Simone Bishop and Kimberly Dods are participants in RacingThePlanet’s 4 Deserts. Having conquered two of the deserts, the Atacama and the Sahara, their next challenge is The Gobi March, taking place in the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang Province, China, on the 14 June 2009.
The Gobi desert is known to be the windiest desert on earth, coupling this, Time Magazine has labeled this endurance race as one of the Top 10 Endurance Competitions in the world.
Bishop and Dods will be carrying their own mandatory equipment and their backpacks will weigh anything from 7 kgs to 15kgs. With this hefty weight on their backs, they will cross a wide range of terrains from river crossings and donkey trails to gorges, mountains and rocky terrain, not to mention the expansive distance over flat desert.
The course covers roughly 250 kilometers over seven days, reaching altitudes of about 3000 meters. But nothing is as it seems when one enters the Gobi Desert. Routes may change daily depending on weather conditions, water levels and the levels of dust which can impair visibility.
Competing in this endurance race, the largest international sporting event held in Western China, will be 150 individuals from 30 different countries, with only 20 percent of these individuals being female – two of whom are these extraordinary South African ladies.
For more information please visit RacingThePlanet’s website.
You can also follow the progress of the race by visiting RacingThePlanet.
