Tamati off to beat the Gobi Desert

Lisa Tamati has her next great adventure – a 250km race through the western Chinese desert.

The ultra-marathon runner has secured enough sponsorship to enter the Gobi March, which starts on June 27.

The march is part of the 4 Deserts Race, organised by RacingThePlanet, which takes competitors to the world's four largest deserts in Chile, the Sahara, Antarctica, and the Gobi.

Tamati said she would film a documentary about her experience.

The race will take her through the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far western China, about 150km southeast of the provincial capital, Urumqi.

This includes the second lowest exposed point on the Earth's surface, after the Dead Sea – the shores of the Aydingkol (Moonlight) Lake, 155m below sea level.

"It goes through the ancient Silk Road. You're totally self sufficient, carry your own gear," Tamati said. "It's going to be a hot and rough course."

She said until the race was introduced, the province was not open to non-Chinese residents, so she had wanted to do it for years.

The number of competitors for the Gobi March was capped at about 180.

As there were considerable costs involved, Tamati said ETL Group, through managing director Deepak Ahluwalia becoming gold sponsor, along with Tasman Toyota, had allowed her to enter.

She has also learned her autobiography, Running Hot, will be released in the United States and Canada in May. "It's fantastic news. It's rare for a New Zealand book to get picked up.

"Totally excited about it, America being the home of ultra-marathon running over there, so hoping to do well."

- © Fairfax NZ News