We have a pair of grueling endurance events getting underway this weekend that should be fun to follow over the coming days. First up, The GoBlog reminds us that the Great Divide Race starts today in Port of Roosville, Montana. The mountain bike race is an unsupported event that covers the entire length of the 2,490-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Unsupported means you have to bring everything you need along with you on your back or bike, resupplying in towns along the way, as you peddle across Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. The website even brags that there is over 200,000 feet of vertical gain along the length of the course.
Last year there were only eight total racers and only one of them, Matthew Lee, actually finished the race. It took him nearly 18 days to complete the entire length of the course, averaging a respectable 139 miles a day. This year there will be 21 total competitors when the race gets underway. We'll see how many survive.
The other big endurance event getting underway this weekend is The Gobi March which is part of the Racing The Planet series of ultramarathons. This stage race gets underway on Sunday (June 17th), starting from Kashgar, China, and finishing seven days, six stages, and 250km later. As the name indicates, the 185 competitors from 23 countries, will be racing through the Gobi Desert, at altitudes as high as 13,000 feet. In years past, this has been a very tough and challenging race, and I'm sure this year will be no different.
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