Bear Down Wildcats

Michelle Tanaka, the Tucson-born, NYU-educated horsewoman looking to accomplish one of the world's strangest sports feats, isn't just surviving the Mongol Derby. She's leading.

Tanaka is listed among the Day 3 leaders at the event, which traces the mail route of Genghis Khan across the Mongolian steppe. Race organizers say the field, which includes international adventurists and outdoorsmen, will begin to separate in the next few days.

Tanaka and other riders will trek 600 miles over six days across the wooded plains and sandy dunes of the steppe. Their only companions are 25 wild horses; the competitors ride the animals for long stretches at a time.