I continued to grit my teeth against the growing pain
in my knees that had greatly intensified on day six. I
raised my stirrups; no good. I dropped them; that didn't
work either. I stood the trot and sat it. I tried counting
to 10 to occupy my mind. When 10 became too much, I
went to five. Then three.
I had already taken four Advil that morning, and a va-
riety of painkiller cocktails thrown at me hadn't helped
a shade. I began to panic about the prospect of seri-
ously injuring myself, and wrestled with the notion of
slowing down. But I didn't want to lose position, or my
friends, who would ride on without me.
To say that I loved every minute of the Mongol Derby
would be a lie, and betray just how grueling it really is
