When ultramarathoner Dion Leonard chose to run through the Gobi Desert for seven days straight for 155 miles, he did not anticipate finding a furry friend to run with him. His now-adopted dog, Gobi, is the subject of a picture book, a young adult story and adult novel.
Finding Gobi
“I met [a] little dog running a race across the desert in China, and the meeting, bond and connection that we formed throughout this seven-day race across the desert would go on to change our lives forever,” Leonard said.
The author was not always an ultra runner. Between his 20s and 30s, he describes himself as “250 pounds, pack a day smoker [and] a heavy drinker.” When he made a bet with his friend who could race the fastest, it pushed him to change his lifestyle.
“[I] ended up running the race. I ended up beating my friend Dan, and that sort of got me started into sort of thinking,” Leonard said. “Well, one, I’d lost a lot of weight, so I felt good about that, of course. But also, I’d crossed the finish line of this race, and I felt good about that because it felt like I’d achieved something. Yeah, it was just a silly race, but it was the first time in a long time I’d felt good about myself achieving something.”
Spreading the heartwarming story
From 2013 to 2016, Leonard went on to run longer races, eventually being sponsored to run the 155 miles in China.
“I’ve got this steely eye determination, wanting to win, nothing else matters,” Leonard said. “I’ve always been fired up by that childhood past and that those tough times that I’ve been through. So when I get to a race, I could really lock on and put myself through a lot more pain than maybe some of the other runners who would actually be faster than me. But over the seven-day race, it’s not just about fastness; it’s about whether you can sort of stay out there mentally as well.”
After the race in 2016, he did a Daily Mirror interview that ended up touching the hearts of people across the world. Multiple major media outlets and celebrities reached out to Leonard about his story. Leonard is now the author of six books in total, and is coming to the AADL’s Downtown Branch on Aug. 7 to tell his and Gobi’s story.
“I never ever in a million years thought I’d ever get an opportunity to write a book in my life,” Leonard said. “And here it was, just this story connected with so many people because it is heartwarming and is inspiring.”
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Although Leonard and Gobi initially connected in the desert, he was not initially able to take Gobi out of China right after the race. During the period when he had flown home, she went missing. He spent weeks alongside countless others to find her.
“Gobi gets all the attention; if she could talk and she could write a book, there’d be no need for us,” Leonard said. “But luckily, she does keep me in a job, sharing the story, which I love doing; I love sharing and seeing people. You can have people crying in the crowd to of course, laughter and joy and happiness. With the way [the story] goes, it’s a real roller coaster ride of emotions, and you know you’ve had this little dog sitting in the chair on stage that people are looking at, just amazed by.”
Now, Leonard travels the world, not just for races but to showcase Gobi. He calls her “legendary” and says that she loves to greet and lick everyone she meets. Gobi will be at the reading in Ann Arbor, but not available for the meet-and-greet portion. Their story is now being adapted into a screenplay, with production on a movie already started.
“I think the story just in this day and age, with so much negative news, it’s just such a heartwarming, inspiring story,” Leonard said. “You could be a dog lover, you could be a runner, you could be someone that’s just like I was, like not happy with life, just wanting maybe a shift in direction, and maybe the book gives you that […] but at the end of the day, it’s a man and dog love story”
See Dion Leonard and Gobi for free at the Downtown Library on Aug. 7 at 6pm. Learn more here.
