Mongol Rally - Sherry Ott

“It scares the shit out of me!”

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We talked to Sherry 2 days before the start of the race at a pub in London. She was nervous, excited, and a little bit dazed that this was about to happen. Check out the video to see what we mean, and then watch the followup video below to find out what she thought about her 5-week adventure.

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What did Sherry learn?

• She realized how good she is at mediation and that she has more patience than most people (how’s that for a life skill?).
• She learned to drive a car from the right side and shift with her left hand (the car was from the UK)
• She learned that you can plan a lot, but you have to realize that the real-life scenario is always going to throw a curveball
• She learned that you can always find someone to help you along the way, even when you don’t speak the language. People are inherently good.

What did her team do right?

• They did more thorough planning than most of the teams, and they were among the few to finish. It pays to plan.
• They negotiated great sponsorships ahead of time for high-cost items like fuel and the actual car for the race
• They started planning early

What would she do differently next time?

• She would try to find a team in the same location. Hers spread 2 countries and 3 cities, so in-person planning never happened.
• Plan better for visas, which was doubly different because of two different citizenships among her team
• She would have taken less stuff and even considered a smaller team - most small cars only had 2-3 people and hers had 4

What does she recommend for someone thinking of doing the Mongol Rally next year?

• Registration is open now, but if you don’t make it don’t worry. Many people sign up early and drop out, or people sign up and build a team later, so you can find a spot by doing some really basic research online if you don’t make the original registration.
• Get the fundraising done as soon as possible. You raise a specific amount for the Mongolian charity, but you can donate excess to a charity of your choice. That can be a huge motivator in fundraising if you can tie in a personal story or local charity.
• Be inventive with fundraising: throw events, parties, auction, and sign up sponsors related to cars and racing.
• Try to put together a team from the same area to make planning and fundraising easier.
• Get on any sponsorship requests early, and focus on local sponsors instead of national ones (they are easier to get and work with)

You can read more on Sherry’s adventure through a series of blog posts, videos, and photos at Ott’s World.

Stay tuned for our next issue, where we…well, we can’t give it all away, can we?

We’ll leave with a final glamorous picture from Sherry’s adventure. Remember, trying something new doesn’t always work out like you expect, but that’s usually when you learn the most. Until next time, we hope you continue to Try Something New every day.