Hong Kong’s Samantha Chan overcomes fear of getting lost in Gobi Desert to finish third in 400km race branded one of world’s toughest
Intensive training with hand-held GPS pays dividends as Samantha Chan stays on track in solo nocturnal journey through the desert
Hong Kong ultra runner Samantha Chan Man-ha has finished third in the Ultra Gobi – a 400-kilometre non-stop, self-navigating race described as one of the toughest in the world.
Invited to the race as an elite athlete, Chan finished in 119 hours, 33 minutes and 51 seconds on Tuesday. She was beaten by Marta Poretti of Italy, another invited elite runner, and China’s Yu Hongyan. Poretti won in 106 hours flat, smashing the course record, sleeping less than five hours for the entire race.
Chan’s performance earned her the 15th position in the overall rankings in Ultra Gobi 2017, which is limited to just 50 people, featuring some of China’s best ultra-runners and world-class invited foreign athletes.
Chan, who admits that navigation was never her strong point, overcame her fear of getting lost by training intensively in the use of hand-held GPS.
Her newly developed navigational skills allowed her to successfully, and alone, cross sections of challenging terrain, including mountain chains and deep canyons. She encountered hyenas and jackals on her solo nocturnal journeys through the desert.