Then her friends suggested a mountain climbing race near the tents where they were staying. Chen gave it a try and at 3,000 meters above sea level she had to be supported by friends as she finished the climb. Looking back, she said it was easier than she had expected, and it was fun.
After returning to Shanghai, she decided to cycle around Taiwan, choosing the most difficult route. "That helped lay my foundation," she said. She had been booked in a five-star hotel with hot spring, and she survived the luxurious settings, but said it was "meaningless" since she was "in no mood for indulgence."
After that she started to work out and train. She ran marathons in Shanghai and Xiamen, Fujian Province, and near spectacular Erhai Lake and snowy mountains in Yunnan Province.
A trip of learning
Before going to the Sahara, she tackled the Gobi Desert in China, one of the driest in the world.
"I remembered while crossing the sands and stones, I found a little yellow flower blooming in the crevice between rocks. It was fabulous. I never thought in such a harsh environment there would be something like this," she recalled.
During her adventures, Chen said, she realized the satisfaction of helping people. She called the race in the Sahara "more like a trip of learning," in which she learned about different nationalities and cultures. Her English also improved.
Another "gold collar" who braved the Sahara is Xing Bo, vice president of Neusoft, an IT solutions and service company.
On the first day, Xing realized he wasn't in good shape and couldn't keep up with his two teammates.
"I kept calculating how long they would wait for me to catch up without getting impatient. I had to rest for the next day in case I had an accident if I ran too hard. That was really annoying," recalled Xing, who is around 40.
At night he considered his problem and was annoyed with himself for not being able to keep pace. He also realized he was being selfish and recognized that his friends also consumed energy waiting in the heat for him to catch up.
On the second day, his teammates had to wait for two or three hours. That night he told them not to wait for him.
"So the next day, when I started out, they had already gone," Xing says. "It was disappointing and winning the prize was impossible. On the other hand, all the mental torture was gone. I loved it and hated it at the same time while I was running," he laughed. He then decided to relax, go at his own speed and enjoy the scenery, singing to himself to keep his spirits up. Surprisingly, he almost caught up with his friends.
"Sometimes, you have to stop trying so hard," he said.
Xing started to run in 2007, when he was 44 pounds overweight. At that time, all he did was work, eat and drink with friends. He even described himself as "too lazy to go to the bathroom." He needed a change, started to work out and went on a diet. Eventually he ran the Shanghai Marathon and ran in the Gobi Desert, when he mobilized every cell to complete the "mission impossible" he had set for himself.
Women's champion
Li Yihua was former China general manager for World-Check. Back in school, she never passed her PE class, but later she started walking, hiking and then running when she was working and wanted to meet more people and explore the city.
Last year, she won first prize in the Sahara race in the women's 30-40 age group.
She took leave from her World-Check job in search of something challenging. In 2011 she entered the Lhasa half marathon to see if she could run 3,700 meters above sea level.
"Not only did I finish the marathon, I also wanted to learn about Lhasa and other cultures. I wanted to go to Nepal and India to see more," she said.
There was no way she could take an extended break, so she resigned. "I wanted to enjoy life," she said.
Li has encountered many physical challenges and said the most important thing is to do your best, no matter how difficult. Many challenges "are not as hard as 'virgins' imagine," she said.
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