Ultra-marathon runner Christian Schiester is currently running the Desert Cup, but as the Austrian tells us in three diary entries from China, just getting to the start line in the Gobi Desert was quite a challenge in itself…
June 24 – Urumqi, China
After 20 hours’ journey, I landed safely in China. In the end, everything went well, even if the trip was quite an adventure in itself. The turbulence on the little plane literally shook us all the way from Graz [Austria] to Frankfurt [Germany], where we changed to Air Astana, the Kazakh airline. For the first time ever, I was on a plane that showed clear traces of rust. With a little queasy feeling, we headed further east. Shortly before Astana, the sun tinged the thick layer of clouds with bright orange – a stunning picture. As we slowly broke through this exotic carpet stretched below us, the Kazakh steppe appeared in the golden morning light.
Despite my short stay in Astana, I was nevertheless subjected to the full entry procedure. I boldly tried to charm the non-English-speaking security guard by wildly gesticulating to explain my situation. Several back doors later, I was smuggled on board the Airbus at the last minute.
On landing in Urumqi, one hour and six security checks later, I was sitting in a taxi to the hotel. Fighting the jet lag, I then jogged through the city under the watchful eye of the locals, until a sandstorm suddenly burst forth. Within minutes, it was dark and the air filled with sand, dust and smog. Even the locals seemed surprised by the violent storm – I decided to retire to the hotel and to fight jet lag with the warm blanket of security instead!
June 25 – Urumqi, China
One thing is clear: In China, many things are different from the Austria I’m familiar with.
After a short shower and an afternoon nap, I decided to give in to my ever-increasing hunger and went on my way – not to one of the seven restaurants in our giant luxury hotel, but back to town to get to know the local culinary specialities. My choice was an interesting restaurant, with a pot of boiling water on each of the tables, next to a small boat on an artificial river. My initial enthusiasm quickly gave way to confusion, which the waitress recognised by simply bringing me, without comment, a whole plate of meaty parcels in a broth. The intense smell and peculiar consistency made me sceptical. My mind drifted inevitably to the tiny dog that had attacked me minutes earlier on the street… After a brief enquiry, I was politely informed that dog meat is not eaten here…
But it got no better. Fish heads, snails, mushrooms, crab and octopus tentacles floated past me. The content in my pot grew rapidly, but the plate was almost empty except for small samples. I was soon no longer hungry… Traditional food here bears no resemblance to cuisine back home, that’s for certain.
I walked back through the streets, thinking that, less than a year ago, riots in Urumqi killed 184 people. The background was age-old tensions between the Chinese central government and the autonomous local rule of the Uyghur. But despite heavily-armed security patrols, the atmosphere is friendly, industrious bustle prevails on the streets and the people are open-minded.
June 27 – Turpan Basin, Gobi Desert
We headed out of our hotel and the city yesterday and on to the desert. On arrival at the camp, we were met by a strong, cool wind. After sunset, temperatures fell to 5°C, causing most athletes an uncomfortable night. We were all glad to crawl out of our tents in the morning and prepare ourselves at the start line.
The race went off from a small village, under the curious gaze of the inhabitants in the vast plains of the Gobi. A hard-trampled path led us past the green scrub to a barren landscape. Several participants stormed off like mad – I held my pace and quickly fell back several spots. After about 15km, we reached the first hills.
With sweat pouring off my forehead, dangerously steep climbing sections slowed me a bit. My injury retirement in Australia is still a vivid memory, so I decided the first leg was no stage to take risks and walked carefully instead. After 32km, I reached my second place target with a time of 3h 21m 40s. Only the Briton Dan Parr was faster than me, by about five minutes. I am very satisfied with my performance today. I quickly found a good rhythm and kept my pace.
Only one day has passed and 218km lie ahead, but I have a good feeling for this race and enough energy reserves. Tomorrow I'll start loose and concentrate on not making mistakes…
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