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On the final day, the competitors had just a short six kilometer stage. The winners of the Gobi March 2010 had already been determined and so everyone was just focused on cheering people across the finish line. As the competitors ran, walked, hobbled and limped across the finish line, there were cheers everywhere, but also a lot of tears. A lot. (And a strange feast of food and beer at 10 a.m. because after 250 km, there are a lot of people who just want a cold one)

It’s difficult to describe the moment of the finish line, but the closest popular culture reference I can come up with is the big reveal on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. In university, I had a roommate who cried every single week at the reveal, no matter what the story was or how the house looked. In the Gobi, I had a friend who worked as a volunteer and shed tears as nearly every single competitor crossed the finish line. She cried so much that people joked that it was a good thing she was wearing sunglasses and it was hot enough outside to be sweating.

A lot of competitors crossed the finish line together, holding hands or dancing into the finish line. You had a few guys bow down and kiss the ground. Some competitors were greeted by members of their families who had flown out from different places around the world to meet them. One guy did a cartwheel and the last person to cross the finish line was helped in by his tent mates. Some competitors’ reactions:

• Philippe of France said this while he was eating a plate of fruit: “I’ve been dreaming about this [fruit]. It’s so fresh and I’ve been dreaming about it every night, so I’m going to enjoy it and I’m going to get fat now.”
• Travis who is South African: “I can’t really believe it’s over, I feel like we are going to go out again tomorrow. Then again, it also feels like we have been out here for more than seven days.”
• Philip, a Brit who lives in Hong Kong, barely finished one race before he wanted to start another: “I’m looking forward to Sahara already. It’s great. Actually, there’s nothing better than this feeling of accomplishment.”
• And Elizabeth, who lives in Hong Kong, thanked me for “not sleeping for a week”. And then she said: “I am just thrilled to complete the race and before I came, that was my goal. But three or four days into the race, you realize that the friends you make are more important than completing the race. It feels like I have known everyone for a long time.”

As we were driving back to Urumqi, I was mostly focused on getting all of the press reports done so that they could be sent out as soon as we got back to the hotel. But every so often I would look outside and see all the cars on the highway and just how much highway there really was. It’s easy to forget what’s happening when you’re in the middle of sand dunes. As I was typing away, I remember thinking that I needed to come back as quickly as possible because next year that sand dune I was standing in really could be another piece of highway. And of course, I have outstanding invitations to stay with some of the Uigher friends I met so if I can find the road back…

One Final Note

If you have the urge to compete in one of these races, then these blog entries have probably not helped you in any way to prepare for the race. Should you want to be in touch with past and present competitors to find out training/equipment/food information, you can email me and I’m happy to put you in touch with someone who is much better equipped to talk to you about blisters, compression tights and electrolytes than I could ever be.

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Read the Entire Gobi March Series:

1. Marching through the Gobi Desert: The Race Begins
2. Marching through the Gobi Desert: Endurance
3. Marching through the Gobi Desert: The Finish

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About the Author:

Melanie Ho was part of the media team that covered the Gobi March. She has worked for the South China Morning Post covering the 2008 Olympics and was also on the media team for last year’s desert race in Namibia. Although originally from Canada, Melanie now makes her home in Hong Kong.