Riders across the Steppe discover the meaning of 'post-haste' in the time of Genghis Khan, Minty Clinch writes

On August 22 last year, 25 riders weighed in for the inaugural Mongol Derby. The challenge was to cover nearly 1,000 kilometres from the start outside the old capital, Kharkhorin, a five-hour drive west of Ulan Bator, the present capital, to the finish in the Buryat village of Dadal, reputedly the birthplace of Genghis Khan. The route starts in Steppe country, grassy plains stretching into infinity, and ends among lakes and forests near the Russian border far to the north.