Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Ultra Gobi<br />
Carnegie: “I have a voicemail from James saved on my phone. He was less than 500m from the finish, could hear the music blaring and see the<br />
lights projecting into the sky, but was aimlessly running around a quarry. It’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.”<br />
Poole: “<strong>The</strong> Ultra Gobi runners receive an unusual gift<br />
before the start: one half of a small statuette of a tiger – a<br />
‘tiger tally’. <strong>The</strong> other half is awarded after the successful<br />
completion of the race. <strong>The</strong>se tallies were used by military<br />
officers in ancient China as a representation of authority.<br />
A commander in a frontier region such as the Gobi might<br />
leave half of his tally behind in a fortress, then provide the<br />
matching half as ID when sending back orders. Leaving<br />
half of your tally behind is a pledge you’ll return.”<br />
Carnegie: “After 93 hours and 25 minutes in the desert,<br />
James crosses the finish line in Dunhuang. <strong>The</strong> Ultra Gobi<br />
ends at a ‘centuries-old’ fort, which is actually a museum<br />
that was built recently to give tourists ‘the Silk Road<br />
experience’, complete with staff in warrior suits. It’s<br />
completely bizarre and I can’t imagine what it must have<br />
felt like emerging to this after four days in a desert.”<br />
THE RED BULLETIN 85
Change language