The Gobi March is a seven day, 250 km (155 mile) ultramarathon, which is the equivalent to five and 1/2 regular marathons. The longest single stage is 74.8 km (46.8 miles) long.
The event is held in the Bortala Mongol and Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefectures in Xinjiang Province, China. Unlike other hot desert courses, this beautiful desert takes competitors across green grasslands and alpine-like scenery. Rather than sandy terrain, competitors will traverse dirt tracks, dry riverbeds, valleys, plains and farmlands in areas alive with local culture.
Facts
- The Gobi March was founded in 2003 in honor of three missionaries: Mildred Cable and sisters Francesca and Eva French, Christian missionaries who spent winter in the city of Prodigals and spent the remaining eight months of the year traveling the vast trade routes of the Gobi Desert in Gansu and Xinjiang Provinces visiting the poor, feeding orphans, healing the sick and educating girls.
- Mildred Cable once said: “Only a fool crosses the great Gobi without misgivings.”
- Mildred said, “In this trackless waste, where every restriction is removed and where you are beckoned and lured in all directions… One narrow way is the only road for you. In the great and terrible wilderness, push on with eyes blinded to the deluding mirage, your ears deaf to the call of the seducer, and your mind un-diverted from the goal.”
- It is with this spirit of determination, that Racing The Planet held its first 4 Deserts event, the Gobi March (China) 2003, in the very same region of the Gobi Desert that this trio traversed more than a century before.
- A special award, the Cable-French Trophy will be presented to a competitor who best exemplifies the characteristics of Mildred Cable and Eva and Francesca French.
- The host city for the Gobi March is Bole, which is located in the Bortala which shares an international border with Kazakhstan and is known for the colorful culture of its Mongol, Kazakh and Uyghur minorities.
- The Gobi March is a self-supported race; competitors must carry all mandatory items for seven days on their backs. The average backpack weighs 9 kilograms / 20 pounds.
- The oldest competitor in the Gobi March is 66 year old Tadashi Murakami from Japan, the youngest competitor is Wu Sizhe from China at 21 years old.
For more information visit: 4deserts.com/gobimarch