After Losing Luggage, Man Completes 100-Mile Race in Dress Shoes and Jeans – runnersworld.com

Losing your luggage is always in the back of your mind when you fly: The last thing you want is the hassle of being left with only the clothes on your back for an entire trip.

That was the case for Peter Messervy-Gross last week, who was on his way to Mongolia to complete the .

Courtesy Peter Messervy-Gross/Race Race Adventure Sports

Part of ’s Bucket List races, the Mongol 100 takes place over Lake Khovsgol, a lake that is more than 2 million years old. In the winter, it freezes over, leaving some of purest fresh water in the world as a picturesque racing stage.

The logistics and the scenery were what drew Messervy-Gross to sign up for the race with his friend Marcus Liddiard, both hailing from Jersey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom. Previously, the longest he had ever run was a marathon in Paris back in September, which had 26 wine stations with cheese, beef, and oysters. Messervy-Gross decided to give it a go.

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For five months the duo trained and bought new kits, researching the harsh conditions they’d endure during the race.

Courtesy Peter Messervy-Gross/Race Race Adventure Sports

“These were the type of kits heroes wear as they conquer unexplored lands or claim victorious new records,” Messervy-Gross told Runner’s World. “I even grew a beard to stave off the cold.”

A few days before the race, the two boarded planes for a layover in Moscow and then on to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

Everything was going fine until they reached the baggage claim after landing: Messervy-Gross’s bags never arrived. Four other travelers who were also racing, they learned, suffered the same fate.

“We were assured they would turn up, but just in case, I was advised to look for some more appropriate footwear,” Messervy-Gross said. “I had traveled in jeans and a pair of brogues.”

For everyone else doing the race, that wasn’t that big of a deal. They headed to a department store in the city, where they had their choice of shoes from many big name brands. Unfortunately for Messervy-Gross, they didn’t stock size 13s. So he was stuck with only his 4-year-old leather dress shoes.

“The unfortunate thing about the diminutive Mongolian stature is that they apparently never, ever have feet bigger than a size 11,” he said. “So no new shoes for me.”

The group headed to set up camp on the lake the first night, with two days to go before the race. With the assurance that his bags would turn up the next day, he settled in with the race crowd, a mix of runners, adventurers, and officer workers.

Good news arrived the next day, as four out of the five missing bags had arrived. The straggler belonged to Messervy-Gross, but still, he remained optimistic, though a bit nervous.

“My adventure had taken a bit of a turn,” he said. “A hundred miles in a pair of brogues and jeans wasn’t quite what I had in mind. The good news was that the kit was still on its way and would ‘probably’ turn up the following day. No worries.”

But the bag never showed. The race director advised him to rummage an outfit together from the other racers if they were willing to help. It turns out, they were very willing.

Courtesy of Peter Messervy-Gross/Race Race Adventure Sports

“People who I had just met and didn’t know from a bar of soap were offering me their clothing and equipment,” Messervy-Gross said. “The weather on the lake is extreme, and people brought their kit to deal with the discomfort of the environment. Giving it up meant they were placing themselves in a worse-off position, and they did it in a heartbeat. It was truly amazing.”

In a few hours, he was given a full set of thermals, socks, and underpants from fellow racers to add to his own lightweight gloves, lightweight Patagonia jacket, and a bright orange hat with flaps to cover his ears. He also got ice grips for his shoes.

With that, he was ready. Well, as ready as he could be given the circumstances.

The night before, it started to sink in what he was about to endure. Would his feet stay warm in leather shoes? Would the makeshift outfit withstand the freezing temperatures? He had no idea, but he was going to do all he could to finish.

After hugs from fellow racers the next morning, they were off and running. For Messervy-Gross, the latter wasn’t much of an option.

“I ran with Marcus and (another racer) for a few kilometers, but like the song says, ‘These boots were made for walking,’ not running,” he said. “We made it to stage one, and the good news was that my feet were warm and toasty.”

For the first day, Messervy-Gross ran most of the way, but it was gruesome on his feet. The race took place over four stages over four days, so on days two and three, he ended up walking the majority of it. At the end of each day, he relaxed and kicked up his feet out of their leather prisons, but the damage was getting pretty bad.

“It was not very comfortable,” he said. “My feet swelled up a bit and had some fairly significant blisters and lost toe nails. My little toes were a bit of a mess.”

By the final stage, he was hurting, and at one point, in a very tough place, though he found solace on the open ice from an unexpected source.

“I had sore feet, was struggling, and pretty much spent,” he said. “The camera boys (from Rat Race), Leo and James, pulled up next to me in their van, wound down the window, and James gave me a steely look before pressing play. Northern Mongolia, on a frozen lake, listening to N.W.A.’s ‘Straight out a Compton’ pumping from the stereo. I started running again.”

Finally, after four days of trekking, he crossed the finish line to a roar of cheers. He was more than thrilled to be done, but he was excited to turn his race into an adventure he never could have anticipated.

Leo Francis/Race Race Adventure Sports

“It turned from a race to an adventure,” Messervy-Gross said. “The format of 100 miles on ice was in no way diminished, but it seemed to become more of an enabler for the real adventure, which was about being in a wild place, the interactions with people, and the experience of it all rather than simply getting from A to B in a certain time.”

With the race done, he relaxed, and let his feet heal from the hell they had just gone through. The shoes, on other hand, were in good shape and “well worn in,” Messervy-Gross added. They were still the only shoes he had, but he kept them off as much as possible after the race until it was time to fly out a day later.

At the airport, they arrived 15-minutes before check-in. As this racer’s luck would have it, his bag finally showed up.

“I pulled out a pair of running shoes and checked the bag in,” he said.

Photo Courtesy of Peter Messervy-Gross

Gear & News Editor Drew covers a variety of subjects for Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand.