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Sign up for Breaking News to receive updates live from the Gobi Desert during the Gobi March (China) 2010. Updates will be made as frequently as hourly from a satellite terminal at each campsite. Your email address will be added to the monthly news list after the conclusion of the Gobi March.
| Time: July 3rd 2010 05:51:00 PM | | 8:45am 4 July 2010, Post-Race: At the banquet last night, the following awards were given out. Men: 1st Dan Parr, 33, UK; 2nd Christian Schiester, 43, Austria; 3rd Chen Penbin, 32, China. Women: 1st Denvy Lo, 29, Singapore; 2nd Lisa Tamati, 41, New Zealand; 3rd Amanda Clarke, 29, Hong Kong. Men Under 29:
Anders Jensen, 28, Denmark. Women Under 29:
Samantha Gash, 25, Australia. Men 30-39: Olivier Thiriet, 35, France. Women 30-39: Wanda Summers, 35, UK. Men 40-49: Bernd Tritscher, 48, Austria. Women 40-49: Deanna Williamson, 45, USA. Men 50-59: Johan Petersen, 58, New Zealand. Women 50-59:
Linda Quirk, 57, USA. Women 60-69: Kumi Murakami, 61, Japan. Spirit Award:
Emma Fergusson, 22, UK. Sportsmanship: Damien Dernoncourt, 38, France. Cable French: Andrew Berkoski, 41, USA. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 09:40:28 PM | | 12:30pm, 3 July 2010, Stage 6: The final competitor still in the race to cross the finish line was Ben Grayell of Australia. The final competitor to cross the line was Briton James Lavers who despite having to withdraw from the race on Stage 5 was determined to complete the final stage. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 08:32:23 PM | | 11:30am, 3 July 2010, Stage 6: For a number of competitors completing the Gobi March 2010 has a further meaning. They are qualifying for their birth at The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2010. So far, Thaddeus Lawrence of Singapore who finished at 11:00am holding his city state's flag aloft and Takeshi Akasaka of Japan who crossed the line at 11:05am along with Grand Slam contenders Ricky Paugh and David O'Brien have booked their passage to the Antarctic. Emma Fergusson, who has been a volunteer at many races before, but now competing in her first, crossed the line at 11:06am, and, much loved in camp, The Mighty Chu's - mother Ellen and son Gary - successfully completed the Gobi March 2010 at 11:18am. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 08:03:03 PM | | 11:00am, 3 July 2010, Stage 6: Fiona Hayvice of New Zealand crossed the finish line with Charles Dixey and Dan Brandt. The marvelous Andrew Berkoski, who had to withdraw earlier in the race, ran Stage 6 after helping the volunteers all day yesterday at the finish line. He just completed the stage at 10:49:20. Lucy Tang has just crossed the finish line at 10:50:33 to be met with a huge bear hug from her husband who flew to China to cheer her across the finish. George Tse of Hong Kong throws his arms in the air and flashes that amazing smile of his. David O'Brien's 4 Deserts Grand Slam attempt is still on track. The Irishman held his country flag aloft and then fell to his knees and kissed the ground after a gruelling race. RacingThePlanet event director extraordinaire Sam Fanshawe crossed the line with fellow Hong Kong resident Luisa Cooper at 10:56:40. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 07:39:17 PM | | 10:36am, 3 July 2010, Stage 6: Deanna Williamson of the US is first across the line for the ladies by a whisker from Denvy Lo of Singapore. Elation is off the charts Wei Chao of China is dancing at the finish line with the local band and Charles Dixey of the UK is making do with spraying people with beer at the finish rather than the more usual Champagne. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 07:35:58 PM | | 10:34am 3 July 2010, Stage 6: A sprint finish! Chen Penbin wins Stage 6 at 10:27:30 with Dan Parr just 8 seconds behind. A re-energised Ricky Paugh came in third just seconds after. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 06:30:19 PM | | 9:28am, 3 July 2010, Stage 6: The final stage of the Gobi March 2010 will begin at 10am at Shan Shan Village. It has been shortened to 5.59km |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 07:51:46 AM | | 10:48pm, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: Camp 6 is still very busy with many competitors yet to get their heads down. The cybertent is packed to the rafters with competitors updating their blogs and reading their messages of support. Blogs will therefore be updated on the website late tonight. Part 2 of the Stage Update is now live on the website. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 05:35:01 AM | | 8:30pm, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: All competitors have reached Camp 6. The final competitor was Chen Yu of China. We will update the full results as soon as possible. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 05:13:02 AM | | 20:00pm, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: The mighty Chu's have reached camp. Ellen and Gary came in just before 7:30pm alongside Shirish Apte. Chen Yu of China has also now finished. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 02:14:16 AM | | 17:05pm, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: The updated results are now live on the website for all competitors who arrived before 2:00pm. |
| Time: July 2nd 2010 01:02:18 AM | | 15:49pm, 2 June 2010, Stage 5: There are less than a dozen competitors still out on the Long March as temperatures soar in The Oven. A number of competitors arrived in camp just before 2:00pm including Lucy Tang of the UK who was said to be in high spirits after the 99km course. The others who arrived in that time-frame included a group of the Shanghai contingent: David Cox, Rob Young, Stephanie Hou and her husband Campbell Cave, Les Goble and Roger Owens, as well as Mel Winder of New Zealand and Tse Hin Ming of Hong Kong. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 08:54:20 PM | | 11:30am, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: Competitors are steadily making their way through Checkpoints 6 and 7. Last night many took advantage of the opportunity to catch a few hours of sleep and rest at the campfire set up at Checkpoint 7. All competitors are now through Checkpoint 5 the 55km mark and it is now closed.
Recently seen on course were Patrick Wei of Singapore, Tze-leung Chan of Hong Kong, Jim Mandelli of Canada and Steven Rhodes of the United Kingdom walking into the final stretch of sand dunes.
Mel Winder of New Zealand and David Cox of the United Kingdom were close behind. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 06:03:00 PM | | 8:52am, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: At the halfway point between Stages 8 and 9, Gowyn Jones from New Zealand has just passed by on his way to the sand dunes running and looking strong. "I feel great!" he said, after taking a short nap and eating at CP7. Competitors are steadily making their way to Camp 6, which includes 5.6km of tough going in soft sand dunes before they reach the finish line. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 04:43:00 PM | | 06:50am, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: The sun is up in the Gobi Desert and it is a clear and slightly windy morning. 57 competitors have crossed the finish line, including Simon Southgate, Deborah Kelly, Tsang Yin Ting, Nick Mackaness and Jay Coffey at 5:55am. Steven Garlick finished at 6:05am and Wanda Summers at 6:22am. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 09:52:09 AM | | 00:48am, 2 July 2010, Stage 5: There is an interim stage update live on the website, detailing the events so far. Competitors are very spread out along the course but Checkpoints 1-4 have closed. Many competitors will take a rest at the overnight checkpoint for a few hours where there will be hot water available for them to make some dinner. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 08:20:17 AM | | 23:09pm, 1 June 2010, Stage 5: The most recent competitor to cross the line was womens leader Denvy Lo at 22:32:50, she put in a fantastic performance today with her best overall placing at 11th for the stage. After the top 3 competitors crossed the line, it was almost another hour before Frenchman Olivier Thiriet came in at 9:21pm in 4th place. Brian Lang of the US and Jude Ryan another Hong Kong based Frenchman were the only other competitors to arrive before 10pm. The other four finishers so far came in with just 6 minutes between them and were: Tritscher Bernd of Austria, Anders Jensen of Denmark, Anthony Carango of the US and Wei Chao of China. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 06:36:33 AM | | 21:30pm, 1 July 2010, Stage 5: It's a finish for the storybooks. Chen Penbin of China was the first to reach the finish line of the Gobi March 2010 Long March. Chen successfully finished the course in just under 12 hours, at 19:59:18. Second place finisher, Austrian Christian Schiester, arrived less than ten minutes later, at 20:08:14, sobbing at his tremendous effort. Schiester shouted his thanks as he fell to the ground and supporters surrounded him. Overall leader Dan Parr, who has led the race every day until today, came in a surprising third, at 20:18:56. Parr had been reported earlier in the day as leading the race by over an hour, and spectators at the finish line were puzzled by his absence. Parr said, "I practically had my valedictory speech penned and just out of Checkpoint 8 I turned a corner and saw these kids throwing the pink course flags around. I turned left at the road and got lost - I went completely the wrong way." |
| Time: July 1st 2010 04:13:47 AM | | 16:24pm, 1 July 2010, Stage 5: News is filtering through from the checkpoints. When the front of the pack passed Checkpoint 6, the 65.5km mark, Dan Parr of the UK was leading followed by Austrian Christian Schiester, and then Chen Penbin of China. Denvy Lo of Singapore is having an amazing Stage 5 so far. At Checkpoint 6 she passed through as first woman, and 9th overall. We'll update if we hear if any of those top 3 positions change. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 01:28:52 AM | | 16:24pm, 1 July 2010, Stage 5: News is filtering through from the checkpoints. When the front of the pack passed Checkpoint 6, the 65.5km mark, Dan Parr of the UK was leading followed by Austrian Christian Schiester, and then Chen Penbin of China. Denvy Lo of Singapore is having an amazing Stage 5 so far. At Checkpoint 6 she passed through as first woman, and 9th overall. We'll update if we hear if any of those top 3 positions change. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 01:06:51 AM | | 16:04pm 1 July 2010, Stage 5: First competitor through Checkpoint 7 was race leader Dan Parr. The word from the Checkpoint volunteer when he passed through was "no-one else is in sight" More details to follow as soon as we can get them. |
| Time: July 1st 2010 12:58:01 AM | | 15:54pm, 1 July 2010, Stage 5: The first three competitors are through Checkpoint 7, 75.5km into the stage. A small sandstorm has hit camp, but the following shower of rain has cooled things down. The front runners may manage a sub-10 hour time if they have enough in their legs when they hit the sand dunes near the end of the stage. Lynne Harrison who was not feeling strong earlier in the day has re-energized and is pushing through that wall. |
| Time: June 30th 2010 08:44:07 PM | | 11:44am, 1 July 2010, Stage 5: Many competitors are passing through Checkpoint 1 which is located in the village of Erpu. Crowds are gathering and cheering the competitors through, particularly on one corner next to the market. Competitors soaking up the atmosphere include Lisa Tamati currently the second placed female, Damien Dernoncourt of France and Shanghai based John McKenna of New Zealand. |
| Time: June 30th 2010 08:29:20 PM | | 11:20am, 1 July 2010, Stage 5: The front-runners have passed Checkpoint 3. Wei Chao of China was leading, Dan Parr was second. Christian Schiester of Austria third and Chen Penbin forth. They have completed the first 33km in just over 3 hours. One third down, 66km to go. |
| Time: June 30th 2010 06:03:36 PM | | 8:55am, 1 July 2010, Stage 5: The Long March, began this morning at 08:00am. A 99km journey through sand dunes, salt flats, local villages, ancient historical sites and river crossings. Temperatures are expected to be searing.
Josep Maria Romero Parra of Spain has returned to the course after resting his knee after injury earlier in the week.
David Wong, Andrew Berkowski, Pan Mao, Christian Koller, Rachel Kliebenschadel and Chris Hansen withdrew before the stage started today. |
| Time: June 30th 2010 05:48:39 AM | | 20:30pm, 30 June 2010, Stage 4: The final competitors have arrived at Camp 5. The final three to arrive were Ben Grayell of Australia who finished together with Angus Peacock of the UK at 19:32 with Catherine Thome of Switzerland just a few minutes behind at 19:36. Competitors were early to bed to get as much rest as possible before tomorrow's 99km Stage 5. This was the first day of real heat, and competitors now know what lies in store for them on The Long March tomorrow through The Oven - the hottest place in China and the second lowest point on Earth. |
| Time: June 30th 2010 01:40:20 AM | | 16:20pm, 30 June 2010, Stage 4: The most recent competitors to finish Stage 4 were Andrew Berkoski of the US, Lynne Harrison of Canada and James Wilson of Australia. Catching up with Sam Fanshawe who is competing in her first race, she said, "Today was hot, but very cool. A bit like being on Mars. There's a lot of red soil and crazy formations. We went into a very, very, very long canyon. At points you had to walk foot in front of foot it was so narrow." Sam who is well known to the RacingThePlanet community in her job as Event Director is competing for the first time. She continues, "I'm worried about tomorrow. Its the same distance we've done so far but all in one go, and in this heat." Her strategy is to, "Start slowly. Stop often. Get to the very end." |
| Time: June 30th 2010 12:28:12 AM | | 15:15pm, 30 June 2010, Stage 4: 126 competitors have crossed the finish line of Stage 4, having survived the heat of the Flaming Mountains. The competitors are unanimous that this has been the toughest day so far. Temperatures are scorching with no shade in the later sand dune sections. Catching up with Colin Howes of the UK he said, "I got in at noon, right when the heat really started, I though the stage was awesome, maybe next time I'll bring the wife and kids..." Luisa Cooper and Australian living in Hong Kong who arrived at 14:26:57 told us that, "I found the it harder today because of my hydration. The course itself was okay but I couldn't keep myself hydrated. This morning I tried to drink more water, but you can only drink so much." The latest competitor to cross the finish line at 15:13:55 was Rohit Narang of India who is raising awareness for the Baalak Trust. |
| Time: June 29th 2010 11:45:12 PM | | 11:30am, 30 June 2010, Stage 4: The women are performing well today, 32 people have crossed the finish line, including 6 women. Deanna Williamson (USA) came in at 11:06:06, followed very closely by Lisa Tamati (NZ) at 11:06:37 and Denvy Lo (SIN) a minute later at 11:07:33. Competitors are describing the course as stunning but with hot temperatures. Most are dumping small mounds of sand on the ground from out of their shoes at the finish! |
| Time: June 29th 2010 08:41:35 PM | | 11:30am, 30 June 2010, Stage 4: The women are performing well today, 32 people have crossed the finish line, including 6 women. Deanna Williamson (USA) came in at 11:06:06, followed very closely by Lisa Tamati (NZ) at 11:06:37 and Denvy Lo (SIN) a minute later at 11:07:33. Competitors are describing the course as stunning but with hot temperatures. Most are dumping small mounds of sand on the ground from out of their shoes at the finish! |
| Time: June 29th 2010 07:35:36 PM | | 10:25am, 30 June 2010, Stage 4: The top three finishers on Stage 4 of the Gobi March 2010 have crossed the line. Wearing the leaders' bib, Dan Parr of the United Kingdom came in first for the fourth consecutive day at 09:25:30, 18 minutes ahead of Austrian Christian Schiester who cemented his second place overall position.
About the course Parr said, "There's patches where the sand is up to your knees. It's like dust. Coming down I felt like I needed a pair of skis."
On his finish at 09:43:48, Schiester said, "I've run more than 80,000 miles in my entire life but these last ten miles were the most amazing I've ever seen."
Anders Jensen of Denmark rounded off the top three at 09:47:06, placing third in his best finish of the race so far. "I don't know what happened!" said Jensen, "I only got two hours of sleep and felt really unprepared this morning." |
| Time: June 29th 2010 04:26:38 PM | | 07:10am, 30 June 2010, Stage 4: Today's stage got underway at 6:05am in the scenic Grape Valley. 150 competitors are still in the race - Peter Osterwalder of Switzerland, who was lying in 5th place in the rankings has had to withdraw this morning because of a knee injury. There is little separating the top two with Dan Parr of the UK having barely a 30 minute lead over the highly experienced Christian Schiester of Austria. Third and fourth placed Johnan Petersen of New Zealand and Dane Jimmi Olsen are separated by just a few seconds going into Stage 4. In the womens competition Denvy Lo of Singapore has a lead of almost 30 minutes over Fiona Hayvice of New Zealand. There is less than an hour separating the top four women and with the 99km Long March still ahead and the promise of much hotter weather all these positions could yet change. The stage today is 36km long ending in a stretch of sand and hills that will test weary competitors. |
| Time: June 29th 2010 03:27:30 AM | | 18:20pm, 29 June 2010, Stage 3: All Gobi March competitors who began Stage 3 have now reached the finish line at Peach Village. The last competitor of the day, Rohit Narang of India, arrived at 17:09:33 to many cheers. Competitors are now resting in preparation for a 02:45am wake-up call so that they can catch an early morning bus to the Flaming Mountains and make the most of the cooler morning temperatures. About the day, Tin Yan Cheung said, "What can I say? Just keep going, right? Save yourself for the end." Meanwhile, competitors are enjoying the village setting and platform beds. Catching up with Takeshi Akasaka from Japan, he said, "When I got here I took a bath, washed my socks, took a nap, that's about it!" Arjan Roukema from the Netherlands is taking a more cultural approach, "I find it beautiful here. It gives us an idea of how the local people are. You can't imagine how people in the desert live. If someone blindfolded you and left you here you wouldn't have a clue where you were," but he also added, "and, of course, everyone is happy that we don't have rocks under our sleeping mats tonight." |
| Time: June 29th 2010 01:22:51 AM | | 16:14pm 29 June 2010, Stage 3:
About a dozen competitors are still out on course. Colin Clark and Pan Mao, a couple of newlyweds, reached the finish line at 15:43:45. "That was punishing," said Clark, "The river and all those boulders... good fun though." "This afternoon was really hot,"added Mao. Nicholas Kruse, arriving at 15:50:38, stated, "I'm glad you got us up early today. I usually don't like waking up early, but it's hot out here." Rohit Apte, who was walking with Kruse, said, "The river crossings were cold but it is nice to be in the basin - that is why we came here, right?" Less than 10 minutes later, Barry Chan and Tin Yan Cheung heard the sound of the finish line drum and dug in for a final sprint, arriving at 16:00:04. The sun is out after a morning of cold temperatures and rain. Competitors at Peach Village are enjoying bathing in the nearby stream and taking advantage of all the shade around. |
| Time: June 28th 2010 11:00:20 PM | | 13:53pm 29 June 2010, Stage 3; Nearly 100 competitors have crossed the line at Peach Village in what has become a windy and rainy day in the Gobi Desert. Competitor Andrew Berkoski of the USA finished the day at 13:29:51 and said, "I'm hurting today. My ITB. I couldn't go down hills."
Todd Flanagan of Australia, Emma Fergusson of the UK and John McKenna of New Zealand finished together at 13:32:51. Rahel Kliebenschadel and Christian Koller, both of Switzerland, were next in at 13:36:21. Competitors that have arrived in the village have taken shelter in and will be staying in local homes for the afternoon and evening to prepare for an early morning 4:00am wake-up call for tomorrow's Flaming Mountains stage. |
| Time: June 28th 2010 09:59:03 PM | | 12:50pm, 29 June 2010, Stage 3: First woman across the line today was Deanna Williamson of the USA at 11:50:54, making it three different lady winners in three stages. Deanna and Fiona Hayvice of New Zealand, who finished third today at 12:01:06, are hanging out at the finish line rehashing stories from the day.
When talking about her quick pace today, Williamson said, "My nine year old never asks how I did, he only asks me, 'Mom, did you give it your all?'"
Finishers also include Devrim Celal of Cyprus and Jim Mandelli of Canada, who both arrived in camp at 12:11:47. Devrim said, "I feel much better than yesterday. My toenails fell off the first day and felt terrible yesterday but last night my tent mate fixed them up and today I felt great!" |
| Time: June 28th 2010 07:52:54 PM | | 10:50am, 29 June 2010, Stage 3: An epic race for third place today, Chen Penbin and Christian Schiester literally sprinting for the line. Chen takes it by a mere 6 seconds, finishing at 10:47:25am |
| Time: June 28th 2010 07:48:08 PM | | 10:45am, 29 June 2010, Stage 3: Dan Parr of the UK has fended off a hard challenge from Chinese athlete Wei Chao to win Stage 3 at 10:31:34am. Parr said "All the river crossings were tough. You can't get into a rhythm. There was a lot of varied terrain today." Talking about Wei, who came in second at 10:34:47, Parr said, "On the flat he is an absolute machine. The middle section of the course he just took off." Parr also mentioned that the leaders will have a great advantage with the cool morning weather. "I got sun at the very end of the course; people out there all day will really be affected." |
| Time: June 28th 2010 05:57:40 PM | | 8:50am, 29 June 2010, Stage 3: The stage began at 8:00am this morning. Competitors will be covering 33km over hills and negotiating six river crossings. The stage is named Never Ending Canyon. Competitors will finish at Peach Village, a local Uyghur community where they will - as a surprise - spend the night in local homes. There were some very brief, light rain showers last night but skies are clearing this morning, and the sun is burning through the clouds. We are expecting the course to begin to get much hotter from today. |
| Time: June 28th 2010 05:27:32 PM | | 8:20am, 29 June 2010, Stage 3: Limited communications have been restored. The Stage 2 Update is now live on the site. Breaking news should remain unaffected and we'll be reporting again soon after the day's stage has begun. |
| Time: June 28th 2010 07:29:59 AM | | 22:25, 28 June 2010, Stage 2: There is currently an interruption to satellite communications at the race. Website updates will resume as soon as practicable. Full results from Stage 2 are available on the website. |
| Time: June 28th 2010 03:03:55 AM | | 17:50, 28 June 2010, Stage 2: The final competitor has crossed the finish line.
Ben Grayall from Australia came home at 17:08:05. His Tent 2 tent-mates Linda Dabley (Australia), David Cox (United Kingdom) and Mel Winder (New Zealand) were there to meet him and cheer him over the line. "I took it easy and picked up the pace with 2km to go," said Grayall. "We're a family," said Dabley,"with a bit of cultural diversity." Meanwhile, two volunteer sweepers - who follow the final competitors picking up course flags on foot and ensuring no competitor gets left behind - arrived at Camp 2 accompanied by one of the local Chinese crew complete with a camel and horse. The camel, nicknamed "Alice" by volunteer Mark Petersen, is loved by the sweepers. As Judy Dunne reports, "Every 2 hours when the camel rests, we are able to pack all the flags onto him. We love having him around... even though he seems to be kind of grumpy." |
| Time: June 28th 2010 02:09:42 AM | | 16:50pm, 28 June 2010, Stage 2: Over half the competitors are now across the finish line of Stage 2. Of our 4 Deserts Grand Slam contenders, Ricky Paugh of the USA is leading the charge. He is lying in 12th place overall. Paul Acheson of the UK is lying in 15th and having a good race as well so far. Australian Samantha Gash is the leading lady, she is lying in 39th place and made good time today finishing in just over 4 hours. She is racing alongside David O'Brien from Ireland. They have finished both stages together. Hong Kong based Phil Tye and Canadian Stan Lee are also inside the top 50 at the moment. Aussie Peter Jong had a swifter Stage 2 than his overall position suggests. Briton Tremaine Kent is also across the line. Still out in the field are Linda Quirk of the US, Briton Lucy Rivers-Bulkeley and Burt Cook also of the US. |
| Time: June 27th 2010 10:21:14 PM | | 13:05pm, 28 June 2010, Stage 2: George Tse of Hong Kong is the most recent competitor to cross the finish line at 12:51:50. When asked what he thought of his day he said his gators were "fantastic". The river crossing had ankle high water and when asked if he stopped to wash off he said "No - too cold!" Arjan Roukema of the Netherlands, Jim Mandelli of Canada and Jim Dixon of New Zealand finished the day hand in hand across the line at 12:47:50 in 30th place. Mandelli said "its an international race, we're showing camaraderie." To which Dixon responded, "Actually, I thought you were going to trip me up." The trio had raced the day together. Just before these three crossed the line Fiona Hayvice of New Zealand was the first woman to finish today at 12:46:00. She is on her honeymoon with her husband Todd who is volunteering. He was able to meet her at the finish line. She said she felt "pretty elated" after yesterday when her knees were giving her problems. "I knew I had it in me..." |
| Time: June 27th 2010 09:03:58 PM | | 11:53am, 28 June 2010, Stage 2: Dan Parr from the UK maintained his lead in the Gobi March 2010 clinching 1st place 6 minutes ahead of China's Chen Penbin at 11:25:55am. Austria's Christian Schiester finished 3rd for the day another 5 minutes behind. Wei Chao of China finished in 4th place and Peter Osterwalder of Switzerland in 5th. Jimmi Olsen of Denmark who finished 3rd yesterday is struggling today. Anne Vagner also of Denmark has had to withdraw due to the recurrence of a knee problem that also saw her having to abandon the Atacama Crossing 2010 earlier this year.
Dan Parr said Stage 2 was even more beautiful than Stage 1, just when he thought it couldn't get any better he would round a corner and think 'wow.' He suspects the course favours Hong Kong competitors who are used to training on hills and in heat and humidity.
It is currently windy and the temperature is relatively moderate.
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| Time: June 27th 2010 08:21:28 PM | | 11:20am, 28 June 2010, Stage 2: Dan Parr is currently in the lead having cleared checkpoint 2. He is visible from the campsite, and about to negotiate the river crossing. 5 competitors are through Checkpoint 2 at this stage chasing him hard. |
| Time: June 27th 2010 07:14:32 PM | | 10:00am, 28 June 2010, Stage 2: Competitors left the start line at 9:00am this morning. Skies were clear and the temperature still cool. Josep Maria Romero Parra has had to withdraw from the race after sustaining a knee injury yesterday. Michael Dee who was feeling sick last night was feeling much better this morning and made the start. Overall competitiors are in very high spirits. Today's stage is 29 km - parts of it through mountains and there is a river crossing. At the start line Lucy Tang said "Yesterday was beautiful. The course director redeemed himself (from such a hard course in Namibia in 2009). Two of the comptetitors from New Zealand said that camp was much more luxurious than they expected! |
| Time: June 27th 2010 05:22:19 AM | | 20:12, 27 June 2010, Camp 2: All competitors have completed a full day in the Gobi Desert and are now eating, resting and recharging at Camp 2. Final finishers included grandmother Ellen Chu and her son Gary Chu of the United States. Arriving at 18:45, Ellen said that the course was "absolutely wonderful." The final finisher of the day was Rohit Narang of India, at 19:05. |
| Time: June 27th 2010 01:55:29 AM | | 4:55 pm, 27 June 2010, Camp 1: Gary Cambridge of Canada is the most recent competitor to cross the Gobi March Stage 1 finish line in just under seven hours, forty minutes. About half of RacingThePlanet's competitors have now completed today's stage - some have called the route "challenging" and "unexpected," citing hills on the last third of the course. Ryan Dipede of Canada said, "The course was great but the description of gently rolling hills in the course book were not so gentle." Athletes, however, have been pleased with the sunny weather and slight breeze. |
| Time: June 27th 2010 12:02:21 AM | | 14:55pm, Sunday 27 June 2010, Stage 1: Singaporean Denvy Lo was the first lady to cross the finish line of Stage 1. The most recent finishers were Amanda Clarke and Ryan Fung both from Hong Kong, and Briton Mark Stevenson. They came across the line together at 14:40pm. The weather continues cool and overcast. It's 20 degrees colder than it was this time last week. The competitors must be feeling very lucky to have such perfect running conditions. |
| Time: June 26th 2010 10:16:32 PM | | 13:15pm, Sunday 27 June 2010, Stage 1: Dan Parr (UK) wins Stage 1, crossing the line at 12:46pm, with an unofficial time of 3hr 16min. Austrian Christian Schiester came in 2nd six minutes later at 12:51pm. |
| Time: June 26th 2010 09:13:11 PM | | 12:07pm, Sunday, 27 June 2010, Stage 1: First competitors through Checkpoint 1 - 1st Chen Penbin (CHN) 10:12:00am; 2nd Brian Doherty (USA) 10:12:21am; 3rd Jimmi Olsen (DEN) 10:13:45am. First lady through Checkpoint 1 was Anne Vagner (DEN) 10:30:30am |
| Time: June 26th 2010 06:52:42 PM | | 9:30 am, Sunday 27 June 2010, Stage 1: The race started with 154 competitiors from Gaoyachun Village. Last night was very cold but now it is beautiful sunny weather. The camp was a little noisy last night as a wedding party was going in a nearby village. All the local people came to the start, and were dancing. Frisbees were handed out to the children. Today's stage is 32 kilometers over rolling hills, and is expected to be a only a moderate test for competitors if the weather holds. Some fast times are expected of the front runners. |
| Time: June 26th 2010 09:42:43 AM | | 12:01 am, Sunday, 27 June, Pre-Race: competitors have arrived at the Camp 1 on the edge of the Tian Xian Mountains. En route the competitors were welcomed by the governor and mayor of Turpan. The campsite is spectacular replete with grazing camels. Competitors are now getting their sleep in anticipation of a straightforward 32 kilometer stage tomorrow which takes them through rolling hills and pastureland. |
| Time: June 25th 2010 05:27:58 PM | | 8:20 am, 26 June 2010, Urumqi, China: Breaking news has officially started for the Gobi March (China) 2010. One hundred and fifty four (154) competitors (125 males and 35 females) will begin official competitor registration at 10:00 am at Yin Du Hotel in Urumqi, China. At 3:00 pm competitors will depart for Camp 1 (Gaoyachun Village) of the Gobi March course, stopping along the route for a special welcoming ceremony. |
| Time: June 25th 2010 05:56:07 AM | | 8:49 pm, 25 June 2010, Urumqi, China: Course director Dave Annandale just returned from the Gobi March course and describes it as varied terrain with fantastically contrasting views and spectacular campsites. The course also allows many opportunities to interact with local people. Temperatures have varied from 50 to 7 Celsius (122 to 44.6 Fahrenheit). |
| Time: June 23rd 2010 10:50:32 PM | | 1:49 pm, 24 June, Urumqi, China: The RacingThePlanet management team is now going over last minute details. There is expected to be a 100 kilometer stage. |
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