It's now a week after the Gobi challenge. We've had a 6 hour bus ride back to a holiday Ger camp in Dalganzadgad (sp?), a day in Ulan Bataar and then a few days in Beijing relaxing and being tourists. I'm now flying to Tokyo to work a bit at Ping Japan before returning home.
My knee has no pain any more, my feet are feeling good and look normal, and I'm back to full strength and rest. At least, I feel that way. To be honest, I felt okay with the world within a couple of days of the end and that was a big surprise to me. During the race, days 4 and 5 were the ones I felt physically the worst, although the bad knee on day 6 was my biggest worry as far as not finishing.
So, the race overall was a great success. My biggest fear was either illness or injury forcing me to pull out and I stayed in large part clear of both of those. I assume that's everyone's biggest worry about a race like this. No one wants to come all this way and then pull out for whatever reason. I have huge sympathy for those who didn't make the end. I found the first 2 days of running reasonably comfortable and actually quite good fun charging through the gorges. Even though I was some way back in 3rd place for those 2 stages I was running strong, enjoying the scenery and not finding the food or camping too difficult.
Stage 3 was more of a watermark. I think it was visually the most dull of all the runs - plains the whole way and the longest stage of the race to boot. After 10K when I was down in 4th place I really wondered if all my strength was deserting me. For the next 3 hours I started tapping into reserves I've not used since my 750 mile bike ride nearly 10 years ago. As I managed to pass Ian and then eventually Budjargal and finish the day strongly it gave me confidence for day 4 that, even as I was struggling up the hill, I was as strong as anyone else out there.
The last 2 days were characterized by a few things: running with Owen when I could, managing injuries, excessive heat and enormous sand dunes. I had my toughest day of athletics ever on day 5. Feeling sick in the morning, battling on for the first 20K at good pace, the pain in the left knee, being in big trouble from 25 to 30K and then slowly managing to press on for the last 10K or so. In a lot of ways that's my finest achievement in sport. The last day was a more leisurely affair, staying with Owen, not risking our injuries too much. The big dunes were one of the most spectacular things I've ever come across and climbing up them was a privilege.
Overall, the 20 or so competitors were an interesting, eclectic, varied group of people and it was fun getting to know them. Dave, Phil and the Gobi Challenge team were all great to talk to and clearly have a passion for the Gobi. I have a reservations about the organization and particular the dissemination of information but that didn't detract much from my enjoyment of it all. The Gobi itself is spectacular - raw, wild, unspoiled and vast. I doubt I'll see it again in the flesh, who knows, but the world is a big place. It was an amazing place to have visited.
Would I recommend this to someone else? Probably someone who's really after a rustic experience and can very much fend for themselves and look after themselves. Probably not to someone looking for a well-drilled race or really looking to maximize what they get for their money. I'd recommend it to someone like myself, but I saw enough people grumbling to know it's not for everyone.
Will I do another ultra? Well, it was amazing and I did well and came through healthy. I did enjoy it but mostly because the Greene family were there and I feel like I challenged myself and won. I think I'd do another if friends were doing it and it's a bit different kind of race. Maybe in a couple of years...
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