Ultradistance runner Lisa Tamati says she's glad to be back home in one piece after completing the Gobi March across some of the lowest and hottest parts of the planet.
The Taranaki woman took second place in the female section and 20th overall in the seven-day, 250-kilometre endurance race.
One of the other runners, a 31-year-old American man, died of dehydration and heat exhaustion during the race, and that gave all the other competitors pause for thought, Tamati told Waatea News.
It "scared the hell out of all of us", she says, especially as the toughest section of the race was coming up at that point.
"But there was never any doubt in my mind that I could make it," she says.
Tamati hopes her achievement will inspire other Maori to get out of their comfort zones and try to do the best they can in their chosen fields.
