There are encounters you never planned for.
Unscheduled. Unexpected.
But they find you anyway.
And when they do, they change everything.
We’re in the Gobi Desert, China, summer 2016.
Dion Leonard, an experienced ultramarathon runner, is competing in one of the toughest races in the world: 250 kilometers through sand, extreme heat, and isolation.
The goal? To finish. To compete. To win.
He has a plan. A schedule. A target.
But here, under the blinding sun and the wind that scrapes your skin, something shifts.
On the second day of the race, a stray dog starts following him.
Brown, upright ears, curious eyes. Legs far too short for that kind of terrain, but with more determination than most.
She doesn’t seem scared.
She looks at him. And then… she follows.
Dion notices her, tries to ignore her. But she doesn’t leave. She stays.
Image via Instagram findinggobi
“I didn’t know where she came from. But it was clear she wanted to be with me.”
He names her Gobi, after the desert they’re crossing. And Gobi follows him for 77 miles. Every stage, every climb. They cross rivers, face sandstorms. She sleeps in his tent. They share water, silence, effort.
And something changes. Dion, who was running to finish, starts running to stay with her. The race stops being a competition against others. It becomes a story of connection. Of loyalty. Of wonder.
Image via Instagram findinggobi
“It wasn’t my race that mattered anymore. It was her. It was our journey. Seeing Gobi’s resilience, determination, and need to be with me no matter what the conditions and circumstances for sure took my mind off running across the soaring heat and inhospitable conditions of the desert.
My wife has said it was the only time she had seen me finish one of these multi-stage ultramarathon races with a smile on my face. Experiencing this with Gobi was a life-changing moment for both of us. We just didn’t exactly know it at the time.”
In the end, Dion decides: he’s taking her with him to Scotland. But just before they leave, Gobi goes missing in Ürümqi, a Chinese city with three million people.
Gone. One chance in a thousand.
And yet, Dion doesn’t give up. He returns to China. Launches a crowdfunding campaign. Distributes flyers. Talks to everyone. And after days of searching… he finds her. Injured, scared, but alive.
“I couldn’t leave her. We had crossed a desert together. She was part of my life now.”
He takes her home. He treats her hip. Gives her a couch, a garden, a family.
And in doing so, something inside him heals.
Image via Instagram findinggobi
“This little dog has changed me in ways I think I’m only just beginning to understand.”
Today, Gobi lives with Dion and his family. She runs with him, plays, sleeps by the fire.
Gobi didn’t just run beside Dion. She taught him that real strength is staying, not coming in first. That the most important things aren’t won, they’re built. That loyalty can be stronger than logic. And that sometimes, the meaning of the journey isn’t the finish line, it’s who you find along the way.
Image via Instagram findinggobi
“I thought I was saving her. But really, she saved me.”
Finding Gobi Book. The true story of a little dog and an incredible journey.
