The Gobi is the predecessor of the desert, with gentle terrain, cracked ground and desert covered with large areas of coarse gravel, intertwined into an endless earthy yellow. Ephedra and sand jujube are dotted in the meantime, which is even more desolate. On the vast Gobi Desert, as soon as the wind blows, only the rustling sound is heard, and the silence seems to be suffocating.
Here, time seems to pass in a different way. In the distance, there was a rapid but even wheezing sound, the sound amplified and delayed, and finally dissipated between heaven and earth. Until, the runners come into view with an unmistakable attitude, their steps slightly tired but full of determination, and the constant swinging of their arms seems to symbolize some kind of determination to win. Under the refraction of the sunlight, the word "He" on their chests flashed and danced with dazzling light.
In this year's 18th Xuanzang Road Business School Gobi Challenge, the CEIBS Army achieved a six-star crown for CEIBS with its absolute leading strength, including three runners from the Global EMBA.
Our goal is to win the championship
The moment he crossed the finish line, Zhu Liangwen (Global EMBA 2017) felt like he was back in the real world, with the sound of the wind whistling by, the cheers of the crowd and the encouragement of his companions. He breathed heavily, until he confirmed that this time the championship really belonged to Central Europe.
In 3 days and 121 kilometers, he and 9 other Central European runners won the EMBA A team championship trophy.
Zhu Liangwen, Global EMBA Class of 2017 alumnus).
If he had to describe the three-day game in one word, he would think the most appropriate one would be "intense". "Our goal is very clear, to be a champion. Since the roster was confirmed in mid-August, Zhu Liangwen and his teammates have made detailed tactical arrangements, and everyone's goal is the same.
On the first day of the race, Zhu Liangwen and the other four team members were in the front team according to the plan, and tried their best to run to the strong patch point 20 kilometers away from the starting line. (Editor's note: Team members must stay at the supply station for 5 minutes to rest and replenish, that is, both entering and leaving the station must be checked in and checked in, and the time difference must be more than 5 minutes, and the personal results of the day will be added if there is insufficient time.) At first, everything went according to plan, but after the reinforcement point, Zhu Liangwen felt that the injury that had not yet healed affected his condition, and another teammate had a cramp in his foot.
Fortunately, the five members of our front team were very united, arranged resources reasonably, and also carried out preset training for various scenarios before the game", Zhu Liangwen recalled the scene at that time, "When I went uphill, the captain dragged me forward, and the other two companions helped the team member with foot cramps."
In the end, the members of the CEIBS EMBA A team defeated the champion team of Ge XVII on the first day and won the hard-won first place. (Editor's note: The sixth place in the valid results of each competition day in the team competition is the team's score on that day, and the sum of the results of the three competition days is the team's total score.) ）
Although it was only a narrow victory on the first day, the confidence it brought to the whole team was immeasurable. The second day was the most challenging day of the race, covering almost 34 kilometres, and the team planned to get all the male members of the former team to the reinforcement point together.
Everyone had expected the difficulty of the next day's game, and Zhu Liangwen told the captain during the morning warm-up that he needed the opponent's tow today. As expected, less than 10 kilometers after the departure, Zhu Liangwen felt that he was not in good shape and began to be dragged by the captain. When he was 6 kilometers away from the finish line, the competition department notified the captain through the walkie-talkie to let Zhu Liangwen go. The earlier towing and tactical arrangements allowed Zhu Liangwen to conserve his physical strength, and he was still able to keep up with the speed of the previous team, and after holding on for 1 km, the competition department saw that Zhu Liangwen could keep up with the rhythm and changed the decision to let him go. "Looking back now, I think my personal strategy for the next day was perfect. Recalling the details of winning the championship, Zhu Liangwen sighed with emotion.
In Zhu Liangwen's view, Ge 18's victory was not only due to perfect tactics and tacit teamwork, but also because everyone had a very clear and consistent goal: "Our goal is to win the championship." ”
Go to a harmonious and different practice
As clear as Zhu Liangwen's goal is, there is also Chen Ming (Global EMBA 2019) in Group A+.
Before leaving, Chen Ming cheered for himself and his partners in front of the camera: "Ge 18, champion!."Champion!Champion!Come on, brothers and sisters. When waving and hugging the runners around him in front of the starting line, cheering each other on, Chen Ming knew in his heart that he would definitely achieve his goal, "I just ran to the platform."
Chen Ming, Global EMBA Class of 2019 alumnus).
This is Chen's second time competing in the A+ category, her third time in the Gossa, and her fourth year running.
Being in an extreme natural environment and feeling the boundaries of one's own limits will make people feel awe, and they will also have a lot of new understanding of themselves. Experience the wind and sand, and return to reality with softness. You will find that all kinds of difficulties in life are nothing more than that, and with the strength drawn from the Gobi, people will have more courage and determination to move forward.
In Chen Ming's words, it is necessary to manage running A+ as a project, and ...... wind and sand, blindness, hypothermia, heat stroke, getting lost, and food shortagesFor all possible accidents, you should set up a plan before the game. At some point, running such long distances is no different from running a company. We must fully communicate with our peers, have a sense of responsibility, and have the belief and mission to persevere.
It is precisely in this way that throughout the process of preparing for and competing, Chen Ming never had the idea of giving up.
Ge 17's game encountered bad weather, two-thirds of the team members were fused, I want to complete the unfinished challenge", talking about the reason for participating in Ge 18, Chen Ming's answer was light, "I just like to do things from the beginning to the end." In addition, for Chen Ming, the end of Ge Eighteen has the friends she used to run with and the people she cares about. "A+ for me, it's a practice of harmony and difference. Chen Ming added.
This "harmony but difference" is very similar to the feeling that CEIBS brings her, and for Chen Ming, there is much to learn from the outstanding alumni of CEIBS. "Although I have graduated, this is not the end, it is more like a new beginning. ”
This "harmony but difference" is also reflected in Chen Ming's most memorable part of the night run, with 50 runners scattered across the course throughout the class. "I was running with two or three runners at a relatively close distance," Chen recalled, "but we couldn't be very close." In the moonlit Gobi night, you must not only interact with your companions, but also maintain your independence. In the dark night, Chen Ming could only faintly see a little light, and at that moment, she felt that she was having an unprecedented and extraordinary communication with nature, and the true meaning of harmony and difference.
The glimmer will shine
Touched by this glimmer, there is also Pan Dahui (Global EMBA 2017, Vice President of the 7th Council of the CEIBS Friendship Association), who participated in the four-time Gosai.
Pan Dahui, Global EMBA Class of 2017 alumnus).
But he admits that this time A+ he made an empirical mistake: the track at night was completely different from the daytime, and on the third day of the race, Pan Dahui got lost in the cemetery, and the Gobi at night made the once familiar track unfamiliar. By the time he realized he had made a mistake, he was already far away.
Runners lose all their references at night, and all they can see is the limited area in front of the headlights and the glimmer of the flag in the distance. In the flickering light, Pan Dahui felt in a trance that his current environment was so similar to real life, and the uncertainty of his entrepreneurial journey was particularly similar to the Gobi Desert in the night.
What I can see is this little glimmer", Pan Dahui's gaze looked far away, "and that glimmer is your faith."
At that moment, the Gobi and commerce were so harmoniously integrated. It is this faint light that can lead runners out of the Gobi;It is precisely with this glimmer of dreams and beliefs that people can reach the other side.
And this light is to Pan Dahui in the Gobi, just as CEIBS is to him when he encounters a bottleneck in the workplace. “Joining CEIBS Global Executive MBA is like opening a window into a more diverse worldSubsequently, Pan Dahui explained that the students around him come from different countries, different industries, different backgrounds, and are in different functional positions, "You will feel that everyone can be so different."
But", Poon adds, "you'll be surprised to find that even a group of people who look so different have a lot in common."
On the field of Ge 18, Pan Dahui became the light of others. As a participant in Group A+ who emphasizes his personal achievements, his main purpose in coming to Gobi is actually to accompany his partners in the A team of Gobi 17B. As the captain of the Ge 17 B team and the East China District Committee, Pan Dahui once promised his teammates that no matter who goes to the Ge 18 A team, he will accompany him.
With only two weeks to prepare, Pan had never challenged the 121km distance before. Even when he shared with his coach his decision to play in Group A+, the coach advised him to give up.
The results of the Central European Ge 17 are not ideal, everyone is holding back their strength, and they must win the championship in the Ge 18", Pan Dahui explained, "I ran A+ this time, and I also calculated the time, hoping to meet them at the finish line in the Gobi Qingquan". For him, it is enough to be happy enough to transmit strength by doing good service work.
In the team race, there are only ten runners standing on the podium, but behind them, there are more partners like Pan Dahui who are silently paying and dedicating, from the old friends who are willing to be green leaves to run with them to the meticulous and thoughtful post-support team, in the corners that the camera did not shoot, there is such a group of people, they shine without reservation, just to light the way forward for others.
It's never too late to start
No one is born a champion, just as the Gobi is not made in a day. Chen Ming, Pan Dahui and Zhu Liangwen all became involved in running after joining CEIBS Global EMBA.
At the beginning, Chen Ming started his CEIBS global EMBA journey on the recommendation of his boss. Fresh from completing her inaugural module in Zurich, she was struck by the unfamiliarity of the environment, the very different culture shock, and the challenging learning environment. Soon after, an old Global EMBA friend Yan Haiju (Global EMBA 2018, champion of the 15 EMBA A team) introduced Chen Ming to the sport of Gosai, and in addition to being shocked, Chen Ming was deeply attracted by this unknown adventure, she started from scratch and ran for four years.
First from left: Pan Dahui, second from left: Chen Ming).
At that time, Pan Dahui and Zhu Liangwen had just graduated from CEIBS Global EMBA. Pan Dahui, who only started his running career after graduation, candidly described himself as "restrained" and "greasy" during his school days.
Every self who is accustomed to "dictatorship" is successfully "squeezed" into the team, triggering each student's in-depth experience and thinking about the relationship between self and the team. In 2019, Pan Dahui experienced Gobi for the first time in the Gobi Action Leadership Course, and in addition to feeling the overload of his body to the limit, that experience also planted a seed in his heart.
By participating in a tournament, Pan Dahui not only has a stronger love for the organization of the Friends Association, but also feels the continuous improvement of his leadership. From the reluctance to sign up for captain when he first went to the Gobi, to the "halfway brigade commander" of Ge 15 in 2020, the "equipment officer" of Ge 16 in 2021, and then to the captain of Team B of Ge 17 in 2023 ......
Pan Dahui, Global EMBA Class of 2017 alumnus).
This is a kind of positive feedback", Pan Dahui shared his feelings along the way, "The sense of accomplishment of being recognized for my work also pushes me forward step by step".
Now, in addition to serving as the vice president of the 7th Council of the China-Europe Friendship Association, Pan Dahui has also set up a Daning Park Running Group, which serves the surrounding students as the head of the group, and encourages more CEIBS people to run through joint training and accompaniment.
Life is attached to the brave
Zhu Liangwen also started regular Gobi training almost at the same time, and his first experience of Gobi happened two years later in 2021. In the same year, Zhu Liangwen was selected for Ge 17's A team, but due to the impact of the epidemic, it took more than two years from the selection of personnel to the official competition. In March, during his last stretch, Zhu Liangwen fractured his fifth pubic bone, and doctors said it would take at least four months before he could start walking. And according to the doctor's diagnosis, he had no chance to participate in the selection of Ge XVIII at all.
However, with the support of his friends and the sharing of examples, in June, Zhu Liangwen began to try to recover his physical functions through slow exercises such as jogging, cycling and climbing stairs. By July, when doctors were scheduled to start walking, he had already started some adaptive running training. In mid-August, Zhu Liangwen's body recovered six or seven percent, and he participated in the selection of the 18th A team with the mentality of trying it out.
Zhu Liangwen, Global EMBA Class of 2017 alumnus).
After completing the competition and winning the championship, Zhu Liangwen had a deeper feeling about Gobi and management. After a short period of rapid teaming, it is better to give full play to everyone's strengths and maximize the results. Just as he wanted to get the answer when he chose Global EMBA - in the process of setting up projects and solving problems, as a manager, Zhu Liangwen must conduct a rational analysis of each member, learn from each other's strengths, and maximize and optimize the output of team members.
For Chen Ming and Pan Dahui, the positive effects of the Gobi are not only weight loss, but also healthier lifestyles and more productive work conditions.
Since the Gobi training, Pan Dahui has reduced his socializing, his work and rest have become more regular than before, and in his own words, his life is more disciplined than before.
Of course, the more important thing is the inner harvest. "In the past, when you encountered challenges and difficulties that could not be solved, you may have given up", the Gobi experience has added a touch of perseverance to Pan Dahui, "but in the Gobi, you have no choice, it is impossible to give up."
At this age, many people think that my courage is commendable", Pan Dahui used the power given to him by Gobi in entrepreneurship, "but I am not afraid".
In Chen Ming's view, even though each sport has its charm, the road of Xuanzang, which has been endowed with a unique meaning, makes Gosai still the most unique. The change brought by Gosai is actually just the beginning, leaving the vast Gobi Desert, returning to real life, with persistence or determination to change, and continue to live in the way you really like.
A few years ago, Chen Ming heard such a passageEveryone will encounter their own Gobi in their lives, and this Gobi is not necessarily in Dunhuang, and they have to find the Gobi in their own lives. However, if you want to cross the Gobi Desert in Dunhuang, then follow your heart.
Life loves the brave, and for those who are full of courage, life will give them a unique fragrance.
Tribute to the gemba runners
People often say "Gobi Spirit", but what exactly is the Gobi Spirit?Perhaps, it was those warriors who had left footprints and sweated on the Gobi Desert who used their perseverance and courage to jointly pour the Gobi spirit. Let's look back at the posture left by the Global EMBA runners in the Gobi. Among them are Lu Jiangning (Global EMBA 2007), the first president of the Association who made outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the CEIBS Friendship Association, and Wang Xiaohui (Global EMBA 2002), who was the president of the Association and one of the founders of the China-Europe Elite Running GroupLike Pan Dahui, Yu Yong (Global EMBA 2015) and Dai Lei (Global EMBA 2017), who have actively participated in the construction of the Goyou community and have done organizational service work in East China, and Yan Haiju (Global EMBA 2018), who served as the secretary general of the Goyou Association and won the championship of the EMBA A team on behalf of the collegeAlumni who have worked hard for the honor of the school: Seoul Min (Global EMBA 2010), Sun Jiangang (Global EMBA 2011), Zhang Weinan (Global EMBA 2011), Sun Hongbo (Global EMBA 2014), Zhu Liangwen (Global EMBA 2017), Zhou Hua (Global EMBA 2017), Yang Dong (Global EMBA 2018), etcand many global EMBA runners who have the courage to challenge themselves and spread the Gobi spirit in their communities.