Photo courtesy 4deserts.com

Many of you may have read about Dave Savvas last year, when he committed to run 250KM across the ancient Gobi Desert in China to raise money for Oasis Hospital, a CURE International Facility in the UAE.

Dave’s wife, Joanne, gave birth to their second child at Oasis Hospital just days before Dave headed off to begin his trek of a lifetime. The race into the Gobi Desert began on Sunday, June 10th, in the windiest non-polar desert in the world. The 250-kilometre, 6-stage course started nearby the host town Kashgar in small indigenous place called Gazi Village and will pass through Heaven’s Gate, a natural arch which is taller than the Empire State Building.

In Dave’s blog post from stage one he says, “It was great to finally start the race, and it didn’t disappoint.” He goes on to say that the weather was magical for the first few hours. “I couldn’t believe that it was the desert (definitely not the UAE), but the snow covered mountains helped to ease the pain. Tomorrow will be a longer stage with about a 42km leg, but just now, whilst sitting in a small village called Taspushka, I’m feeling confident. Trying to save as much energy for the long day, which others have been happy to tell me is really painful. I’ll try a fast walk tomorrow and give the running a miss. Surprising to say that I may have started out a little too fast again (when will I learn?) and hope that I get up in the morning and feel good.”

To read more of Dave’s posts, track his race times, and see photos from the race, check his blog here on the Gobi March site:

http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/gm_comptetior_blog.php?pid=MTMzNw==&blog=24

To give to Oasis Hospital and CURE International by supporting Dave click here:

https://secure.cure.org/give/gobi-march-for-cure-oasis