join the ride. >> reporter: it is a race like no other. the toughest most unforgiving insane horse race on earth. >> coming out of the last station. >> lauren, how do you feel right now? >> reporter: don't think, just go. they're tearing at high speed across the wild of outer mongolia. here to follow 30 extreme adventurers, attempting the fearsome mongol derby. for the first time ever, most of them are women. >> i am riding. >> reporter: we came here to find out what it is that drives them, to put themselves through this? and what it takes to make it. ♪ we meet the racers here in a remote mongolian wilderness. ♪ >> reporter: you are a brave and

hearty bunch. >> reporter: in a prerace ritual, organizer katie, raises a cocktail of fermented horse milk. >> tighten your girths and ride it look you stole it tomorrow. i am very excite ford you. >> reporter: among the competitors, three americans. >> endurance is in my blood. my father is an ultramarathoner. >> reporter: first devon horn, the 20-year-old hot shot from houston. convinced there is only one reason to beep here. are you going to win this thing? >> yes. that's the plan. >> reporter: that's the plan. but as we and devon would soon learn, it's not about winning or even surviving. okay, about surviving but about something much more. >> a test to everyone and their horses to finish happy and healthy. >> reporter: there is a lifelong equestrian. at 55 she is one of the oldest contestants and has a secret reason for attempting this race. >> reporter: you have something to fight. >> i have had something to

fight. >> reporter: do you feel comfortable sharing it with us? >> i would rather share after it is over. how is senate -- how is that? >> reporter: and there is tom, a friendly 23-year-old college grad who recently entered the work force. >> call it a quarter life crisis. a risk management analyst. >> reporter: are you out here? did you not manage that correctly? >> one thing i have learned about risk you have got to take them when you can. >> reporter: but that night, a little too much eric throws off tom's sense of risk. he tries wrestling. mongolia's other favorite pastime. tom seems to have injured his shoulder, badly. and needs a medic. 6:00 a.m. race day. devon is first up and ready to go. other riders make their final preps. >> reporter: are you ready? >> yeah. i haven't made any alliances or

promises to ride. if they can keep up they can ride with me. >> ready, ready to start. >> reporter: lynn is choosing a strategy teaming up with a young french woman sandra to ride together. >> reporter: tom is dealing with the aftermath of last night's antics. >> how bad is it? >> torn acm. ligaments in my shoulder. >> reporter: he grits his teeth and saddles up. with the final blessing by a buddhist monk. >> all right, riders! let's do it! it's show time. and the riders are off. there is no marked trail no set path. riders have a crude map, gps and their guts to guide them. over the next few days they will charge their way through 25 check points. changing horses at each one. covering at least two marathons each day on their 620-mile journey. lucky for us the "nightline" team has a different kind of

horsepower to get ahead of these extreme riders. devon. from day one devon has the lead. >> did you see any one? >> i didn't see a single person. >> reporter: first pick of the new horses, programs her gps and is off. the rest of the pack starts to arrive. including laura palmer. >> my horse already. it's not good news. can you hear that? >> she is turned off by devon's bravado. >> i am here to win. if i don't finish in seven days i'm not going home. then comes tom, walking the horse. the bum shoulder now a real problem. >> wasn't the most comfortable ride. i will get more pain pills. i will be fine. there is more bad news.

at each station a vet provide a thorough checkup on each horse. >> the first thing we check is the heart rate. need to be 64 or out of 64. >> reporter: a sign the horse may have been overworked. tom's group won't wait for him. and he doesn't want to ride alone. >> you get caught out by yourself at night. and you lose your horse, you are in the middle of nowhere with no one to help you. >> reporter: still sticking together. lynn and sandra who have become fast friends. >> this is our home. >> reporter: they stay the night in the home of a local mongolian know mad. the next morning, the dreaded sound o rain. hello. >> reporter: we find laura at horse station two all smiles and ready to go. >> might be easier to smile. >> reporter: we are starting to discover that her rosie outlook makes her a fierce competitor.

>> i am riding. we are headed straight up here into the mist. probably another storm. which i just love. i love rain. >> reporter: and some 40 miles ahead, devon is still solo. the rain seems to have shaken her confidence. >> everyone else is probably huddled up with tea in their sleeping bags and company and i am out here like and idiot riding alride riding aa -- alone across the [ bleep ] prairie. we want to catch devon. she had drama when a rivalry is developing between her and a rider hot on her trail, laura from the uk. we zoom ahead to horse station 17 amazed to find laura riding in first. just after 8:00 p.m. she has minutes of riding time left before the daily 8:30 cutoff. laura, why not spend the night here tonight? >> i'll lose time. >> reporter: there is now a competitive edge to that quirky

persona. >> uk/usa? >> absolutely. uk/texas. the rest of the usa is fine. >> reporter: with laura saddling up to leave. we see devon in the distance right now. >> reporter: devon its at tothe. >> are you mad you lost your lead? >> how far ahead of me is she? she is right here. when devon sees laura. she does her own 180. ditching her go ate len man tra. >> if i get the chan-- ditching it alone mantra. >> reporter: laura isn't tri interested in the offer or acknowledging her rival. >> i lost my maps. >> oh, no. >> i don't know how far she will get with 12 minutes. >> why would she leave with 12 minutes? >> for the lead. it could make a difference. >> reporter: i have just --

>> i have just ridden away from devon. i couldn't bear the thought of spending the night with devon making her comments. >> reporter: meanwhile tom is hanging tough. >> how is it going so far? >> much better today. hopefully it stays this way. >> reporter: riding 200 miles despite the searing pain in his shoulder. but then yet another derby fiasco. >> whoa. whoa. easy. easy. easy. my horse bucks me off and took off back for the beginning of the herd. tom find his horse. alone again he decides enough is enough. >> i was hoping we would never have this conversation. i just don't think i can make it. just defeated. it sucks. >> reporter: lessons learned? >> don't wrestle mongolians before the start of the 650-mile

horse race. >> reporter: tom becomes the sixth rider to quit the race. and it looks like lynn may be next. >> diarrhea. violent, awful. debilitating. >> reporter: lynn and sandra together the whole race now may have to split up. >> very sad. really sad. >> reporter: when we come back, with only two more days to go, we find devon and laura in a battle royale that ends with an astounding finish line shocker. >> oh, my god! [ male announcer ] when it comes to doing what you love,

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he loves me. he loves me not. he loves me. he loves me not. ♪ he loves me! that's right. [ mom ] warm and flaky in 15, everyone loves pillsbury grands! [ girl ] make dinner pop!

so i should probably get the last roll... yeah but i practiced my bassoon. [ mom ] and i listened. [ brother ] i can do this. [ imitates robot ] everyone deserves ooey, gooey, pillsbury cinnamon rolls. make the weekend pop. >> in six days into our epic adventure, hundreds of miles away from the finish line. out of 30 competitors, 24 remain and they're dropping like proverbial horse flies. now choices what makes a winner in this, best ride, most strategic alliance or competitive spirit that just will not quit? every game time decision could be their last. and here again, gloria rivera. >> fine.

>> reporter: welcome today six of the mother of all equestrian adventures, the mongol derby, devon and laura are locked in a battle over 600 miles of remote wilderness. both hoping to win the most grueling horse race on earth. one after the other, the mongol derby is taking riders down. just over half remain. including 55-year-old rider lynn. lynn beat back the flu and she found sandra again. >> well, we are not filming our good-byes. ha-ha. no way. >> reporter: what started as a tactical alliance has become a deep bond. >> sandra is making me emotional. she has been like my little angel. she is taking care of me when i was sick. >> a miracle. >> reporter: meanwhile five horse stations ahead.

it is neck and neck between devon and laura. both riding at a punishing pace. because with just two stations left today, only one will be champion. >> trying to stay ahead of laura. >> if you don't believe me. >> reporter: nerves shot they tell us to get lost. >> you guys need to leave me alone now. >> we are staying back. >> we race ahead to the finish line to await the winner of the mongol derby. >> as of the last horse station it was really neck and neck. devon a few minutes ahead of laura. right now we could see any one coming down the stretch. >> yeah. >> there is a rider. a rider! >> it looks like devon. >> reporter: it is devon we see first. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: after seven days of grueling work it seems devon got

what she came for. [ applause ] she can't wait to celebrate. >> reporter: you stormed in in this competition. and said i am here to win. it will be official. >> how is he doing? >> he is still hot. you have plenty of time. >> daddy, i just won the mongol derby. they're screaming. but then the vet has crushing news. >> a two-hour penalty. >> reporter: devon's horse isn't recovering. his heart rate too high. >> oh, my god. a devastating two hour penalty its added to her finishing time. >> can you belize not fiplease ? >> reporter: laura arrives a few minutes later.

>> whoa! >> laura. race headquarters confirms it. >> congratulations. >> laura is the winner of the mongol derby. within ear shots of her sobs. she is gracious. >> lucky, i got on some horses and managed to get away without any injuries. so i got here somehow. >> devon, i am so sorry. >> it is okay. congratulations. >> i really feel for you, that is really unlucky. and unfair. you should have won. i was miles away. i was never going to got here. just the way things wo out. i guess. okay. >> reporter: first place decided we find lynn and sandra at the last horse station ready to finish as a team. >> i did we would end up best friends or horrible enemies. i think it is going to be best

friends. >> whoa! whoa! [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: as promised they end the race the way they started it. hand in hand. if finishing this race seems to mean more to lynn than any one else, well it just might. remember that secret she didn't want to share with us at the beginning. well now she does. >> about three years ago i woke up and got up and fell over and they found i have what is called a hole in your heart. i kind of shut down for six months. afraid to do anything. and then i just decided that -- you don't have to quit living because you have something wrong with you. a lot of it. >> reporter: devon is here to congratulate lynn with perspective on her heartbreak. >> the one crappie hour at the finish line did not diminish the week of work i put in to get here. what's done is done. you have got to roll on.

you have got to be happy that you finished the mongol derby. >> reporter: for "nightline," gloria rivera in the mongolian step. >> what a ride. thanks to gloria rivera and producer alex waterfield for that. we'll be right back. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medations but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection.

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finally, day nine of the government shutdown is just begun. today proved the only common ground between party leaders is a willingness to hold blame-filled press conferences. since some republicans want to use the so-called debt ceiling as leverage, president obama warned today that if congress doesn't agree to pay the nation's bills in the next eight days interest rates could soar, social security payments could

stop, and the economy could tank. >> if you are in knowing goeneg buying somebody's house. let's talk about the price that we will pay, if you don't give me the price i will burn down your house. >> the president said if there is unconditional surrender by republicans, he will sit down and talk to us. that's not the way the government works. >> so it grind on with an estimated cost of $8 billion to the u.s. economy so far. thank you for watching abc news, please tune in to our friends at gma tomorrow. as always on line abcnews.com. have a great night. >> announcer: every day more americans choose abc news. america's number one news source.

"omg! insider" -- the top trending stories you need to know. >> the doctor said you've got type 2 diabetes. >> did tom hanks' drastic movie slimdown cause diabetes. >> star crash dieters putting themselves at risk for roles. >> weight fluctuation can cause a danger. plus snooki on her past eating disorder. >> i started being anor >> our interview before "dancing." >> i'd only have a cracker or cucumber a day. katexic.e confronts frank on claims he had an affair with carson's wife. khloe parties without lamar. whhie le's really doing with this guy. then "ncis" hunk l.l. on cyrus. >> leave miley alone. >> michael weatherly is here explaining his new music video. at she's controversial "preachers of l.a." >> the lavish lifestyles. the women. >> god created sex. now where yahooand tv broadcast meet for 24/7 access to celebrity news, "omg! insider."

tom hanks' diabetes admission. dr. oz weighs in. hello. i'm kevin frazier.! and >> and i'm thea andrews. last night, tom hanks told the world on david letterman he has type 2 diabe did gaining and losing weight for roles cost him his health. >> it's a great question. it's something that has really caught hollywood's attention. matt damon, christian bale and more recently matthew mcconaughetes.jared leto have gained or lost massive amounts of weight for a role. let's start with tom's revelation. >> i went to the doctor, and he said, you know those high blood sugar numbers you've been dealing with since you were 36? well, you've graduated. you've got type 2 diabetes, young man. >> tom's revelation surprised the studio audience, and dave uick to reassure the oscar winner. >> it's controllable and through diet mostly. >> something is going to kill us all, dave. >> tom tweeted today, yep, i waq have number 2 diabetes. type 1 is very serious. type 2 i can manage with good

habits. here's the question people are asking. were tom's award-winning on-screen transformations a a factor in his diagnosis. >> weight fluctuation can cause a danger. >> tv's dr. oz with us today in new york. >> a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes is gaining weight and losing weight. most people do it by fx they go on diets. tom hanks did it on purpose a couple times. >> i couldn't figure out why you'd throw home when we have a two-run lead.)(: >> hanks gained 30 pounds to play a baseball coach in "a league of their own." the following year he lost 26 pounds for his role in "philadelphia." in 2000, he lost 55 pounds for his dramatic transformation in "castaway." of course, tom is not the only star whose crash dieted for roles. >> there were times people were like, okay, that's enough. >> matthew mcconaughey lost 47 pounds playing an aids patient in "dallas buyers club." and jared leto as a transgendered character lost 40. >> lost an incredible amount of