Dion Leonard had arrived in China last June looking for glory. The Australian-born, Scotland-based ultramarathoner had previously trekked across South…<\/b>
\nDion Leonard had arrived in China last June looking for glory.
The Australian-born, Scotland-based ultramarathoner had previously trekked across South Africa\u2019s Kalahari Desert, trudged through France\u2019s booze- and cheese-fueled Marathon du M\u00e9doc dressed like a pig, and run the brutal Sahara Desert, twice. Now, he was hoping to nab first place during a seven-day, 155-mile race through the Gobi Desert.
But then a little stray dog, soon-to-be dubbed Gobi entered his life and changed everything, sending Leonard on a journey that would extend long after he crossed the finish line.
Gobi celebrating Chinese Holiday. Dion Leonard In the new book \u201c Finding Gobi \u201d (Thomas Nelson, out Tuesday) , Leonard chronicles their bonding race across the Gobi sands and the agonizing days and months it took to bring the dog to his family\u2019s home in Edinburgh.
\u201cFor such a small dog, she\u2019s incredibly strong, \u201d the 42-year-old Leonard told The Post.
Leonard first encountered the little brown mutt at the camp where the racers were sleeping, but assumed she belonged to one of the volunteers.
He was surprised the next day when, as he was getting ready to start the second leg of the race, he looked down to see the adorable pup making eyes at him.
\u201cI was like, \u2018You\u2019 ve gotta go away or you\u2019 re going to be trampled,\u2019 \u201d he recalled.
Yet Gobi, as Leonard would later name her, was a born runner \u2014 keeping pace with him for nearly 26 miles in the punishing heat.
\u201cPeople were clapping and cheering, \u201d he said.
Pretty soon, the competitive Leonard was more concerned with the dog\u2019s well-being than with winning. He carried Gobi across bodies of water. He shared his limited food and water supply with her.
\u201cI would whistle, and she would come, \u201d he said. \u201cWe had this amazing bond.\u201d
When he finished the race in second place, Gobi was by his side.
\u201cI called my wife [Lucja] that night, and she said, \u2018I guess you\u2019 re bringing [Gobi] home with you,\u2019 \u201d he said.
But Gobi wasn\u2019 t allowed to go to Edinburgh right away. First, she had to see a veterinarian in the city she would be flying out of, which meant the Leonards had to find someone to transport her from Urumqi \u2014 where the pup had been staying with one of the race organizers \u2014 to Beijing, 1,800 miles away. Once she arrived in the United Kingdom, Gobi would then have to spend four months in quarantine in London before she could go to Scotland.
But suddenly, the organizer who had been taking care of Gobi stopped returning Leonard\u2019s calls.
\u201cI couldn\u2019 t sleep. I was so worried and stressed, \u201d he remembered. It turned out that Gobi had been missing for 10 days, possibly more. There was only one thing to do: \u201cI had to go back to China.\u201d
Countless strangers donated money online to help fund Leonard\u2019s trip to find Gobi. The Chinese media picked up the story, and soon the search party grew from five people to 50. Even with all that optimism behind him, Leonard had his doubts.
\u201cThere are so many stray dogs in China, I didn\u2019 t think we would ever find her, \u201d the runner said.
But after five days in Urumqi, one of the search party\u2019s leaders received a photograph from a stranger who thought he had possibly seen Gobi in an alley. The little dog\u2019s hair was matted, she had a new scar on her head, and her rib was injured after being hit by a car.
None of that deterred Leonard, however.
\u201cShe was the same Gobi, and I wasn\u2019 t going to leave until I could take her with me, \u201d he said.
A year after their first meeting, Gobi is now enjoying life in Edinburgh. She especially loves playing with the family\u2019s 9-year-old cat, Lala.
\u201cThey sleep together on the couch, \u201d said Leonard. \u201cThey love each other.\u201d
He\u2019s now training for another ultramarathon, but Gobi will have to settle for cheering her buddy Leonard on from the sidelines.
\u201cNo more multiday races for her, \u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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