Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Running The Silk Road Update: Finish Line Reached!

After 150 days of running, and 10,000km (6214 miles), Kevin Lin and Bai Bin have reached the finish line of their epic run along the historical Silk Road. The two men completed their expedition in the Chinese city of Xi'an last Friday, ending their journey in one of the most well known destinations along the ancient trade route.

Kevin and Bai Bin first hit the road back on April 20th of this year, and proceeded to run across Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and into the Xinjian, Gansu, and Shannxi provinces of China. Along the way they've faced bad weather, including snowstorms, sandstorms, and extreme heat in the final days of their run. The expedition has taken its psychological and physical toll on them, sending them to the hospital in Iran and ongoing issues with shin splints and gastroenteritis.

This amazing journey was sponsored by The Home Expedition, a non-profit that is dedicated to promoting sustainable, environmentally friendly, options for people and places that don't always have the resources they need. For instance, this run was undertaken to help bring awareness for the severe shortage of clean drinking water in the countries that the Silk Road passes through.

Congratulations to Kevin, Bai Bin and the entire THE organization for reaching their goal and completing this expedition. This was an unbelievably challenging undertaking, and having finished it by averaging more than 66km (41 miles) per day of running, is very impressive. I hope you're all home safe and sound now, with your feet comfortably propped up.