COMPETITORS LINE UP FOR START OF THE GOBI MARCHTM 2005
(April 21, 2005, Hong Kong) -- On Sunday, April 24, nearly 100 competitors from 21 countries will line up in the remote village of Dong Gou, two hours south of Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, China, for the start of the Gobi March™ 2005, a 250km, six-stage, 7- day self-supported footrace across the desert. Carrying all their own gear and food, competitors will make their way to the finish line at the edge of the Sand Dune National Park, on the outskirts of Turpan, passing through the Tian Shan mountains, the Flaming Mountains, sand dunes, riverbeds, canyons, pastureland and remote rural villages.
A team of 42 international volunteers, including an 8 person medical team, made up of doctors from the United States and China will arrive tomorrow to provide support to the competitors during the week long event. An additional team of local Chinese staff will be on hand to set-up and dismantle the campsite every day.
The Gobi March is an annual race, part of the 4 Deserts™, held in China in honour of Mildred Cable and Francesca and Eva French, three female explorers and humanitarians who gave up a comfortable middle class lifestyle to explore remote parts of China and help indigent people. They immersed themselves in the local culture and tried to help countless people without asking for anything in return. RacingThePlanet offers an opportunity for competitors to explore remote parts of the world, learn about cultures that may one day be extinct and help those who otherwise might be overlooked.
Xinjiang province, situated in northwest China, is populated by many different ethnic minorities, the largest of these is the Uygur people who make up 47% of the population and live in the southern part of the province. During the Gobi March 2005, competitors will pass through many rural Uygur villages, including Grape Valley in Turpan, which is an important grape growing area, producing one third of the country's wine.
Many of the competitors are taking part in the Gobi March 2005 as a way of raising money for charity. RacingThePlanet has teamed up with Action Outreach to raise funds for Operation Smile, a charity which provides surgery for children with facial deformities. This year Action Outreach has pledged US$150,000 to sponsor a mission in Xi'an, and operate on 150 children.
Launched in 2003, the 4 Deserts™ is a series of footraces across the world's most forbidding deserts: the coldest, driest, windiest and hottest places on Earth. Each race is distinguished by the terrain: the salt flats in the Atacama Crossing (Chile), the sand in the Sahara Race (Egypt), the "Black Gobi" in the Gobi March (China) and the ice in The Last Desert (Antarctica).
The 4 DesertsTM has quickly become one of the world's premier outdoor sporting events. This year's Gobi March will be filmed by NBC from the United States and MBC from Korea. In September, RacingThePlanet will launch The Sahara Race in Egypt. Next year we plan to hold all four events in the series.
This year's partners include The Coca Cola Company, Nestle, Spenco and Stratos Global.
The 4 DesertsTM attract individuals from all backgrounds and from all walks of life, the majority being professionals including bankers, lawyers, airline pilots and medical doctors. Competitors range in age from 17 to 77 years old.
About RacingThePlanet®
RacingThePlanet® is an international outdoor lifestyle brand and world leader in organizing some of the world's most prestigious outdoor events including the 4 Deserts™, a series of 7-day footraces across the world's largest and most forbidding deserts. These events include the Gobi March™ in China, the Atacama Crossing™ in Chile, the Sahara Race™ in Egypt and The Last Desert™ in Antarctica. Headquartered in Hong Kong, RacingThePlanet® has representative offices in the United States, Korea, Japan, Sweden and Chile.
Media Contact:
Catherine Cole,
ccole@racingtheplanet.com
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