Gobi March, 2-9 June 2013
Bole, Xinjiang Province, China

(Many, many thanks to Mr. “Big Cheese” Gleason, without whose help and encouragement I would not be going down this path!)

NOTE: My participation in this event will benefit The Payden Memorial Foundation and The Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research (at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center).

Part of the 4 Deserts series (produced by Racing the Planet), the Gobi March is a 250km stage race held annually in the Gobi Desert region of China. The event takes place in 6 stages over 7 days. Typically, the first four stages are about 40km each, followed by the 80km “Long March”, and a final 10k “sprint” to the finish. Needless to say, just finishing it will be enough of an accomplishment for me!

I’ve always figured that if I’m going to do something whacky, there ought to be some good come out of it. With that idea in mind, I’ve decided to use this adventure to raise funds and awareness for the following pediatric cancer-related charities:

Payden Memorial Foundation

The Payden Memorial Foundation is a Livingston, Montana-based organization that provides financial support to families of children with cancer. I’ve spent some time talking with the people that run the foundation, as well as families who have been helped by Payden’s services, and I thoroughly believe in what they do.

Please feel free to learn more about Payden by visiting their web site at www.payden.org.

If you would like to make a donation, you may do so via the Gobi March page, or by sending a check or money order to:
The Payden Memorial Foundation
P.O. Box 166
Livingston, MT 59047

Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research (at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)

Please visit my Fred’s Team page to donate to the Aubrey Fund.