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| Stage 5 |
02-Jul-2010 09:22:01 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
Well....................................................................I COMPLETED THE 62 MILE RUN!!!!
Never in my life did I think I could test the physical and mental limitations of my body in the way I did yesterday and succeed. I am so proud of myself. We started yesterday's run at 8 in the morning and I finished it at 4:30 in the morning. 20+ hours - the fact that I was out in desert for that long and in the middle of the night without going crazy baffles me. I came in 41st place out of at least 130. I can't believe it.
As I sit here at camp, which is in the middle of sand dunes and less convenient then the other two we've been treated to all of the competitors look completely drained with numerous injuries. There were nine checkpoints (CP) during the run with 6-8 miles between them. At CP4 I began noticing competitors that were suffering from dehydration, knee issues, and stomach cramping. At each checkpoint after that it looked worse and worse. At least a couple were hooked up to IVs - since it was something I had already been through I assured them that they would be ok. I guess they were finally experiencing what I felt on Day 2. I guess I lucked out getting it earlier rather then later. Another thing I lucked out on was the weather. Temperatures were anticipated to be in the 120s. As I began the run the skies were overcast. I was able to run through the numerous riverbeds leading up to CP1 and the streets of a village thru CP2. It was overcast the whole day and the sun didn't come out until 7 in the evening. Maybe my Irish luck was on my side that day. The locals lined the street cheering for us while the little kids would yell out the only English word the could say - "hello". I high fived a bunch of them and when I saw a kid wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey I yelled "Kobe". Apparently he was not aware of the jersey he was wearing and gave me a confused look.
After CP2 I went through an old grape field that I ran/walked thru. After CP3 it was a long street that seemed to go on forever. Initially I walked it, but then decided to run/walk every pink marking flags that were approx. 200 meters apart. After I hit CP4 I was still feeling good. From there it was the infamous Turpan Basin which is the second lowest point on earth. Normally temperatures are around 130 degrees, but fortunately the skies never cleared and it was a muggy 90 degrees. I decided to walk at that point, which is something I did for the remainder of the run. CP5 and CP6 consisted of walking an endless road thru salt flats. Very boring. This is where most people started dropping like flies. The thing that kept me going was my music and keeping with my strategy of breaking down the run by stages and focusing on the moment. There were a lot of times that I would simply look on the ground and never look up ahead of me because I did not care how much longer I had. I just wanted to focus on doing one step at a time. While out there to keep my head sane I would sing and think about all the people that were pushing for me and how great it would be if I completed it. I was shocked when I noticed my friend and the guy I am doing this run with, Thomas, lying on the ground at CP6. He was way ahead of me from the beginning and was killing it in the earlier stages. Apparently the stomach bug had finally crept up on him. I was so glad that I was still going strong. From CP6 it was onto CP7 where a make-shift campsite was set up for people to eat and rest if they wanted to. When I got there Thomas was gone and he wasn't looking good. I grabbed a bite to eat and had the doctor tape a blister that had been forming on the ball of my left foot and was making walking extremely painful. Nightfall had come upon us and glowsticks replaced pink flags as guides for the course. My headlamp was my only source of light. After stretching a little bit I wished Thomas good luck and left the CP with two others, Jimmy from Denmark and Bud. He's the guy who I mentioned about in my earlier blog who was dealing with a hernia. I had real admired the tenacity of this man. What an inspiration to all of us.
It was suggested that runners pair up with others at night so they don't get lost. Jimmy led the way as we walked thru the same town we began the race in. The townsfolk offered us an abundance of fruit. As much as I badly wanted to try it I decided not to risk getting sick again and passed on it. As I walked thru the town every step just got worse and worse. My muscles were so sore and my head was starting to zone out on me. We made it to CP8 around 1:15 am. 6.88 miles to the finish line and 62 miles. The lady at the tent said the remaining six was easy and that the last 3 miles would consist of walking thru a maze at the bottom of sand dunes....something we did in Stage 4. I was relieved to hear that. Of course as I mentioned in my last blog....she lied.
After walking thru fields with numerous hills and dips, my blister conveniently popped open making each step even more painful, but I kept saying only 6 miles. But the funny thing for most runners that we can all relate to is that those last miles are the longest. After walking thru the fields we started to stumble upon sand dunes that we started to climb. Climbing them is the equivalent of digging your lower leg thru snow, except this is sand. Fortunately my gaiters are still intact after everything they've been thru this week and I didn't get any sand in my shoes. So after climbing one dune we went down one and climbed another, went down one and climbed another, over and over and over. Each hill getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The glow sticks that guided us to the top of one mountain seemed endless and we finally got to the top of one mountain we were greeting with a series of more glow sticks. I kept begging for it to end and thought that the course director did this to test our mental fortitude. All day I had been walking on flat roads and fields. I knew he wasn't going make the course that easy for us. I kept looking down at my watch 59.9 miles, 3:10 am. Another 40 minutes later 60.4. 40 minutes to walk a half mile?!!! Ugh!!! I was extremely tired and depleted of all energy and I was losing it. I started getting paranoid and thought....what if they added a couple of miles to the end? My feet were killing me and I had no energy. I had to help push Bud up the hill. Finally at around 61.88 miles the sweet sound of the drum that is struck everytime someone crosses the finish line could be heard by a Korean who joined us along the way. I was hoping he was right. As we went over more sand dunes we could see lights in the distance, but weren't sure if it was the camp or not. One final tall hill that we had to climb on all fours and as soon as I hit the top I saw the finish line....Halleluiah I said to myself. At the top of the hill I yelled "I'm on top of the world!!!" I immediately went into my tent and passed out.
Now I am resting here at the camp. I keep hearing stories about all the people that dropped out. People at still coming in right now and it's 122 degrees right now...brutal. So glad I climbed those dunes at night. Everyone is relaxing hoping they can do the 13.75 miles thru the sand dunes tomorrow. It won't be easy for me and most of the people that are still here. I'm praying for an early start otherwise it will be a long day, but I will press on not matter what because no matter how injured I am and how long I take Katherine will be there to greet me at the finish line......and I can't wait for that!!!!
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Hopefully in my next blog I will be talking about how I finished the Gobi March!!
B
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| Stage 4 |
01-Jul-2010 03:21:05 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
Getting mentally prepared for the LONG MARCH - Bring on the 100K (for those imperialists that's 62 miles!)
Well I am happy to report that my gastro-intestinal problems did not make an appearance for the first time today and I was able to complete Stage 4 - a 21.5 mile stage that consisted of rock and gravel trails used for earth movers for approx. the first 11 miles and then killer sand dune hills before reaching my first checkpoint/water station at mile 13' which I was so relieved to see considering that the temperature was warming up. After three days of beautiful conditions we finally were treated with the heat that the Gobi is infamous for. Today's stage started at 6am. After completing Stage 3 which I will talk about later we were treated with staying at a small village overnight rather then sleeping in the stuffy tents. For the first time I was actually able to sleep on a cushioned surface rather then rock/gravel and thorn bushes. The natives there were extremely friendly although they did not wish to be photographed. I felt like I was stuck in one of those "Sponsor a Child" commercials walking around the camp. There was an icy cold river a short walk from the village where all the competitors were able to ice their muscles and rinse out some of their clothing. Of course I jumped on the opportunity immediately and after submerging my lower extremities in the icy water I yelled a couple of choice words before my body finally got acclimated and I was in heaven. With most of the competitors who finished that day lounging in the river it quickly became the party spot in the village. I'm sure racingtheplanet.com has some photos. After stopping by the medical tent to get my blisters taped we were all treated with news from the staff that a bus would be taking us to Stage 4 and would be departing from camp at 3:45 in the morning, which meant we would have to be up at 2:30 to pack our bags and get ready. Wonderful!! One of the many surprises that the staff has given us all this week. For some reason they always like to throw in a ringer. For instance there have been quite a few times where they have said during our morning briefings before each run that we would be encountering "easy" hills only to find that we are literally climbing mountains, which as most of my Floridian friends will tell you is not something I was able to prepare for. But, the good thing is that just like any task you get used to it and develop methods of making it easier. For me I've found that baby steps work and I try my best not to look up and see how much further I have to go - that will make you want to quit.
Since I had to get up early I opted to not post a blog yesterday and immediately went to bed at around 6pm, which proved to be challenging because right outside our room/hatch the natives were getting ready for dinner. Fortunately I grabbed my Ipod and feel asleep to Broken Bells (another great band put together by Danger Mouse). My music has been my companion during every step of this run. Since I knew today was going to be a hot one I ran right from the start and continued for approx. 11 miles. I was finally glad I was able to run for the first time during this week without any pains in my stomach. After the first checkpoint it was nothing but sand dunes the rest of the way. Going down the sand dunes was awesome because I felt like a downhill skier going down them and the views were incredible!!! Due to the terrain I walked most of this, but the good thing is that I was able to walk at a brisk pace and climb the hills with no energy depletion. I was consistent with my energy supplement UCan that was mixed in one bottle of water. In the other bottle, which consists of my electrolyte supplement Right Stuff and water I decided that due to the heat I'd be encountering I decided to add my amino acid supplement EFS on top of it which proved to be a good thing considering that unlike a lot of the competitors who dropped out today I did not get dehydrated the rest of the 12 miles. Hopefully this will be beneficial tomorrow during the long run. Temperatures are expected to be in the 100's.
Getting back to Stage 3, which was 18 miles - The first seven consisted of large rocks that ran along a riverbed. I ran most of the way and was fortunate that I did not twist an ankle. We crossed approx. six rivers and although my strategy was to take off my socks and inner lining out of my shoes before crossing the river to prevent blisters I realized that it was too time consuming and decided to just take the plunge in the knee deep water. When I got to the next checkpoint I changed out my socks. From there it was nothing but rock and gravel terrain on a truck path and rocky hills the rest of the way. I wanted to run it, but due to the fact that I was dealing with a nasty diarrhea from the night before everytime I started to run, the up and down motion made my system a little rocky to say the least. After making a couple of pit stops (I'll keep it PG and spare you all the details) I was able to run out the last five miles and for the second night in a row I was actually hungry and able to eat without any adverse effects. Considering the GI issues and the fact that I was hooked up to two Ivy's two days ago while shaking like a leaf I'm hoping that the worst is finally behind me and that today's successful day will carry into tomorrow.
I think most of you can agree that for anyone no matter how athletic you are 62 miles is not an easy task. The thought of running/walking for almost 24 hours is scary to say the least especially when I've never done it before. There will be a camp set up in the middle of the course where I will probably eat, but not rest. The run starts at 6am and I figure if I can finish at a decent time early Friday morning I will have all day to rest and relax before doing the last 14 mile stage. Oh did I forget to mention that to all of you?? Just when you think they've tortured you enough I will still have to do another 14 miles the following day before I finally finish. The 14 miles will primarily be in sand dunes. I'm sure I'll be in too much pain and will probably walk/crawl this one!!
I've gotten some great advice from the fellow competitors here who I've gotten to know on a first name basis. But the best advice came from Linda, who has been so supportive and proud of me considering everything that I've gone thru. During the run tomorrow there will be water stations at every 6-7 miles. Linda said not to look at the big picture and instead focus on breaking down or as she likes to say "compartmentalize" the run into six miles and making it to every water station. My strategy is to run when I can and walk when I can't. I don't want to burn out so if I do run it will probably be for a short time before I walk again. Time is on my side so I have no time frame regarding when I want to finish....I just want to finish. By the way even when I do complete the 62 miles
The other aspect of this run which explains why a majority of runners will quit tomorrow is the mental aspect. As I walk around camp here today, which by the way is a museum in the middle of the desert, and see all of the competitors lying down on their mats in excruciating pain, some displaying major warrior wombs (I met a guy from Texas named Bud who got a hernia on Stage 1 but decided to continue on which pushing the hernia back into place...amazing fella) - I feel I am physically ready. But what about the mental aspect? For those of you that have been sending me emails and posting comments on my blog I would like to say thank you. Reading them makes me realize that even though I'm in the middle of nowhere my friends and family are supporting me every step of the way. This is a motivating factor that will definitely come into play as I take on tomorrow's run. Keep the emails and comments coming - they mean so much to me :)
The other motivating factor, as I may have mentioned before, will be seeing my beautiful fiancé Katherine at the finish line. As you know Linda is my future mother-in-law. Katherine and her dad Randy have been touring China all this week and from the emails I've been getting from Katherine they're having a great time. Katherine and Randy will be waiting to greet us at the finish line. Although I will probably smell like Pig Pen from Peanuts (I actually have flies following me during the runs!!) I can't wait to give Katherine a big hug and for us to get started with planning our wedding. I am so blessed to have her in my life and for all she has overcome in her life she is my main motivation to finish no matter what obstacles, mentally or physically, I will have to overcome.
J'TAIME KATHERINE!! Can't wait to see you!!
Looking forward to my next blog after completing the LONG MARCH!!! - bring it on!!
Again thank you for everyone's support. It means so much!!
Take care,
Brian |
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| Stage 3 |
29-Jun-2010 08:42:38 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
Well it's been quite a chan'llenging two days but despite me catching a stomach bug and getting not one but two IV's today I am proud to say that I made it. It's around 6:30 pm on Monday and I am here at stage 2 camp writting this blog in the cybertent. After this I'll head to my tent and get a good stretch before going to bed. Again you probably won't read this until the following day and like I mentioned in my first blog the keyboard I am typing on is smaller then my hand so I apologize for any gramatical errors.
Yesterday's run started off fine for the first ten miles. I ran thru the most beautiful snow capped mountains I've ever seen. After hitting the second water station at around mile 2 I looked up and noticed that they had us going sttraight up a cliff. Obviously living in Florida I've never encountered anything like this nor had I been in elevations of 7,200 feetd, but after gasping for air I was able to make it. Of course that wasn't the end of the countless hills I had to climb up and down during yesterday's run. I felt a fatigued at around mile 13 and after getting more energy from my food supplement Ucan I was able to complete the 20 miles. I walked most of it due to the rough terrain. I did not want to take a chance and hurt myself on the first day. When I got into camp after the run that is where my stomach started getting the best of me. I had no desire to drink or eat and I was extremely tired. My stomach felt bloated and I kept burbing. Not to mention I was getting some serious cramping. I immediately went over to the medical tent. After giving me a nauseating (sorry about the spelling) pill I proceeded to puke everything I had that day in my stomach!! The doctors told me I was dehydrated, which didn't made sense considering that I was dilegent with my electolytes during my run. Due to the fact that I didn't have anything in my body I started getting the chills. Eventually they calmed down and I was able to eat some food, but not the amount I needed to. The medical staff was so supportive and I am grateful for everything they did. After I ate I immediately went to bed and opted not to write a blog because I was too weak and it was late.
This morning I took in approx. 500 calories and felt good. As soon as we started today's 18 mile stage I immediately started the same feeling in my stomach again. The first 8 miles to the first water station consisted of going up and down trecherous mountains. My stomach couldn't take it and I started puking after going up every hill. I finally made it to the first waterstation. The doctor who had dealt with me yesterday decided that due to my weaken state and the fact that I hadn't been peeing, which is very important she opted to start an IV on me. I have never had an IV in my life, but after the first bag of sodium chloride didn't work she decided to give me another one with sugar. That seem to wake me up and after being laid out for almost and hour and 45 minutes I got up on my feet and told the doctor that I wanted to continue at least to the next checkpoint which was almost five miles away. From there I would decide if I needed to continue. I started walking at a brisk pace and even though I was the last competitor to leave the first water station I managed to pass seven competitors along the way. I spoke to Patrick from Bejing and we spoke about various things that helped me take my mind off of what I experienced. The stomach was still finished quezy, but I managed to finish the remaining 10 miles and when I got into camp I was able to eat and pee!! Something I hadn't been able to do in two days!! The doctors told me that I might have a stomach virus due to the fact that I haven't been eating in a manner that my body is conditioned to. I'm hoping that things improve :)
While I was at the tent lying on the ground I was able to hear all of the various aches and pains that people were going thru. Some looked and sounded more painful then others. While listening to this I soon realized how insignificant my stomach bug was and that if I was going to complete this I needed to push through the pain. It doesn't matter if you ran countless marathons or are gifted with great athleticism. It's all about testing the limits of the human body. I have been given this wonderful opportunity to do this and at the same time view spectacular scenery in a place that most people will never experience in a lifetime. That being said I need to start mentally changing my attitude and enjoying the moment or else I may not wind up finishing this.
Day 3 begins tomorrow with a 20 miler.....good night everyone and keep the emails coming. They mean so much.
Take care,
Brian |
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| Hello friends, family, and coworkers!! |
26-Jun-2010 09:02:28 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
Well I finally made it to China!! Spent all day Wednesday and part of Thursday flying before finally making it over here to Urmqui. The plane flight was smooth and I was able to sleep well on my long flight from NYC to Shanghi which was 15 hours. The fact that I stayed up the night before seemed to help!
The hotel we stayed at in Urmqui, The Yin Du (I swear that was the name) was very impressive. This afternoon all of hopped into buses to embark on our journey to camp and what a journey it was! We stopped off to see the natives to perform a show for us which was very nice. From there we drove thru an obscure village and encounter extremely challenging road conditions like crossing narrow bridges and navigating around road blocks. Fortunately we finally made it at around 8pm (China time, which for those of you who don't know is exactly 12 hours ahead of you). Interesting fact - because China is under one time zone it doesn'tget dark until at least 9:45pm, but sunrise is normal at 6:35 - weird!!
Now that I'm here I wish I would have taken my dad's advice growing up and become a Cub Scout. I set up all of my equipment which is approx. 22 lbs. The temperature is a balmy 50 degrees which most of us weren't prepared for. For those who wish to go to the bathroom a hole in the ground is provided, so strong leg muscles are nescessary!! Had some noodles for dinner which along with freeze dried foods will be my gormet meal for the week. It's amazing to be surrounded by all of these wonderful people from all different countries and walks of life who share the same goal as you. Like myself most of their friend and co-workers think they are crazy (and I thought I was the only one!!) Hanging out at camp I'm getting to know more about the people who I will be spending the next seven days with.
I'm also having a great time with Linda Quirk and Thomas Griffin, who will be doing most of the run with me. I'm grateful to have them around for support. It's getting late now so I think I'm gonna start getting ready to hit the sleeping bag!! Just to let those of you who are following my blog it is not posted in real time. I usually will write this at the end of each day/stage and then the race directors willost it the following day. The same goes for your emails which will probably take a day before I can see them (no internet out in the deset people!!). I will try to keep up on my blog during the Gobi March, but to be honest by day 2 or 3 I may be too tired at the end of the day to post one, but I will do my best to respond to all of your emails!! Also I apologize for any gramatical errors in this blog and all future ones. I am writing on a keyboard smaller then my hand so my Arsenio Hall fingers make it extremely difficult (please they are freezing right now!!)
I just wanted to remind all of my wonderful friends, family, and co-workers at Coral Springs Police Department to please donate at www.Run7on7.com if you haven't done so already. With me being halfway around the world it would mean so much!! I thank all of you for your wonderful support!!!
Lastly I would like to remind my fiance Katherine how much I love her and miss her so much!!! Give Emma and Aidan a hug for me!! Can't wait to see you at the finish line. I will be thinking of you while I'm out there XOXO!!!
Take care people!!
Love,
Brian |
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| Two weeks left!! - Info about my run in the desert |
10-Jun-2010 07:20:16 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]
Gobi March (China) 2010 |
On June 23, 2010 I will be flying to China to participate in an ultra-marathon in the Gobi Desert called the Gobi March, which begins on June 27, 2010. For those who aren’t familiar, an ultra-marathon is anything longer then a traditional marathon, which is 26.2 miles. There are different types ultra-marathons covering various distances that have to be completed in specified times depending on the distance. The distance for the Gobi March is 155 miles and will be completed in stages over the course of six days. For the first four days I will be running 20, 19, 26, and 23 miles respectively. On the fifth day, which will be the toughest, I will be running 56 miles followed by an easy 11 miles on the sixth and final day before I finish.
The Gobi Desert is located in northern-central China north of the Himalayas. The area of the Gobi Desert that I will be running is known as the Turpan Basin, which is the hottest place in China and the second lowest place on Earth. Temperatures typically reach 103 degrees. The course, which is expected to reach an altitude of about 9,800 feet, will pass through a diverse landscape, which will include the Flaming Mountains, vineyards, sand dunes and canyons, among other spectacular landscape. As if this doesn’t sound crazy already the organizer of this event states that each individual must also carry his or her own gear, food and clothing in a backpack. The only assistance provided is water (plenty), tents, and medical assistance. The average backpack weighs about 20 pounds. Aside from the supplements I will be taking during my run I will only be consuming freeze dried meals. As a result of this, over the course of the past year I have overhauled my nutrition to allow my body to perform more efficiently without having to consume large quantities of food. At the end of each stage, I will be camping out with the other runners and staff at incredible campsites with tents in the middle of the desert.
I am one of 177 people representing 34 countries that will be participating in this endurance event, which has been rated the #2 endurance event of all time according to Time Magazine. I have been training rigorously for this event since July of last year and over the course of the year when people find out what I am doing they will usually tell me that I’m crazy followed by the obvious question of why? I’ve given this a lot of thought during my solo runs and although I wish I had some grandiose answer I can only say that I have a multitude of reasons, but I am primarily doing this to prove to myself that I can and hopefully inspire others to get out there and run. I don’t intend to run the whole course (that would be crazy!). My only goal is to finish and admire the incredible views of this secluded region.
The other reason I will participating in the Gobi March is that I will be running on behalf of Run7on7 (www.run7on7.com), a foundation started by Linda Quirk, which raises scholarship funding for Caron Treatment Centers, a drug and alcohol treatment facility that works with those who are dealing with the disease of addiction. Of all the marathons and half-marathons I have done in my life the Gobi March is the first I will be running while in support of a cause. I have a very close loved one who for years struggled with the disease of drug and alcohol addiction. After attending Caron I am happy to say she has been in recovery now for six years.
I understand that addiction is a topic of discussion that is generally taboo. I used to believe that addiction was not a disease and rather a choice and that addicts did not deserve a second chance. Based upon what I've learned over the course of the past year, I now understand that addiction is a disease and there are addicts who are genuinely willing to get help, but may not have the necessary funding the get the proper treatment they need. Linda Quirk's hope is that this will allow those people more of an opportunity.
Donations can be left on my donation page at Run7on7 (www.active.com/donate/run7on7/bigredrunsthegobi). No amount is too small!!
While I am over there you will be able to keep track of my progress via the Gobi Desert Website. There will be photos and videos of me posted while I am over there and you will be able to send me emails. I will also be posting a blog of my experiences and based on how I'm feeling will do my best to respond to all emails. I am looking forward to this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Looking forward to this incredible opportunity!!
Brian Doherty |
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