China’s first ultra-long-distance top-tier trail running event, the highly anticipated “First Eight Hundred Li of Desert Extreme Race,” will officially kick off on September 28 to October 4, 2015, in the Mogao Desert of Guazhou, Gansu. At that time, dozens of top trail runners from around the globe will engage in a peak competition in the extremely arid desert region of northwestern China. As the country’s first professional extreme trail running race with the longest distance and highest intensity, the Eight Hundred Li of Desert Extreme Race can be described as an unprecedented gourmet feast, featuring five spectacular highlights that have captured the attention and stirred discussions among numerous extreme trail running enthusiasts.
Highlight 1: Uniquely Designed Course with Unimaginably Harsh Environment
The course of the first Eight Hundred Li of Desert Extreme Race is currently the longest among professionally organized extreme trail races in China, spanning a total of 400 kilometers. It passes through the world’s only national-level extremely arid desert ecological reserve, with 80% of the course located in uninhabited desert areas. The route encompasses a variety of complex terrains including Gobi Desert, yardang landforms, hills, saline-alkali land, sand dunes, canyons, glaciers, rivers, and alpine meadows. In addition, the climate within the course area is also extremely variable. The course is situated across three counties/cities in Gansu—Guazhou, Dunhuang, and Subei. Among them, Guazhou is known as the “World Wind Depot,” with a historical maximum wind force of up to level 12. The area has recorded a historical extreme maximum temperature of 42.8°C and an extreme minimum temperature of -29.1°C, with a diurnal temperature variation exceeding 70 degrees.Such a course design is also absolutely unique in the world. However,faced with such harsh natural conditions, all participants must also navigate entirely on their own, carry their own gear and supplies, and complete the 800-li desert crossing within the 150-hour cutoff time—the difficulty of which is truly staggering.Therefore, the Eight Hundred Li of Desert Extreme Raceis bound to be an extraordinarily grueling event, where every participant’s mental strength and endurance will be put to the ultimate test.
Highlight 2: Blending Millennia of History and Culture to Create an InternationalRare Dual-Heritage Extreme Event
This race is a profound journey infused with millennia of culture. Participants will have the opportunity to be awestruck by the majesty of glaciers up close, measure the vast and desolate Gobi with their feet, experience the purity of the Gobi river valleys and the fairy-tale-like blue skies, and encounter a wealth of historical ruins and cultural landscapes. Within the race area, there are over 60 ancient city sites and beacon towers, including two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Suoyang City and Xuanquan Posthouse) and four national-level cultural heritage protection units (Yulin Grottoes, Damuzi-Muzi Que, Kunlun Barrier, and Dong Qianfo Cave). This area was once a renowned hub of ancient culture, commerce, and military contention.
Today, with the successful application of the Silk Road as a World Heritage Site, Suoyang City and Xuanquan Posthouse within Gansu have been officially listed as World Cultural Heritages. Both are mandatory passages for the Eight Hundred Li of Desert, making the race a genuinely rare dual-heritage extreme event both domestically and internationally. As an international-level competition that combines challenge and culture, the Eight Hundred Li of Desert Extreme Race will not only promote the development of outdoor extreme events in China but also help the world gain a deeper understanding of the essence of Chinese spiritual culture.
Highlight 3: International Elite Runners Gather to Form a “Legendary” Lineup
As China’s first ultra-long-distance top-tier trail running event, the Journey to the West Eight Hundred Li of Desert Extreme Race enjoys widespread fame. Among the final confirmed list of participants are global top-tier trail running elites from Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Italy, Malaysia, the United States, France, Japan, and more: Singapore’s Chan Jingjing, Hong Kong’s Ng Siew Wah, Italy’s Nico Valsesi and Massimo, Japan’s Yoshikazu Kubo, and many others—each considered a “legendary figure” in international extreme trail running. The gathering of so many world-renowned elite runners is unprecedented in domestic similar events in recent years, which undoubtedly highlights the event’s high-end and professional nature.“A battle of the best—who will come out on top?” has become a hot topic of discussion among countless trail running enthusiasts.
Highlight 4: Event Organization Matching International Standards with High-Tech Safeguards
As the organizer of the “Eight Hundred Li of Desert Extreme Race,” the Journey to the West Events Committee provides participants with an immersive physical and mental experience to achieve breakthroughs in both personal fitness and spirit. By bringing together domestic and international trail running enthusiasts to compete on the same stage, it promotes deep international exchange. The Journey to the West Committee has been working in the Mogao Desert course area for ten years, leading over 10,000 entrepreneurs, scholars, cultural figures, and others along the Journey to the West route. Its organizational experience is considered top-tier in China. To ensure the professionalism of this event, the committee consistently adheres to international standards, using high-tech means to secure course positioning, timing, and safety, safeguarding every participant. There are also seven major rest stations and 26 checkpoints set up along the course to handle various potential emergencies.
Highlight 5: Leave Your Name in the “Peak History”—A Unique Champion Glory
The champion who breaks the race record will receive a special gift: the Journey to the West Events Committee, in collaboration with the Guazhou cultural heritage department, will designate a newly discovered Tang Dynasty beacon tower as the “Eight Hundred Li of Desert Champion Beacon,” naming it after the champion until the record is broken and passed on.
Of course, this is a journey that goes farther than distance and a life richer than challenge. This run will be for those coming from...