It was the first night of a tiring seven-day 250km race across the Gobi Desert a year ago. Mr. Leonard spotted a little dog going around his camp trying to1herself.
"Cute, but I'm not giving you any, "Leonard thought. Like all2, he had packed just enough for the whole course. He'd been running competitively for three years, and he had a3 to win.
The next day, at the starting line, the dog4 him again. He waved her away,5 she might be stepped on by the runners. However, the dog followed him all the way until the day's race6. That night the dog snuggled up to Leonard and even7 to get a little food from him. By then, he was determined to name her Gobi.
The pair went on to finish the seven-day race, with Gobi8 a distance of 125km on her own, and winning Leonard over, enough for him to make a9-he would take her home to Edinburgh. "Seeing Gobi on the race changed my attitude to things. It made me think more about stopping and helping her, 10just focusing on winning, "said Leonard, who finished second. "It also made my running more11, giving me a lot of pleasure. "
As Leonard was preparing to get Gobi home, she was12. With a group of 20 local volunteers coming to his13, he finally found her. After that, Leonard never let Gobi out of his14. Now Gobi's favorite activity is still running, and she15does at least 8km with Leonard up the hills.
