GOBI MARCH CHALLENGE (MONGOLIA):
​250km/155 mile, 6-stage Ultramarathon

The Gobi March
So, in June 2022 I will be heading to the Gobi desert in Mongolia to run 250km in 6 days in a self-supported race where participants take everything with them in a backpack as they compete, from food to clothes and emergency survival items (compass, knife, shelter blanket, etc).
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“But why? Why would you want to do that?”
Why would someone who had never been a long-distance runner decide to suddenly do six marathons back to back in 6 consecutive days?
I am not sure I have the answer to that, there are probably a few reasons related to the trap of modern life and the need to challenge oneself at a more basic level but I haven’t gone that far in my thinking. All I know is that, right now, for some reason, it feels right.
I have always run but I’ve never been a runner. All my life, running was practical; it started as a way to build better endurance during my fighting years as a kickboxer; not something I particularly enjoyed but a chore I needed to go through, a means to a larger objective.
"The 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series is widely recognized as the most PRESTIGIOUS FOOTRACE series in the world
The series consists of the Namib Race (Namibia), Gobi March (Mongolia), Atacama Crossing (Chile) and The Last Desert (Antarctica). Competitors in the races traverse 250 kilometers in seven days over rough country terrain with only a place in a tent and water provided. They are supported by highly qualified staff, all with experience in hiking, marathons and ultramarathons, and medical teams specializing in wilderness medicine."
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The painful joys of running
Well, I can tell you that has been changing for the last six months. Besides the new training regime, I had to learn to enjoy the running and the many, many hours of pavement pounding. I am learning other things besides: The stillness of motion, the prolonged state of flow…
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Also, I realized two interesting, very specific things about running:
  • One is that you have to learn how to run: Even for something as intuitive as running, there is good technique and there is bad technique and that makes a difference. Needless to say, my technique was pretty bad and it’s not much better now.
  • The other is that, for such a “simple” sport, it can get surprisingly expensive. There is always a better pair of shoes or a lighter backpack or a… you know how it goes.​
It is being quite the process of discovery. I am understanding how to reinforce my core to avoid injuries because (and this was quite a revelation for me) despite all the running, your calves or hip muscles may still be weak and you need to train those separately. I had to learn nutrition, how to replenish my salt balance and how to recover after the run. I had to understand logistics, how to pack a week’s worth of food and equipment into a small, light backpack via ruthless selection (no showers in the desert).
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It is pretty humbling to realize how much I don’t know about what I have embarked to do but that discovery is part of the fun of it. I will probably not figure out some things until I am actually in the desert when it is way too late but that, I guess, is also part of the experience.
Why I am bothering you with all of this
Good question. So, why am I bothering you with all of this, a narrative that is turning out (as I reread this), a bit self-glorifying? Well, I thought there could be a way to put some positive twist in a middle-aged craze like this so I will be running for a charity. This one:
https://give2asia.org/covid-19-pandemic-response-mongolia/

The excellent people at Give2asia support a wide range of very worthy initiatives across the continent and, in particular, are helping Mongolia in recovering from the economical and healthcare aftereffects of the still ongoing Covid pandemic by:
  • Supporting vulnerable groups who lost their income and jobs due to quarantine measures and reduced economic activity
  • Providing emergency medical supplies​
​So this is where you come in, would you like to help me raise some support for them?
​Can I persuade you to do that?
If so, you could go to the link below and donate there making sure you select “Mongolia” as the recipient of the donation. Or share this link in case some of your contacts may.
Thank you.
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PLEASE DONATE HERE