Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world with a greater population of wolves than humans. It lies in central Asia between China and Russia where most of the land is full of vast emptiness. It is exposed to long cold winters where temperatures fall to -40 degrees celsius. It must come as no surprise that until now, no one has attempted a marathon in these extreme and brutal weather conditions.
So it was much to my luck and surprise to be invited by Lucja to the first ever Mongolian Ice Marathon. Sandbaggers, the expedition organisers, are led by David Scott who is the Honourary Consul of Mongolia in Scotland. An itinerary was created for a group of roughly 20 of us travelling through the wilderness of Mongolia, living in various nomadic gers and eating traditional nomadic food. We would also take part in activities such as wild golf, husky sledding and of course running the marathon.
The first ger camp at sunrise
Our first night away was in Istanbul where Lucja and I stayed with our KAEM friend and Turkish legend, Mahmut. We made the most of our short visit with a run in the morning and shopping trip to the grand bazaar where I bought three handbags (oops). By the afternoon we were on our last leg of the trip to Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia's capital city. Flying over Mongolia was a teaser for the stunning scenery we would spend the next week waking up to. For 257 days of the year, Mongolia is cloudless with nothing but bright blue skies so when flying into the capital - for an hour and a half - all that you can see is an expanse of white hills rolling into the horizon.
The plane view for 1.5 hours!
Luxury toilet in the Kempsinki Hotel
We spent our last night in luxury and first night in Mongolia in Ulaan Bataars Kempsinki Hotel. We made good use of the amenities (a front and back cleansing toilet and gym) which would soon become a faint memory as living conditions got gradually worse throughout the week to fully experience the true nomadic Mongolian way of life.
Our first breath of the freezing temperatures was a shock to the system as we were instantly short of breath, in fits of coughs and the hairs in the nose started to freeze. The bitter cold is hard to explain without experiencing it for yourself but I always needed around 5 top layers and 2 bottom layers. Even with this on, the cold would find some way to creep into your bones with the toes and the hands usually being the first to suffer!
The rest of the week was spent in ger camps which slept between 3-6 people. In the middle of every ger is a coal and wood burning fire for warmth. This needed maintaining every few hours so unless one of us woke up to restock the fire we would shiver to the bone to the point where Lucja's sleeping bag liner froze over around her mouth one night. It would go from one extreme to the other so we also had one night in a sauna where we had to keep opening the front door to stand outside in our underwear to cool down from +30 degrees to -40 degrees. The gers are traditional to Mongolia and symbolic to all of the families that have built them. Each one was unique in its own way with small attentions to detail that added to the character of the interior.
One of our vans for the week in Ulaan Bataar - An old soviet one
Beautiful paint work inside the ger
Me and Lucja inside the ger next to the fire
The week wasn't short of planned activities but we still found reason to fit one more in after finding out Douglas Wilson, one of the runners from the group, was a qualified yoga teacher. Me Lucja and Lenka straight away jumped at the opportunity to have a morning yoga class in the first ger camp. It was a great way for us to relax and settle ourselves into the adventure and also get to know Doug better who has changed his life around after brain surgery to remove a brain tumour. His positive energy and stories were inspirational and humbling.
Team Awesome! Photo: Johnny Graham, Digitalpict
The first planned activity was wild golf which started off with a group one hole competition to see who could get closest to the hole. Lucja surprised herself by claiming the championship title and winning a bottle of whisky and tin of haggis. We all enjoyed having a swing about but struggled to get a good shot with so many layers on and our toes about to freeze off. While some of the men played a few more holes, the rest of us drove to Turtle Rock (a rock the shape of a turtle believe it or not) and ran back, testing our marathon kit and running for the first time in the extreme conditions of Outer Mongolia.
It was only 3 miles but we quickly experienced breathing difficulty from the altitude (1500m) and through the frozen balaclava and nostrils which limited incoming oxygen. The goggles also limited viewing perspective which took getting used to. It was good to get a feel for the conditions but it certainly confirmed how tough the marathon was going to be.
Post test run picture - note the frozen hair and beards! Photo: Lucja
The next camp we would stay two nights in and start the marathon from. With a bit of free time we hiked up to the top of a nearby hill for the beautiful views and chance to take selfies. Before freezing at the summit we scrambled down for another yoga and meditation class.
Every evening after the sun set we would all group into one of the gers chatting and sharing stories. The Mongolian drivers would join us too with bottles of vodka and whisky. For every shot they poured, a toast would be made and out of politeness we couldn't refuse them. However, on pre marathon night we all got an early night to rest up and conserve our energy.
Every night we got the chance to see the stars in the clear skies so we were never short of a beautiful view whether light or dark.
Star light at night in the ger camp. Photo by Johnny Graham, Digitalpict
Flatbread breakfast...tasty :/ Photo: Shona
On marathon day we were fed a plate of dry flat bread for breakfast. Unfortunately Mongolia isn't famous for good food which took its toll by the end of the week. There were a few dumpling and goat meals that were tasty but the majority was carbohydrate based, leaving us feeling stodgy and vitamin deficient during the trip. Leftover bananas and honey were our saviour for before the marathon and made do to tide us over.
At 10am we set off for 26.2 miles of running across the Mongolian wilderness. The out and back route for safety was a mix of trail and frozen river. The breathtaking scenery, pure silence and little to no evidence of human inhabitants made me excited, nervous and more aware of my surroundings. Without sounding cliche, I have never felt so close to earth and nature - being exposed to the brutal environment and life threatening conditions including the risk of falling through the river, getting lost and freezing to death or being caught by wolves made me recognise the power of nature over humans.
Marathon group - can you spot me? Photo: Johnny Graham, Digitalpict
A few miles into the route we joined the Tuul Gol River. The ice was more slippy than my practice run on the ice rink but the spikes worked great and gave enough traction to keep me on two feet. I ran the whole route with Lenka. It was great to have company and have someone to share the experience with. I also felt safer with Lenka on the off chance that something bad might happen. Occasionally our silence was broken with large echoing rumbles. At first I thought it could have been animals or wolves in the distance or even an earthquake rumbling beneath us but we later found out it was the ice compressing underneath our steps. Some steps were louder than others and a few times I had to side step or speed up with the fear of falling through!
Me and Lenka running. Screenshot from HUTCH/Rich Alexander footage
En route, we saw wild horses, a huge camel, an ice igloo, a few ger camps and never ending stunning scenery. We were lucky with the weather as we had nothing but blue skies and temperature recordings of -34 degrees Celsius - this was still tough to run in but it certainly could have been a lot worse. Despite the lucky conditions I would still call this the hardest marathon I have ever done. For the first half hour I had no feeling in my toes and for the whole run I had breathing difficulty from the altitude and frozen breath around my balaclava. Every so often I had to take my gloves off and remove the icicles around my mouth and nose but this couldn't be for long as my fingers would quickly start to freeze. My goggles also steamed up which then froze so visibility was poor for about 3 miles before I stopped to defrost the insides.
Me and Lenka running with cows. Screenshot from HUTCH/Rich Alexander footage
It was great to see Doc Andrew Murray fly past on his run back past half way and later hear that he finished in a cracking time of 3:05 - that man is superhuman! I have to mention he also ran an extra 104km in 11 hours 2 days later. He might sound like a nutter but he is a real inspiration!
Photo by Johnny Graham, Digitalpict
Hugs at the finish line - Me, Lucja and Lenka
Second male was Doug in 3:42 and third Paul in 4:12. First lady was the amazing Lucja in 4:19 and in joint second place came myself and Lenka in 4:55. It was such a fantastic feeling to finish. We could now finally relax and de frost.
After a safe return back to camp by everyone, we travelled to the next camp where the next morning Lucja, Lenka, Rich and I would all be starting the husky sledding from. The rather impromptu safety beefing in true Mongolian style for the husky sledding instructed me how to brake and then released me from the fence brace in all but 10 seconds. Lucja managed to fall off after the first 100 metres so I made sure to hold on tight and push down hard on the break as the huskies were fired up for a fast ride.
Me riding the huskies. Photo: Lucja
Me and Lucja warming up by the fire over a frozen river! Photo: Lucja
The journey on the husky sleds along the frozen river was one of the most amazing experiences and one to never be forgotten. We finished the ride off with a not so surreal picnic and wood burning fire over the frozen river (as you do).
When we reached the final camp I watched the local nomadic family milk the cows, then we had dinner, drank some vodka and waited till dark when we would all spend our last evening watching a tree up in flames. It was a perfect ending to such an amazing week as we all stood around the fire, listening to music, chatting and performing Mongolian rituals.
Group shot by the burning tree after a few vodkas. Photo: Lucja
If you have never been to Mongolia and wish to escape to a remote, undiscovered part of the world, put it on your bucket list. You will no doubt have an unforgettable experience of a life time like I have just done. Thank you Sandbaggers and all of the wonderful friends I was lucky enough to share this adventure with.
My top tips and things that worked for me when running on ice and in sub-zero temperatures:
- An invaluable tip from Doc Andrew Murray was to cut a hole in the balaclava around your mouth. This stops the water vapour from freezing solid around your mouth as you breathe out which could lead to frostbite.
- Hand warmers! These were perfect for keeping the hands warm, especially as I had to take my gloves off a couple of times.
- Cliff shot blocks were great frozen!! They still maintained some chewiness and just needed 10 seconds in the mouth to soften. Tasted like a chewy sweet!
- I kept my gels in my sports bra and in my gloves next to the hand warmers so they wouldn't freeze.
- I wore a balaclava that I could easily pull down under my chin for when I needed to eat or drink.
- Don't expose any of your skin for too long! Shona Thompson got a nice bit of frostbite on her ears as they were exposed which goes to show how cold it was out there.
- Charge any of the devices you wish to run with prior to running. In the cold batteries run down so quickly so you need as much battery as possible.
It wasn't easy packing for an ice run, having never done one before so here is a list of everything I wore for the run:
Base layer top - inov8 base elite merino, black
Top layer top - X bionic ski touring instructor light, white
Down jacket for the start to keep me warm - Hi Gear Packlite Down Jacket
Bag - Solomon S-Lab Ultra Vest
Base layer leggings - Odlo Long Evolution Pants
Top layer leggings - skins Thermal Long Tights
Base layer socks - injinji Lightweight Mini-Crew
Top layer socks - X bionic Ski Touring Silver
Shoes - New Balance Leadville 100
Balaclava
Buff - Black buff
Goggles - bolle carve
Hat - asics Winter Beanie
Base gloves - e gloves
Mid layer gloves - Montane Prism Mitts
Other necessities - Hotties Hand Warmers