Day 53 - Ayrag, Arshand and Saynshand, Mongolia - Entering Gobi Desert

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July 23       Photos by Chris Emerick

Melissa at the end of the pavement, beginning 500 km of sand and dirt track to the China border.

Mongolia is the nineteenth largest, and the least densely populated, independent country in the world. Since much of the land is desert, it is difficult to farm. The country is covered by arid plains, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Because of this terrain, the Blue Planet Run teams spent much of the day running on unpaved sandy roads that slowed them considerably.

Mongolia may be the least densely populated country when speaking of people, but there certainly is no shortage of camels! The Blue Planet Runners had little to no interaction with humans today but instead came across 10 camels as they made their way through the desert. Frankly, what better animal to encounter during the Blue Planet Run than the camel, famous for its ability to retain water for later use.

Sunila passes a herd of camels while crossing the Gobi Desert.

Emmanuel climbs onto the back of a random camel on the side of the dirt track.

Victor and Richard climb into tent after running all night in the Gobi Desert.

The hardcore team of Emmanuel Kibet and Jason Loutitt (who are both training for future events) of Team Silver ran 15 miles together, passing through the town of Ayrag. At the end of their segment, Emmanuel, who may be considered a bit of a class clown because he always finds a way to have fun or make his teammates laugh uncontrollably, shared his water and took pictures with a camel. Laura Furtado of Team Green finished out the day with the good fortune of traveling through not one but TWO Mongolian towns, Arshand and Saynshand.

The winds of changes have begun to blow again as our Blue Planet Runners move farther eastward. Tomorrow brings them to the border of the People’s Republic of China. Tonight the runners prepare to say goodbye to Mongolia, the land of birthdays, basketball and Bactrian camels.

Basecamp in the Gobi.