A Gruelling 1, 000km horseback race across the mountains of Mongolia might not be everyone's ideal getaway, but for self-confessed adrenaline junkie Byeronie Epstein it was the experience of a lifetime. The 22-year-old South African, who won the world's toughest endurance horse race this week, the Mongol Derby, said it felt "surreal".She completed the race in a record time of seven days.Forever etched in her mind will be the untamed Mongolian landscape where she and about 40 other riders on semi-wild horses followed the route of Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan's hardy messengers of the 13th century.In 1224, the famous warrior set up the world's first long-distance postal system, which had men on horseback riding all day and stopping every 40km at basic horse stations.story_article_left1Also etched on Epstein's memory is how the hardship of the race is so perfectly balanced by the hospitality of the people."Each day begins at 5.30am," she said. "I made a personal goal to reach four horse stations per day - roughly 160km."Epstein spent some time with the other riders and would sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor of a "ger", a traditional Mongolian tent.But she also rode alone for long stretches at a time, sometimes ending up in very difficult situations."Day three was the hardest. I fell off the horse and it was very painful. On day four, I was riding alone and headed up a hill as the crow flies. But when I got to the top, I realised I was on a massive mountain with rocks everywhere."In the distance, she saw a man on a horse. "Through hand gestures I indicated to him that I was lost. He came up the mountain and carefully walked my horse down while I hobbled down the side picking my way through the rocks."Over the course of the race her knees were sore, she pulled some tendons and got major chafing on her thighs.On another day, she and Elise Poitrinal, the French teenager who came second, were riding alone and saw a wooden cabin in the distance and rode towards it. "A bunch of Mongolian kids, who obviously didn't know us at all, welcomed us in and said we could sleep over. Their mom was in town but when she returned, she was amazing to us."Epstein said her experience was mentally and physically very tough. "It is hot and you get dehydrated in the day, and then at night it is freezing."story_article_right2But the breathtaking landscapes - salt lakes reflecting the sky, sand dunes on the one side and mountains on the other, cantering down a mountain pass and seeing a patchwork of green fields from above - took her mind off the toughness. So, too, did the promise of delicious dumplings at the end of the day.Spurring her on were the three charities for which she did the race: Cool Earth; Green Wall of Africa; and Reach for a Dream.Epstein said she had been following the race for four years but did not want to enter until she was ready. She has been riding since she was four and began eventing with her pony at the age of 10.But only after an intense training schedule in Houston, Texas, with the derby's 2010 winner did she feel ready to enter.The University of Cape Town chemical engineering graduate will head off to Cambridge University shortly, where she will study a master's in engineering for sustainable development.But right now, she is just soaking up the experience of the race and spending a few days in China. "I would do it all again," she said.farbert@sundaytimes.co.za..