Hear the Inspiring Tale and Meet the Lost Dog Who Kept Pace with an Ultramarathon Runner Across a Vast Desert

Posted By:  Tina Walker Davis
Date Posted:  7/9/2021

Dion Leonard was competing in a 155-mile ultramarathon across China’s Gobi desert when an unlikely companion decided to keep pace with him: a small stray dog. The young dog, who later earned the name Gobi, proved that what she lacked in size she more than made up for in heart and determination as she followed Leonard over mountains, across dunes and through yurt villages. But before Gobi could go home with Leonard, she went missing in a sprawling Chinese city.

Hear the tale of Gobi—how she was found, lost, and found again—when Dion Leonard and Gobi visit the Downtown Bend Library on August 21 at 3:00 p.m.

Leonard turned his experience into a bestselling book, Finding Gobi, which was also released in a young readers’ edition and is being adapted by Sony Pictures and Tencent Pictures for a 2022 film release. The book has been translated into more than 20 languages, and Gobi has since traveled the globe as she and Leonard share their story.

This in-person presentation is ideal for kids and adults. Leonard will talk about the heartwarming journey that changed both his and Gobi’s lives forever, and everyone will have a chance to meet this fated duo.