hrs (11pm) after leaving our hotel in Beijing at 0700 this morning and what seemed like we were travelling for the entire day. Of course travelling in foreign lands is all part of the experience and its best just to accept that things will not generally go as expected - this trip was no different.

We made an executive decision to go through security at Urumqi as we thought there would be some food and beverage services after we went though - this was not quite correct and we spent about 6 hours without access to anything but coffee. Due to a recent security scare at the airport, they had banned all soft drinks and water bottles for sale once you had gone through security. We were delighted to finally board the plane and be served some warm water and even warmer coca-cola - but after 6 hours without anything to drink apart from a very strange cappuccino topped with whipping cream (see photo below), it was delicious.

The scenery on the way to Kashgar was pretty amazing and these mountains are presumably the Eastern edges of the Himalayan mountain range.

The other cool thing is the timezone. We are at the Western edge of China and are closer to the Mediterranean sea than Beijing but Kashgar is still on the same time zone - when we arrived late this evening, at 2230 it was still light! This is really good news for us "slower competitors" as its means that on most days, we should finish before it gets dark which makes things a lot easier - also the Long Day should be a bit easier as we'll have a lot more light.

We have already met some of the medical staff and fellow Canadian, Steve Price who is doing his first desert, and we are expecting our Tian Shan tent mates late Thursday.

Anyway off to bed now for a well earned kip.

So this is where the boring bit begins (I hope) - getting to the start of the race. Do not want or need any drama - just a boring flight to Beijing, a boring night in the airport hotel and a boring flight to Kashi via Urumqi...and then the fun can begin! Doing final packing assuming my suitcase containing my food and drink powders and "sharpies" arrives in Kashi with me. We are arriving a few days before the race starts to allow for lost luggage and heat/altitude acclimatisation. Also planning to do a spot of sightseeing if we're able.

I'll be updating the gear list once I get to Kashi and do the final sort through - looks like its going to be a warm race (highs in the mid-30Cs and low in the mid-teens) although if we start climbing any mountains, this could change dramtically. I took a GoLite umbrella to the Sahara for some shade and never used it - but I've brought it along again - just in case.

The countdown begins.

Cheers for now.

Only a few days until I fly out to Beijing so probably the last update before the race begins unless I get some time in Kashgar.  I generally think that most of the blogs and the old journals we used to write are not really to help the people doing the race you are preparing for, but more those that will do next year's. So as I have done before, I will write a detailed blog when I get back about what went well and what needs improvement. I will also be updating my blog during the race (or at least trying to) though the magic of these new Intel computers we'll be trying out.

So what happened since the last blog? Well James, Greg and I did the Watershed Preserve 12 (WP12) hour race, or rather a shortened version of it. I had the Gobi patch on the pack to give RTP some free advertising :)

This is going to seem a bit weird but it was just too damn hot and I was carrying my backpack with 17lbs of rice in it and after 8.5 hours I packed it in - I couldn't see the point in pushing myself and risking an unjury so close to the start of the Gobi, especially considering I had done the Vancouver marathon two weeks before. Why is this weird? Well if you recall, we do a marathon basically every day in the race and one double marathon and its likely going to be very hot so what's the difference? We although I'm fat, fabulous and 50, I need to look after this old body of mine, so while I don't mind suffering in the desert, I don't feel like doing it during the lead up with the risk of injury and blisters :)

Gear wise, I'm pretty well set and will be taking a variety of extra gear to Kashgar and make some final decisions there - mainly about type of jacket to wear for the heat/cold. I tried out some of the new CW-X ventilator tights during the WP12 and they seemed to work pretty well - unlike the other CW-X tights, these are designed for running in hot weather and have some very sexy mesh on the thighs and calf areas.

I will post the final gear list this weekend.

Safe travels to all the Gobi competitors and to those that don't have their visa yet - hurry up!

Gary

24 days until the race actually begins

18 days until I board the plane to Beijing .

Since my last blog the only major thing of interest was the Vancouver marathon on May 4^th – I was thinking of wearing my backpack for the race but instead decided that with the Gobi so close, I didn’t want to risk it. I was three minutes faster than last year which is scary as I basically didn’t do any training for it. It was good catching up with James who I first met in the Sahara Race 2006 and his lovely wife and RTP medic Carolyn.  James and I managed to catch up with a first time RTP runner, Phyllis who asked all the right questions while we supped a nice cold glass of Strongbow cider and wolfed down some Eggs Bennie. She seemed a bit surprised when we told her we were doing the Vancouver marathon the next day, especially when we ordered our second pint of cider J

Since I started doing the 4 Desert races, I’ve noticed that I really don’t enjoy doing marathons like I used to – they just don’t hold much interest for me, and the only reason I do Vancouver is because its local and holds a special place as it was my first marathon. I also have some friendly rivalry with my sister in law who is quite a bit younger than me. She actually beat me in the marathon this year, although I cautioned her about bragging that she beat her elderly brother in law in a marathon.

This weekend, I'm heading down to Redmond, Washington to do the Watershed Preserve 12 hour race organized by the Cascade Running Club http://www.cascaderunningclub.com. I did the race last year wearing a 25lb backpack in an effort to simulate the Long Day in the desert. Apart from the water I was given, I was completely self-supported although the race organizers had lots of food and drink available. I only managed to last for 10.5 hours covering just over 32 miles after which I was completely wrecked. This year I plan on carrying only about 20 lbs and will hope to complete the full 12 hours or at least beat the distance I covered last year. I’ll be wearing the shoes and backpack which I will be using for Gobi to make sure they are well and truly broken in. Kris and Greg from Atacama will be doing the race too, as well as my StayPuft twin, James. Ginny, one of my long time marathon buddies and double Guiness World record holder will also be coming up from orgeon to do it.

My gear list is just about completed and I’m basically waiting to hear from RTP on what conditions we can expect during the race. So I will post the final list after that.

I can't resist posting the latest picture of our bulldog, Spike:

And on a final note, you would have all seen about the medical research on electrolyte levels they are hoping to conduct during the Gobi this year – I’m fascinated by this sort of thing so have volunteered to by the guinea pig – should be very interesting.

Good luck to everyone else in their final preparatons.

All I want to say is that I got my Chinese Visa today - wooooohoooo :)

Good luck to everyone else getting theirs.

Just saw the stage details and the Gobi scouting photos - should be great!!

44 days to go!

You would think I would have learnt something by what happened in Atacama when I didn't really prepare very much for it. You would, wouldn't you. Its easy to get sidetracked by all the hustle and bustle of work, major and minor traumatic events in one's personal life and just general laziness - but nonetheless, the race date comes at you very slowly at first - "its months away, and I've got lots of time to train", but slowly the momentum builds and that race day comes at you faster and faster until, now, it is only 96 days to go!

So much as I'd love to sit on the couch with our bulldog, Spike, I better get that pack on and my runners laced up and get out there!

I spent last weekend down in Seattle with some of my desert buddies I had donw the Sahara and Atacama with. It was probably just the incentive I need to get cracking and start training. I went to REI when I was down there and got all my food and drink mixes/electrolytes for the race - and I'm starting to get back in the swing of race preparation.

My buddies even managed to cajole me into competing in the Watershed Preserve 12 hour race (www.cascaderunningclub.com) on May 17th - three weeks before the Gobi. Before then, I also have the Vancouver marathon to run - so at least my old soft body will be in a little better shape.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing more about the training and the kit I'll be taking to Gobi. And of course I'll be following the Atacama race at the end of March - just to keep me motivated.

Please feel free to drop me a line through the forum, if you have any comments or questions.

Having already completed two Deserts, I'm hoping to pull together the experiences of those to make this my best Desert so far, and hopefully my best blog so far as well :)

I'll explain more about the "No train, more pain" later.

Well that was the intention on January 1^st…but as always there are speed bumps that interrupt the best intentions – the trick is just to get back on track as quickly as you can. In a way, for me, it’s a bit like doing one of these amazing desert races.

When I did my first race, the Sahara in 2006, I trained as best I could, read everyone’s blogs and thought I had done enough to finish, despite never going further than 26.2 miles with my pack on. Sure enough I did finish. Unfortunately, I rested on my laurels somewhat for Atacama and really didn’t do much training – my new mantra was “No pain, no train”. Meaning that if I didn’t train, I wouldn’t hurt myself, and of course that mantra works… as long as you don’t want to gallivant around the Atacama Desert carrying a 20lb back pack!

My other strategy for the Atacama was to reduce the weight in my backpack as much as possible while still complying with all the mandatory gear requirements. Of all the things you must do before doing a Desert race, one of the most important things is to thoroughly test your gear. I had seen that for previous Atacama and Gobi races, the winner (Mark Taminga) had used a very nifty item from Raidlight – it is a sleeping bag that you can also wear as a vest, thereby saving weight. This seemed like a great idea so I ordered one, but unfortunately Canada Post managed to loose it so I had to order another one which arrived about a week before I was due to leave for Atacama. I did briefly test the sleeping bag/vest which was very, very snug (as you can see from the photo attached). But I thought it would be fine during the race. Long story short, it was entirely not suitable for me during the race and in future I will be taking along a sleeping bag and separate jacket!

The other mistake I made was to reduce the size of my water bottles – I had used two 800ml ones in the Sahara but figured that Atacama wouldn’t be as warm, so I wouldn’t need as much water. Another big mistake! I ran out of water on the first day and stumbled into camp only to mix myself a big bottle of electrolytes with the warm water that I was given at the end of the stage. I was so thirsty that I drank the whole 1.5 litre bottle which was another big mistake!!! I went to lay down in the tent to recover and within 3 minutes was back outside the tent throwing up all the good water and electrolytes, this was followed by more throwing up and even more throwing up. It was like a scene from the Exorcist complete with projectile vomiting that probably rivaled the Geneva ’s Jet d’Eau. I though for sure that this was the end of the race for me, and that there would be no way I could continue if I couldn’t hydrate myself. My amazing wife, Terri, who was volunteering found me and cheered me up but I was still not able to keep any liquids down.

My thoughts on the Desert races is that they are supposed to be self-supported so I only use what I have brought and never ask anyone for anything, and don’t use the medical tent for blisters or suchlike. It was very hard for me, but I eventually ended up at the medical tent – Dr. Lori fixed me up very quickly with some anti-nausea medicine which alss had a very pleasing sedative effect J. I lay down in the tent and the next morning woke up and said to my tent buddies “I feel like a new man” – one of them quipped back (yes, Marty that was you) something along the lines that if I found one, could he have one too (smart arse!)

So what else did I learn during the Atacama Race that I will bring to the Gobi Race?

Well apart from making sure all the gear you take is suitable and that you get your hydration right, the other obvious thing is taking care of your feet. What? I said taking care of your feet mate – just because you have done one desert race and read all the books on fixing your feet does not mean that you don’t have to take care of your feet during this race! Of course it’s easy to look back and state the obvious, but I guess with my initial hydration scare, I sort of forgot about the feet. This actually wasn’t obvious to me until I got a huge blister, actually make that two moderately sized blisters that joined together to make one big blister on the ball of my foot – and when did this happen? On the long day of course, on the long day - after about the first 20 miles. My lack of attention to my feet must have been obvious to my tent buddies too, as when I was getting ready for the final stage he remarked that I spent more time looking after my feet for that stage than I had for all the other stages. Just goes to show that you really need to keep focus on all aspects of the race and which is especially important for multi-day race “newbies” like me. 

Anyway, gear wise, I expect to take pretty much the same to Gobi , except proper sleeping bag and I will be upsizing my backpack – more on all that in the next blog and some secret newbie training tips.