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| Sweat, Pain, Tears and Thanks |
04-Jul-2010 09:15:36 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
The Gobi March is over and it will be a race that I will never forget. It contained all of the elements I expected a desert ultra marathon to have- breathtaking scenery, epic sand dunes, harsh weather conditions on both spectrums, emotional breakdowns, personal victories and the truest display of community and team spirit. One thing I did not expect and am heartbroken to write is that Nick, aged 31, lost his life after collapsing on day 4 in the canyons. It is hard to come to grips with Nick's death and my thougts are with his friends and family. Nick like every competitor who enters an event like this has the desire to push ones boundaries, both physical and emotional, to the limit. I am reminded that the line between seeking a personal challenge in these harsh environment and severe danger can be very fine.
It is the people you meet in these races that define the experience and help you navigate, stumble and cross the desert. A few but certainly not absolute mentions:
Lisa Tamati: you were my rock during the long day and I am incredibly inspired by your strength and determination. You had my back from the moment we met and I feel very privileged. I can only hope that I mature into the runner and person that you are.
Amanda and Fiona: We were the short striders of this race and i was phenominal to be able to cross the finish line with you both. Australasia endurance races here we come!
Frank, Faith, Charlie, Jimbo, Sam and Finn: Very little words needed here, except to say I now feel I have six brothers. Queen Bee of Tent Mongol is very proud of all of you and feels lucky to have shared the experience with you. The memory of Jimbo pushing his destroyed body across the final 1.5kms will be my inspiration for my next two races. Love to you all.
Tango: I never thanked you for offering to stay by my side when I injured my knee on day 4. You were willing to give up your own pace for me and I look forward to visiting you in HK and learning to appreciate spicy food.
Thank you to all my amazing sponsors (Juice Plus+, CWX, Ascend, Packlite Foods and Injinji). Not only do you help me get to the start line but I also appreciate your support and personal interest in this 4Deserts goal of mine.
Finally to everyone who watched onto my race and sent me wishes of support- Big Love.
Time to reflect, rest and recuperate before Sahara.
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| Stage 5 |
04-Jul-2010 07:42:30 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
Hello my dear friends.
Your blog comments and emails are a true lift to my spirit!! I have completed the 100km stage and have reached the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. After i wrote my last blog (on stage four) horror and devestation hit the camp as competitors were stuck in the canyon dehydrated and in a very poor state. All of the competitors who were at camp were in a frenzy of fear as we recieved news that a man had curled into a corner. After volunteers and medics started to head up the steep dunes to see what was happening I sat on my own and remembered that what we all do out here can be extremely dangerous. Since that moment we have heard little news about the young American who was rescued by a camel and sent to hospital . There is alot of anger around the camp due to the lack of communication on the issue. The latest news is that he is still unconscious and I spent much of my race yesterday thinking about him and his family. A few other competitors emerged from the canyons over 9 hours after I finished and as they stumbled to the finish line every competitor got out of their own nooks to applaud their tremendous efforts in the unforgiving heat.
We were told that we would start the long march at 6am so most of us woke around 4am and as I started to eat my breaky and down my water we are told that we may as well go to bed because we are not going to leave till 8am. Obviously everyone else gets a bit frustrated as our bags are already packed and the breakfast we have eaten was wasted as the energy/calories will not take us through to the afternoon. I plop down on the concrete and shut my eyes for another hour dressed in my gear and shoes on.
8am comes and Lisa & I stick together at the start line and rev each other up with game face eyes. We start by heading down to the river and across an unstable bridge into bamboo & river crossings. Lisa and I wanted to run for as long as the weather and course permitted and took on a very very slow shuffle. A group of 20 of us have to stop about 4kms before the first checkpoint because the course markers have been taken away by the children in the village. Route rediscovered we head into the checkpoint and head on a road through the village for approx 12 kms. My race now becomes the march of the women and Lisa & I are joined by Fiona & Amanda with Linda just in front of us. Lisa wanted to stay in a team of two due to practicality towards the end of the race. We go into checkpoint two all together but Lisa and I quickly get our new supply of water and electrolytes into our bottles and shoot off. We managed to get a good distance between us and the other girls and we chug along through rocky, sandy and salt encrusted ground for another 10kms. We never took off the pedal to our slow but steady shuffle and people started to remark at our consistency. I started dryreaching a few moments before hitting checkpoint three and grab some anti nausea tablets from Dr Grant before going to checkpojnt 4. I see Danish runner Jimmy who was reduced to a slow walk due to blowing out the night before.
The next checkpoint went pretty much the same as the first three and we meet the volunteers with the announcement that the mandatory one hour has been removed because the weather is cool. Happy about the good weather but disappointed about not getting to stop we hit checkpoint 5 and give ourselves a five minute break. Fellow competitor and friend Ricky Paugh is at the checkpoint and is in all sorts of trouble and I am not sure if he will be able to finish. Leaving the checkpoint I felt pretty awful and Lisa headed off a few steps in front of me as I worked through my own pain and inner turmoil. I pepped up with 5kms to go and we pick up our pace and start to chat about running stories, our men and future projects together. Getting into the checkpoint we find out we are in 21st position and equal 2nd placed women= big wow.
The good times never last long and as we set of on the next 11kms the sun peaks and we start to become delirious. At one stage we find some water and we drop to our knees wailing and put our bodies in the water (nb: we are approx 60kms into the race at this stage). We pull ourselves together and but quickly realise the stage is not 11kms and the motivation fades and the pain sets in. Lisa grabs my hand and we run the final two kms this way- sniffling, wincing, sweating and praying for the checkpoint. We final make it there and I collapse to the ground as I cannot hold myself up. The medic team give me some more anti nausea tablets and I try and eat some mashed potatoes and noodles. The medic tells me I have to stay at the checkpoint for longer, so I quickly compose myself, smile & pretend that I feel fine. As I leave the checkpoint I start to throw up but continue moving “with a purpose. We run through another village where people try to sell us coke and watermelon. Lisa and I desperate for both of those things we decide not to because we would incur a time penalty. Again I am the nuffty as I later discover that a lot of people enjoyed these sweet delights and it gave them new found energy to continue. We are 80ksinto the race at this point and the shuffle has now become a walk and as darkness falls we struggle to find the pink markers.
We make it to the last checkpoint and it is now completely dark and we have close to no energy. We have maintained the same position in the pack so decide to move on. The last 11kms were close to the worst experience of my life. The glow sticks are near to none and/or very difficult to follow. It takes us three hours to get across to the road and up the very tough steep sand dunes into camp. There were times when we I would hit the sand ground and almost think it would be easier to sleep there or die. Slightly dramatic in hindsight but those thoughts really went through my mind.
We get into camp around 1:30am, in equal 23rd place and equal 2nd female across the finish line for the day. No one else was in my tent when I got there but they came in drips and drabs and there were great pride and respect shared around between us.
It is 4:05pm and we are still waiting for people to come in. The heat is unbearable today and I don’t think I could have gone in this heat. I cannot sleep because the heat is like a hairdryer on high. I am decked in my hot shorts and wearing my bivy as a top- very survivor style. All of our water is boiling hot and it is close to 50 degrees right now.
We have 22kms tomorrow and I think they may be rethinking the course and distance due to the heat.
Love to everyone. I cannot wait to cross the finish line but I am even more excited to come home. |
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| Stage Four- "we are finally in the desert and |
30-Jun-2010 02:13:58 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
So much has happened over the past 18hours it is hard to know where to start. I really hit struggleville last night with the rest of my tent mates as we were camped outside the village and were unable to sleep due to the thousands of flies that were buzzing past us and the goat that made goat noises all night. We were woken up at 2:45am and I sleepily tried to pack my bag but was in a tizz about the throbbing pain that was consuming my knee. As we jumped on the bus I started to have horrible visions of an incredibly difficult day and I made a plan to walk the 36kms. Just before the race started I realised that I lost my sunglasses and I couldnt hold back a few tears as it all of a sudden seemed impossible to make it through the day. The countdown began and I slowly slowly plodded and discovered it was actually easier for me to run than to walk. There should be no misconceptions of this term 'run'- my stride was half the distance of what it is normally like and anyone would have passed me if they were running next to me. I did however manage to run all of the first 13.5kms and came through in a decent time. It started to warm up over the second checkpoint and I combined running and walking whenever the terrain would permit. We hit some huge sanddunes and the sand went on and on and on.
A few people sat down at the second checkpoint but I quickly spoke to Dr Grant about my knee (that was wrapped/compressed in Charlie's dirty sock for yesterday), smashed some water and took a traveller for the road. I passed four or five people in that checkpoint and kept a steady pace as I went along a ridge and descended into the fiery canyon. The canyon continued for at least 6kms and it was near impossible to run due to the sand terrain and narrow width. I started to have visualisations of Ryan Sandes freezer that he has in his house to train for Antarctica and tried to focus on continually having sips of nuun and water. I managed to get close to a guy from the UK and it was a relief to be near someone as I had been on my own for the majority of the race. From the cracks in the canyon I saw a temple in the distance and knew I couldnt be too far away. I had a final 2kms of steep descent and couldnt resist running down the sandy path whilst praying that my knee would hold out.
I came into the finish line very overheated but relatively strong in 39th or 40th place. There were 5 other women in front of me today who put in an amazing performance. The competitive edge of me has diminished slightly and my goal is to simply get through tomorrow & hopefully not injure my knee any further. I just had a chat to Jimmy Olsen from Denmark, who has been in the top few competitors, he said he no longer wants to be competitive in this race as it is now simply a game of survival. There are still competitors out on the course and the heat is getting incredibly hot. Apparently today has taken a few casualties who are seeking refuge in the few shady areas of the canyon. I hope the organizers make us head off early again tomorrow, it is going to be brutal.
I have heard that the blogs have been slow to update so I want to thank everyone again for their messages of support.
I have a few family and friend shoutouts today.
1. The Houstoun family: you were my saviours in my final two weeks in Houston and I love it that you are following my race.
2. KBBs: This is a tough adventure my friends and I have images of Mezz and Mel pushing me on from the front and Mickey pushing my butt from behind.
3. Ascend crew: your recovery drink is brilliant and my muscles are 100% every morning!!
Xx Samantha
PS: Maestro- honours in woot woot. Your emails are exactly what I need after each day and I will be thinking of you tomorrow when the going gets tough. Lots of love. |
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| Stage 3- the day of river crossings and rolling, r |
29-Jun-2010 08:21:46 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
It is 3:18pm and I have had a few hours rest after the 32km stage. The field was INCREDIBLY fast today as it was a true runners course. The lead guy Dan completed the day in approx two hours and fifteen minutes- unbelievable. The first section was very rocky terrain and we went through a few river crossings. The water was cold and muddy and it reached high up to my thighs. I decided to not take off my shoes until I reached the first checkpoint and was doing a little victory dance to see my lovely feet are virtually blister free. Thanks to Kelly and the Injinji team for supplying me with my socks for the race- I feel blessed to not have any problems in that department and at day three in.
Charlie from my tent wanted to head out with me today - he came in 15th the past two days and he felt horrible last night, completely dehydrated and unwell in the tummy, despite having consumed all of his water. We picked up two other boys from London and the four of us completed the day together. Checkpoint two to three started with a decent sized hill but was ideal from that point onwards. We took on some intervals of running and walking and made it to checkpoint three in ok time but approx 50th position. The drama came only a few kms till the end when we hit an unexpected checkpoint which many competitors thought was the end of the race. It was only a water checkpoint as the organisers were expecting very hot weather. We were told it would only be 5kms to the village where we would stay tonight so we amped up our pace into a canter and when we didnt see the beautiful Racing the Planet flags there were expressions of anger, confusion and exhaustion all over the desert. We came into the village in 53rd place and I was pretty tired & a little dehydrated myself. On a big positive we had ideal weather conditions today, overcast and mild temperature, with even a little bit of rain= woohooooo.
Tonight we are treated to a village camp but have been warned that we are not to purchase any food or beverages from the people here. Ive got to say a cold coke right now would be amazing but the rules are the rules and I am not going to risk getting a time penalty. One of the lead Chinese competitors was given a hefty time penalty yesterday for having a ridiculously small amount of food in his pack. There have been rumours going around that he has been relying on food from other competitors and a man who is roaming around on a motorbike near the course. Gotta love a bit of salicious gossip!
We have to wake at 4am tomorrow morning and jump on a bus that will take us to stage four a few hours away. The scary day is day 5 which is supposed to reached above 50degrees and is 99kms. Have to say I am completely freaked out and am working out a strategy with Lisa for how we are going to approach the stage. I had some shooting knee pain during the run today so have just smashed some voltaren gel from the medical tent and will be lifting my legs high in an attempt for it to recover by tomorrow.
Competitor shout out goes to Charlie from the UK for lending me his walking poles in the final 12kms of the day. They really helped during the hills!!
Family and friend shout out goes to all of my friends from the Atacama Crossing (you guys know who you are). Reading all of your blog messages and emails has really touched me and I know you understand the challenges in training and the pain in the race. Wish you were all here and I look forward to our next race together (Nepal 2011).
Placed 53rd overall and 5th female over the line.
Much love.
PS: Maestro- Less than 2 weeks till Sydney living. I will be in much need of a massage when I get there! Lovelove
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| Stage two - another one bites the dust |
29-Jun-2010 08:14:30 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
Hello Outside World.
I am writing this blog from a pretty amazing campsite and I have already had a few hours rest after a tough but shortish day. We only had to cover 29kms today and it was broken up into 15kms, 7kms, 7kms. The toughest stage by far was the first 15kms which were pretty similar to the last checkpoint of day 1. The countdown began at 9am and I headed off with fellow pocket rocket Andrea from Hong Kong. She is such a mighty max and it was great to have some friendly company for the first 16kms. The pace today was pretty quick from most of the field and our plan was to power up the hills, carefully slide down the hills and run as much of the flats as possible. We were joined by Lisa Tamali and the three of us stayed in a close pack for the majority of the first stage. Amazing mutual respect between all of us and I hope both of them continue to smash out the remaining four days. Amanda went ahead after we took a detour after checkpoint two. I think some of the kiddies in the villages took away some of the pink flags so we had to bush bash our way back onto the course.
Checkpoint 2-3 was pretty decent terrain wise but I was feeling my heart go pitter patter like a crazy humming bird. I managed to finally get in a rhythm when Lisa and Dave joined me and we continued to the finish line together. I am still not a massive fan of the hills but feel Im getting a little stronger in my approach to them. I think having my bottles at the front of my pack added some strain but Ive just got to suck it up..
My tent mates are pretty hilar and they are all racing really well. Charlie had another solid day and came in 15th and Finn the mountain goat came in just after him. Unfortunately Finn was penalised a one hour time penalty last night because he relieved himsellf outside of the mandatory (and very unsanitary) toilets. Our tent has put up quite the protest but even the vocal cries of the youngest competitors hasnt helped to remove his penalty.
Will be heading to bed soon and preparing for the river crossings that tomorrow will bring. Thank you for all of the wonderful messages and support. RB: I am loving your armband and have had alot of comments about it. Ive been sticking my electrolites and salt tablets in it and its working a treat.
Lesson for the day: I want to lift my head a little more from my grandma shuffle position to take in the beautiful scenery a little more.
Competitor shout out goes to Lisa Tamali and Amanda. Truly loving the female comradery and its enjoyable to be able to share the kms with them.
Family and friend shout out goes to Mum, Dad and Cassandra. I know you think I am crazy but I really appreciate the fact that you follow every step I take. The freeze dried bags you got for me were super Mumsie and are working a treat with my packlite food.
Placed 39/40th competitor overall and equal 3rd female with Lisa.
Cheers
xSG
PS: Maestro- I am missing having you along with me and you are definitely in my thoughts as I chug along the course. I know your honours is nearly completed and you will soon get to embrace the Tour with Toddo and have your life back. Love love
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