Meet Dion Leonard, Gobi Desert marathon man and his (tag-along) dog

Pippa Hudson speaks to Dion Leonard, an Australian-born ultramarathon runner who picked up a stray dog while running in the Gobi Desert.

Use the audio player below to listen to the conversation.

The name Dion Leonard has become synonymous with endurance, resistance and an extraordinary bond with a scruffy little dog that captured the hearts of people across the world.

Leonard, an Australian-born ultramarathon runner, found international fame for his athletic prowess, but also for the heartwarming story that unfolded during one of his races.

In 2016, he embarked on the Gobi March, a 250-kilometre race across China's Gobi Desert during which runners must face the roughest terrain and extreme temperatures.

Two days into the race he was joined by an unlikely companion, a small stray dog who would stick by Leonard's side for the rest of time.

The bond the pair formed, and the tribulations they experienced, even after the Gobi March, were documented by Leonard in the internationally best-selling book, Finding Gobi.

"She'd started the race on Day One with some American runners. It wasn't until Day Two that she'd started the race with me."

- Dion Leonard, Ultra-marathan runner/author

"It was love at first sight from Gobi's point of view, but I thought she was a bit of a pest to begin with."

- Dion Leonard, Ultra-marathan runner/author

"When I finished the race, the video of us goes all around the world... then all the big publishing companies started ringing saying we want you to write a story, this is so amazing, it's so heart warming and inspirational."

- Dion Leonard, Ultra-marathan runner/author

"I had a really difficult childhood. It was destructive, abusive, depressive... and if you've have told me then I'd go on to become this author and have these opportunties all because of this story, I'd never have believed it, and I guess that's the beauty of life."

- Dion Leonard, Ultra-marathan runner/author

"I've known she's the star of the show for a long time."

- Dion Leonard, Ultra-marathan runner/author

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Scroll up to listen to Leonard's telling of the love story between him and the tag-along little dog from China.