Gobi March Continues On!

The Gobi March continues on today, with another stage in the books and competitors slowly, and painfully, making their way to the finish.

Yesterday, during Stage 3 of the ultramarathon, competitors kicked things off with an ascent of 1800m to a mountain pass that would allow them to continue on from Langerville where they spent the night towards their goal for the day of reaching Gobi Oasis more than 40km away. After reaching the high pass however, if was a 16km trail descent down the other side, and then crossing several rivers and streams, on their way to the finish line for the day. William Laughlin of the United States was the first to cross the finish line and claim the stage win in around six hours of time.

Right now, the Stage 4 results aren't posted yet, but the breaking news is that Lucy Brooks and Stephen Hilton have arrived first at the finish line. Lucy leads all the female competitors claiming state wins each day so far. The report also says that yesterday's temps were cold following the climb through the mountain pass and the river crossings, but today is very different with "blistering heat" reported.

The Gobi March is part of Racing The Planet's Four Deserts Ultramaraton series. The race consists of six stages over seven days and a total of 250km of racing. At the start, there were 185 competitors from all over the planet.