Xiwuqi, Inner Mongolia

 Pictured is the first kilometer mark at the Ghengis Khan Grassland Extreme Marathon – extreme being the operative word here. It was 9 a.m. and the sun was already high in the sky, temperatures blazing. The runners had just passed this point when I shot the image. A long day for those running the full 42 km. Photographed in Xiwuqi, Inner Mongolia, July 4.