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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 24th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2021> An Ultramarathon Runner with A Special Friend — Dion Leonard
An Ultramarathon Runner with A Special Friend — Dion Leonard
Running with a dog across desert, friendship forged across the world

“Bringing Gobi home is the hardest thing I have done in my life; being found by her, is the best thing in my life,” — Dion Leonard
 
Running through the desert
 
        Dion Leonard is an Australian/British endurance athlete and ultramarathon runner. He now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has been a dedicated running athlete since 2013.
        In 2016, when he was participating in a 250 kilometers ultramarathon across the Gobi Desert in China, Dion crossed paths with a stray dog, who later earn the name Gobi. The pair ran over the Tian Shan Mountains and across massive sand dunes, showcasing incredible determination and great friendship.
        However, before Dion could take her home, Gobi went missing. The elite athlete made it his duty to find her and bring her home. He established a Bring Gobi Home facebook page, and enlisted the help of strangers to track her down and reunite with the dog that changed his life.
        Their story has been translated into 16 langauges, and been adopted into a movie. When Dion reflects his marathon career, he said he suffered many hardships ranging from kidney failure to heart palpitations that pushed his body and mind to the limit. It was the encounter with Gobi that shined new hope into his life. “Gobi is the celebrity, I am just the caretaker,” Dion humbly said.
 
Meeting Gobi
 
        Desert is an unforgiving place to run a marathon. The elements and their effects on the body can be extremely challenging. Athletes with heatstroke can suffer dehydration, spasms, dizziness, and fast heartbeat. In severe cases, the condition can lead to unconsciousness and heart diseases, which is even more dangerous in a desert.
        Dion knows how tough the run can be. But the 2016 ultramarathon across China’s Gobi Desert is his debut run after an eight-month recovery period. If he could go through the ordeal, he would have a chance at another ultramarathon in Chili, and later challenge the brutal ultramarathon at Sahara Desert in Africa.
        When Dion first met Gobi the dog, she was about 30 centimeters tall, brown fur, big eyes, and with a funny mustache. The dog would walk under the chairs of the competitors, and beg for food in a cute way.
        But Gobi seemed to enjoy Dion’s company the most. She stayed by his side at the starting line, and despite Dion calling for the dog’s master, Gobi simply didn’t want to leave. Dion tried shooing her away so that she won’t get hurt. But even after the race began, Gobi kept close behind.
        When the duo encountered a ditch, Dion jumped over it effortlessly, but Gobi couldn’t follow. Dion suspected that the dog must be the pet of the locals. Although Gobi called for Dion, he didn’t look back. He had a rule of focusing only the run.
        Later, Dion was surprised to find Gobi following him again. Other people also began noticing the pair when they got to camp.
 
Running together
 
        On the third day, Dion reached a river with a width about 150 inches. The stream was fast, and the water could reach his knees. The rocks were slippy, so Dion must focus when crossing the river.
        When he was about a quarter across the river, he suddenly heard a cry of desperation. Dion broke his rule and looked back, where he saw Gobi was being carried away by the stream.
        He brought the dog under his arm and crossed the river together. It was difficult to keep a balance, and the duo got wet easily. However, Gobi didn’t show any signs of anxiety, she was calm and collected the whole time.
        The next day, due to unfavorable weather, Dion asked the organizer to bring Gobi to the next camp via vehicle in advance, but he couldn’t stop thinking about his friend. At the last mile of the run for the day, Dion saw the finish line, yet his body was already at the limit.
        Four runners eventually passed him, there was nothing he could do. At the last turn, Dion saw a small body standing on a rock at the finish line, looking around the field. It was Gobi, and when she laid eyes on Dion, she rushed to his side to cheer him up. Dion smiled, and finally admit that he really missed Gobi.
        Dion also realized that Gobi is a real trooper that can endure hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and running with her is a great encouragement and a great company.
 
        Bringing Gobi home
 
        The five day marathon was coming to an end. Other runners asked Dion what would he do with Gobi after the race. Dion didn’t know what to say at the time, but he believed Gobi chose him among hundreds of runners and staffs. This must had meant something.
        It was at that moment that Dion made his mind: he would bring Gobi home. Since day one the puppy had been along his side, and helped him overcome many obstacles along the way. There was no way that Dion would abandon a good companion, a good friend, like Gobi.
        But adopting Gobi wasn’t a simple task. When Dion returned to Edinburgh, his wife warned him about the fees and complicated documents required to get Gobi to UK. First, Gobi must undergo a blood test, receive a certificate from a vet and an approval from a Chinese official.
        Gobi also would need to stay in a quarantine zone for four months before entering UK soil. All these tasks piled up to over 6,500 dollars, so Dion and his wife launched a fund-raiser website to get the money and bring Gobi home.
        The website quickly drew media attention, and within 24 hours, the goal of raising 6,200 dollars was reached. The Daily Mirror, BBC, CNN and other mainstream media flocked to interview Dion.
        The money was the easy part. It was difficult to find a doctor or an official to cosign Gobi’s release, and Dion also lost contact to the woman who was supposed to take care of Gobi.
        Dion’s worst fear eventually took shape. Gobi had gone missing. Dion was devastated, but he did not give up. He wanted to find Gobi despite his next race was in six weeks and he needed to focus on training.
        Dion said if he couldn’t find Gobi, he would never forgive himself. So after a 30 hour flight, Dion was back in Urumqi. Once landed, Dion rushed to find Gobi with his interpreter and friends.
        It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The team had posted thousands of posters on sidewalks. Eventually the search group grew by 20 volunteers when the local media picked wind of the story.
        Days went by, and after misidentifying over 30 dogs, Dion finally found Gobi from an apartment building. Gobi launched himself like a brown bolt of lightning out of the door and into Dion’s arms.
        Gobi’s appearance had changed, but Dion instantly recognized his friend. After a frenzy of joy by everyone in the search team, they were finally united and caught a flight to Beijing in the following days.
 
        Overcoming obstacles
 
        Gobi has been found, but the trouble for his papers still remained. They arrived in Beijing after a three hour flight, but Dion’s friend told him that Gobi had to stay in an adoption center in China for 30 days before he could travel to UK and be quarantine there for another 90 days.
        Dion had no choice, so he returned to UK alone again. But shortly after arriving home, Dion couldn’t stop worrying about Gobi. So a day later, he decided to fly back to Beijing again to keep Gobi company.
        Dion didn’t want Gobi to stay for another 90 days alone in UK quarantine, so he decided to spend the entire 120 days with Gobi in China. Days went by quickly, and the duo could finally return home.
        When retelling the story, Dion often say Gobi has changed him in some way, and breathed meaning into his life. He has since then made it his personal mission to help other stray dogs and let them live a peaceful and gentle life.