Race Media

What a Journey - Land of the Blue Sky – Sand, Rocks and Genghis Khan

Postcard-quality scenery everywhere!

Phone ringing, meetings, payments to make, sitting in the office staring at my computer, conference calls……Sound familiar? Are you going through Mongolia Action Asia withdrawals?

There is just something about sand in my shoes, the wind in the face, a camel chewing on leaves from a tree 20 meters away, little scorpion like creatures scurrying in the sand, horses gracefully munching on grass near the little river of a large steppe, cows just sleeping in the field, sheep following each other to the next field for grass. Then when tired and sun setting late in the evening making my way back to a simple ger with fresh air coming thru the roof with a pleasant dry air sending me fast to sleep.

Yes it’s always hard to adjust after an event like this and grateful we found the time to grab a few quotes from some inspirational participants.

“From my point of view, the Action Asia Mongolia 3-day Ultra Marathon was quite a challenge. Trail running is not so complicated in Hong Kong; however, this 3-day race is very different and natural. The first day we have gone through the dunes; the second day we went to the peak. For me, up was easy, down was quite difficult as down we had to go through the sand. The third day was relatively easy, except that it was rainy, and it was windy. When I go back to Hong Kong, I will use the word “fabulous” and ‘a real natural environment” to describe the whole race to my friends and I will recommend them to come.” said Victor Yung.

“It was a really great experience and it was very different, and I personally loved the second day the most because it had a little bit of everything including the sand dunes, the mountains, etc. The 3rd day course was a bit easier, but it was definitely the last mental challenge. The race was really, really great, and I would recommend it to my friends”, said Charlotte Taquet who not only came 1st on the day 2, she came overall 3rd at the end of the Mongolia Action Asia 3-day Ultra Marathon. 

“I joined some Action Asia Events’ races in Hong Kong and it’s my first time doing the oversea race. I enjoyed a lot! The landscape was beautiful and every 10km the scenery would change. We crossed the grassland; we crossed the desert; we crossed the swamp, so the whole course was very interesting,” said Chinese runner Jingwen Du.

“I think the Action Asia Mongolia 3-day Ultra race was sensational and I loved it. My favorite scenery was being on top of all the dunes and peaks with amazing sceneries. I would absolutely recommend it to all my friends, without a doubt,” said British runner Siobhan McHenry.

“The race is absolutely amazing. It’s my first time here in Mongolia. The course is really gorgeous,” said Dominik Keller.

“I always took this Mongolia 3-day Ultra race as a personal challenge. And finally, we got through it. After finishing, it felt amazing and it’s an accomplishment. When I crossed the finish line, I almost cried. I will absolutely recommend it to all my friends,” said Sylvia Evans.

“Firstly, I have to say the race is good. Good different sceneries, when we came down from the mountain, we can see the plant and the cattle, everything we saw was really good. You can say it is a very long-distance race,” said Raymond McGillivray.

Lighting the torch for the next generation was a Mom and her 2 daughters. “We are so lucky as we had the perfect weather to race. I liked the course, and I liked the mountains a lot. Every time I got to the top of the mountain, I could enjoy the good view. Coming down I’ll go through the sand. I live in Hong Kong, so walking in sand is really hard for me. I also joined the Lijiang Yunnan Action Asia 3 day Ultra but this time, we joined the race as a family. We get along well. All the volunteers are selfless, they worked very hard and just so good,” said the mother of two Margit Schmid. Her two daughters, Julianne Henning Kristina Henning also joined the race and they finished all 3 day’s race together. They also won the inspiring Team Spirit Award at the Award Ceremony held by Action Asia Events.

“It was my first time to climb the sand dunes. It was amazing, and I enjoyed it so much. I liked the mountain too, it was awesome. I guess it was only 300m high, but it totally took me one hour to climb. I just think I did a great job, it was an amazing experience for me,” said Hong Kong runner Yat Tin Ng.

Massive thanks to everyone raising tips for the staff as great we raised over USD 2000 in tips and USD 2200 for books and school supplies for Kazakhstan as always nice putting something back into the country we go to. Awesome job all who helped out from staff, marshals, cooks, drivers, agents, sponsors, etc.

OK now back to the office for more dreaming then off to finish some more courses….The eyes are now on Kazakhstan, Nepal and Yunnan Action Asia Events.

 

By Michael Maddess – Race Director & Course Designer – Action Asia Events

Upcoming events - http://www.actionasiaevents.com/our-events/upcoming-events/

 

Thanks for the support from MIAT, Royale International, Action X Store and Action Asia Foundation.