June 16, 2022

14. Ryan Sandes: Trail Blazer

1 hour 38 minutes

Ryan Sandes is one of the world’s best-ever ultra-distance trail runners. His remarkable career started only in his 3rd year of university, when as a wannabe Springbok rugby player and non-runner, he entered the Knysna marathon – only because the half marathon was fully booked.

After only three weeks of training, he completed the 42.2km in a little over three hours - which marked the beginning of a rather unexpected and quite remarkable career.

His first official race as a novice trail runner, was a 250km race across the Gobi desert. Four months of training later, this totally unknown runner from Cape Town surprised the ultra-running world by crossing the finish line first.

He went on to become the first person to win all four races in the 250km Four-Desert Series, and then to become the first person to win an ultra-trail race on all seven continents.

Ryan upped the ante again, when he and a friend, Ryno Griesel, went on to set a new trail-running record by running 1 435km across the Great Himalayan Trail in Nepal, in only 25 days. Which included climbing 63.7km in elevation - the equivalent of running up and down Mount Everest 7.5 times!

He speaks candidly and without filter about his career challenges and lessons - and let’s us into his head as he describes the most extreme spiritual high moments of ‘going to the well’, and to the depths of hell when the mind and body shuts down through sheer exhaustion.

It’s a riveting conversation with someone who’s been to places that few humans ever have, or will go.

First Ultra .840

University/work life 13.45

Gobi Desert 16.40

Competition 19.20

Bonking 30.00

Winning 34.30

Going pro 36.15

Sponsors 42.10

In the Zone 44.40

"Going to the well" 47.10

...more

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By Paddy Upton

55 ratings