The Gobi Desert Race is commencing on 14 June 2009. Dr Tan Tar Ming (official last finisher IM LGK 09) will be leaving tonight (Monday, 8 June).
The web-site is here. I can't fathom the difficulty of the race. Words used to describe the location includes "the driest", "the furthest spot in the world from any ocean", "on the old silk road", "not normally accessible", "height of >9,000 feet (Heaven's Gate)" etc.
Competitors have to carry their clothes, food, sleeping things required for the week and water for the day. You don't bathe and basically sleep on the floor. Its not the average tour package.
Everyone has a flare which is used as a last resort for emergencies. The rescue though does not come by helicopter, it could be just a donkey. If you don't use the flare, you exchange it for the finisher's T shirt.
Dr Tan was rightly apprehensive about the race yesterday. We wish him the best.
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