[Editor’s Note: Congratulations to iRunFar’s Bryon Powell for his course-record-setting win at the 2024 Ultra Gobi 400k in 68 hours, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds! The 2024 edition started Saturday, October 5, in western China.]
When this article is published, I’ll hopefully have finished the Ultra Gobi 400k (250 Mile) in China for the second time. I last ran it in 2015, when it was known as the Ultra-Trail Gobi Race, while having failed attempts to return in both 2016 and 2019. All races take various levels of preparation, but one like the Ultra Gobi takes weeks of logistical preparation to go along with months of physical training.
That’s why I’m all the more pleased with my past self for writing the nearly 5,000-word article, “Ultra-Trail Gobi Race 2015: Putting the Pieces Together,” on the logistical details of my 2015 run to go along with the more narrative piece, “Ultra-Trail Gobi Race 2015: Finding the Spark Within.” Much like the birth of iRunFar as an information source, that logistics article was based on my own notes that I then shared with others.
What I gave myself was a second-level crib sheet that supplemented my basic approach to logistically and physically preparing for an ultramarathon. I suppose this article is more of an application of my 2016 article “Race, Repeated,” which extolled the advantages of returning to a race with knowledge gained from a previous run or runs of that race. Below is a look at how the various sections of the article “Putting the Pieces Together” helped inform my preparation for this year’s Ultra Gobi.
Running across what’s known as “Gobi” terrain in the 2015 Ultra Gobi. Photo: Nick Muzik
On Gear
I thought I’d be writing about how my 2015 gear write-up informed my 2024 choices but that nearly none of them would return for 2024. However, against all odds, at least nine distinct items (I’m skipping stuff like a medical kit, emergency blanket, and race tracker) return with me to the desert:
- Montrail Bajada – Ok, I wore the Bajada II in 2015, and I’ll use what may be my last fresh pair of the Bajada III in 2024, but I see them as fungible.
- New Balance 1400 – Similarly, I wore a pair of 1400 v3 in 2015 and have both a pair of v4 in size 9 and v6 in size 9.5 packed for 2024.
- Mountain Hardwear Way2Cool Short Sleeve Shirts (original version) – I’ve got two of these packed.
- Smartwool PhD Ultra Light Zip T – An age-old gray long sleeve will make its return to the Gobi.
- Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Hooded Jacket – This is still the best wind jacket ever made, in my opinion.
- Drymax Hot Weather Socks – I literally have 12-plus pairs of these packed. I’d have packed some Max Pros again, as well, but I don’t have any fresh pairs left in my Drymax stash.
- The North Face Runners 1 Etip Gloves – I’ve got a couple of pairs of gloves packed and I’ll start with a lighter pair in the low country, but I suspect I’ll use these up in the higher altitudes.
- Windstopper Mitts – My only pair of thin mitts as an extra layer stashed in a higher elevation drop bag.
- iPhone – Yes, I’ll carry an iPhone 16 Pro rather than an iPhone 5 — gah, it’s been that long?! — but it’s a tool that will fill the same roles.
That’s probably some unnecessary detail for this particular article, but it really surprised me that I’m bringing so many of the same pieces back to the Gobi. It’s a testament to my belief that great gear is great gear and that the latest and greatest isn’t always all that much better … if at all!
Me wearing a Mountain Hardwear jacket and The North Face gloves that I’ll be bringing back to Ultra Gobi nine years later. Photo: Nick Muzik
More broadly, my extensive notes on every piece of gear I brought to the Gobi in 2015 and whether or not I used it heavily informed my gear choices. I’ve got fewer of some items, like pairs of shoes (it helps that most of our drop bags will go to two locations each), and more of others, like shirts, so I don’t have to carry as many layers as the course slowly traverses from 4,000 feet to over 11,000 feet and back down to 4,000 feet.
On Fueling
In this section of my 2015 report, I predicted I would take less food to the desert if I ever returned. This isn’t the case. I probably have a similar amount of sports nutrition, if not a little more, as well as many of the same snacks that worked for me in 2015. A few snacks did get cut, but I added peanut M&Ms, Snickers, sour cola gummies, and Epic meat bars, the first three of which I’ve added to my adventuring diet over years since Ultra-Trail Gobi Race, and the last as
I’d like a way to consume a little bit more protein as well as assist with avoiding palate fatigue throughout the race. I also packed four or five extra camping meals in case I want to eat two at a given checkpoint, or even carry one for a “real meal” on a longer stretch between major rest points. The detailed calorie consumption chart I made after the 2015 race really hammered home what I did and didn’t actually eat during the race.
On Hydration
This section didn’t help too much with my logistics prep, but will be a good reminder come the race. I’ll try to drink 20 ounces or so in the five to 10 miles between checkpoints, have a 600-milliliter Coke at each of the 10 major rest points, and drink a little bit more as weather and distance between checkpoints as well as my thirst and hydration status (i.e., pee) suggest.
Hydrating at a checkpoint during Ultra Gobi 2015. Photo: Nick Muzik
On Sleep
This section was a great reminder of how I slept 16 hours during the 2015 race, mostly from two full nights of sleep to start things off, as well as spending a full 24-hour day in total at the three checkpoints where I tried to sleep.
What I Would Do Differently
This section was pure gold for my preparation! Below, I address each of the bullet points from that 2015 article.
Sleep Less
A more specific reminder that I could try to sleep a whole lot less on any return to Ultra Gobi. Indeed, I talked to some adventure racers on this aspect when I planned to head back to the race in 2019. While I don’t want to be completely miserable out there, I’m also intrigued by experimentation, so we’ll see what happens: hopefully, not quite as much sleep.
Train More
I ran 175 miles in the 11 weeks before Ultra Gobi in 2015, for a whopping 16 miles per week with no long runs. This time I ran 730-plus miles (more than four times the mileage and a high multiple in terms of training time) and there was a single 237-mile week in the mountains for a concentrated training bout.
Funnily enough, I still don’t think I’m as fit as I was going into the 2015 race. I’m nine years older and didn’t have great training in the spring and early summer as I did before my first Hardrock 100 earlier in 2015. Still, I did get in a bunch of solid training over these past few months.
A splendid view on my last long run before Ultra Gobi 2024. Photo: Bryon Powell
Rehab the Calves
Could I have been better about this? Sure! But, starting in late winter, I reintroduced eccentric calf drops to my life and sometime this spring I started adding weight to those eccentric drops. I even got some treatment on them in the spring as I was adding hill workouts, doing those drops, and adding training volume. Put together, my calves felt stronger and my Achilles better for much of the summer than they had in years.
But a later summer lapse in doing eccentric drops had my Achilles worsening and, then, I overweighted some drops late in September, which made things worse. So where do I stand? I think I’ll be able to run more inclines than I did in 2015; however, I know that I’ll have to deal with some significant Achilles pain along the same. I just hope it’s later rather than sooner into the race!
Train With a Pack
I didn’t train as much with a pack as I’d thought, but I think I’m in a good spot with my pack and its effects. I’d planned to run with a weighted pack a few times a week starting when I entered the race in early May. I did a few times early on and naturally did some of it on some early summer run/fish adventures, but generally with weight less than my race pack’s weight.
In the second half of August, I got serious and in two weeks logged around 300 miles of running with a 13- to 19-pound pack, which is much heavier than my race pack and things went well enough. Throughout September, I did the vast majority of my runs with my race-weight pack. Am I fast with it on? No, but I’m completely comfortable with that pack, and my stride doesn’t feel altered.
Looking through photos was also a good reminder of the terrain and conditions. Photo: Nick Muzik
Lighten the Load
We’re talking gear here. In 2015, I had a 10-pound pack before water. It will be more like seven pounds this year. I won’t miss carrying those three extra pounds for 250 miles.
Lighten Me
I went into the 2015 Ultra Gobi weighing around 165 pounds and was hoping I’d be lighter this time, as I will be. I really trimmed up during my two biggest training weeks in late August and sat at 154 pounds the morning I left home for China. That means my pack and I combined will weigh four pounds less than I alone did at Ultra Gobi 2015 and my combined personal and pack weight will be 14 pounds less. Goodness gracious, that feels like a lot less!
Pack Less Food
Well, I failed here, as I could feel as I lugged my duffel to China.
Protect the Feet
Oh, how my feet were a hot mess at Ultra Gobi 2015! I’ll skip the details, but I’m prepared with a sock change for all 10 major rest points, a dry pair of socks for the sections where I’ll have water crossings, a rag in each drop bag to help clean my feet at each rest point, a roll of athletic tape at each rest point, and a change of shoes available at each rest point. I’m also working hard to remove my heel callouses as heel rim blisters are always a significant issue for me during long ultras.
Study More
I’ve spent time studying each section of this year’s course, which is in the same general area as the 2015, but on a completely new course. I’ve searched for the two most difficult terrains from 2015 — sand dunes and alkali flats with grass tussock, and can’t find either on this recommended route.
I’ve also found several segments where I can run significantly shorter routes than the recommended route on this open course. Some might turn out to be duds, but I’ll see! I’ll certainly be willing to follow what the terrain and my instincts tell me out there.
Call for Comments
- Where and how have you used past race experience to aid in improving your preparations for the same race?
Me finishing the 2015 Ultra Gobi … and starting the journey to returning in 2024! Photo: Nick Muzik
