Twice Into The Hoof Prints Of Genghis Khan

Picture this: there are wolves roaming; the temperature is -34 degrees Celsius; and you’re running a marathon … mostly over a frozen river in the least densely populated region on Earth. That was the challenge faced by competitors in the inaugural Genghis Khan Ice Marathon, but for one there was the small matter of another challenge and a further 100 plus kilometres in the biting cold…

- George Winter

The Genghis Khan Ice Marathon (GKIM) was first run on the 27th January 2016 in the icy wilderness of Northern Mongolia’s Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. And first home in a mightily impressive three hours and seven minutes was Dr Andrew Murray. Yet this achievement was only a prelude to an even tougher challenge. Murray a Sports & Exercise Consultant Physician at the University of Edinburgh, told Outdoor Fitness & Adventure: “Before setting off for Mongolia, and together with my friend David Scott of Sandbaggers Ltd − who organised the GKIM − we sat down and studied a map tracing the route taken by Genghis Khan in the 13th century from his base in the Khenti mountains to the present-day capital of Ulan Batar.” The two hatched another challenge and Scott specifically suggested he might like to run 100 kilometres “In the Hoofprints of Genghis Khan”.

So no sooner had Murray crossed the finishing line and toasted his GKIM victory with a recovery drink of warm fermented mare’s milk were plans being finalised for an epic journey - one that the fearsome warlord would himself have been proud of.