Ten top Chinese Executive MBA programs were represented at the Business School Gobi Challenge – a 100km trek through the challenging terrain of the Gobi Desert, China. NUS Business School was represented by Associate Professor Quek Ser Aik, Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and alumnus Mr Phua Lee Ming (APEX-E MBA 2001), Vice-President of Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co Ltd.
The event, which took place from 22 to 26 May 2008, was first held in 2006 and the NUS Business School has participated in every edition. The contest served as a communication platform amongst EMBA students from the various business schools in the Asian region.
The first two days of the trek were scheduled as practice treks for participants. The last day was when the real race began. By then, many people had already dropped out from the previous exertions.
“I prayed quite a bit after trekking for 33km on the third day,” revealed Prof Quek, who was also the oldest competitor during the event. “I understood clearly how, when pushed beyond the extreme, people could just collapse and die while walking. It was purely cardiovascular exertion.”
Grueling as it was, both Prof Quek and Mr Phua completed the event. Looking back, Prof Quek remembered some amusing details.
“The jacket and wind-breaking trousers had not been changed for the whole trek - no showers; sorry! You were constantly grinding your blisters. If your shoes were slightly small, like mine, your toes were bound to stub against the shoe with every step. A blister would form, puncture, and form again, in rounds, while you had to continue walking.”
There were also events which both Mr Phua and Prof Quek reflected as ‘big business’ moments.
“The most interesting part was the latrines. I believe both the ladies and the gents were similarly constructed. Dig two rows of four oblong holes; not even staggered but facing one another. Nothing to hide from each other.”
“While you were thus well positioned, a piece of stained toilet tissue could fly into your face from the opposite hole - I won’t tell you whether one actually hit me. They tended to be dug far from activity areas, so they could be painful to negotiate in our thin-sole campsite footwear. I saw ladies trudging hand-in-hand to the latrines at night.”
Prof Quek also recalled the strong sense of camaraderie built up amongst the participants. He attributed it to the fact that the stresses from the past days were finally released when participants departed Dunhuang.
“Some of us were limping in our slippers up to the airplane when we left Dunhuang. A bunch cried during the closing dinner the night before, albeit probably under the influence of alcohol. I was warmly hugged so tightly and for so long during the celebration by a participant in another team, a fellow pioneer whom I walked with for quite a distance during the second day,” said Prof Quek.
Mr Phua, who walks three to four times a week as exercise, did not prepare specially for the event. He did trek 250km in Nepal three years ago and cited that as a psychological boost during the race.
He added: “I am open to participating in future editions of the race, provided my schedule permits it. And this time, I will definitely be walking slower the first two days to better condition myself to the terrain before going all out in the final two days when the race really matters.”
NUS Business School congratulates Prof Quek and Mr Phua on completing the challenge. |