The extreme marathon runner Dion Leonard (41) from Scotland found the perfect running mate while recently racing in the Gobi desert. The British runner was participating in the tough 155 mile (250 km) 4 Deserts Race across China’s Gobi desert when he was joined by a small, stray dog. The terrier refused to leave his side through the seven day long race, even with temperatures soaring as high as 52 C.
Dion met the female dog at the very start and named her Gobi after the desert. She followed Leonard into his tent and refused to sleep anywhere else.
“Once we had begun the stage Gobi seemed to like the bright yellow color of my gaiters and proceeded to run next to me,” Leonard told to 4 Deserts. “When she came into camp she followed me straight into my tent, laid down next to me and that was that – a bond had been developed.”
All the racers were impressed by her endurance and strength, but also the attention and love that she gave to her new friend.
“She didn’t bark, bite, or chew on things. She wasn’t very demanding, so we all had to take the time to try and feed her and force her to drink water,” said the 4 desert founder Mary Gadams.“Gobi really became the race’s mascot”.
During the race, Leonard carried Gobi across rivers and made sure she had enough food and water.
Leonard, who finished second in his first 4 Deserts race, decided to bring the small terrier back home with him to Britain.
“Gobi rested on Day 4 and Day 5 due to the heat of the desert, but waited for me at the finish line and I knew then this was no ordinary dog and experience,” he explained.
He had to leave her behind because of the strict laws about transporting animals between Asia and Europe. However, that hasn’t discouraged him. He launched a fundraiser in order to raise the funds to fly Gobi to Scotland and is being assisted by 4 Deserts Club members and the SPCA in Hong Kong.
In the meantime, Gobi is staying with the 4 Deserts Gobi March local manager until arrangements can be made.
This is truly a wonderful and unusual story. We hope for a good news and photos of their reunion!