TRAIL RUNNING
Sometimes more rugged transport was needed for the seconding crew
The intrepid pair also ran at night as they chased a new FKT
Earth to read the lay of the land and the contours and then build a route from there .”
With this rough ‘ handrail ’ in place , they could then start route recces in February 2021 . “ We recorded all the sections of the recces and all of that got stitched together , either in Google Earth or GPS software . I then did a non-stop 60-hour sit-down in front of the computer to plot the route point-by-point ,” says Ryno , adding that some parts were already familiar . “ Some of these sections I ’ ve been scouting for 20 years as part of various adventures in Lesotho , and also some of these sections Ryan and I ran before as part of the 2014 Grand Traverse , although we would now be doing it in reverse .”
However , other areas were completely new to both of them , and they simply could not recce the entire route over the past 13 months . In fact , they scouted only about 40 % of the route ! “ In spite of putting more time and effort into the recces than ever before , we ’ d actually never felt so unprepared in terms of a route ,” says Ryno , “ There were just too many variables , and we had to make peace with the fact that many decisions on our kit , navigation , sleep and pace would have to be made on the go . But we also knew that is part of the adventure , and we backed our friendship ,
our respective skillsets and our experience to build this puzzle as we went along .”
When the Going Gets Tough
Ryan and Ryno started their run on 10 April at the Telle Bridge Border Post , near the south-western corner of Lesotho , and headed in an anti-clockwise direction along the Lesotho-SA border . This would mean getting the high mountain section in the Drakensberg out the way earlier in the run , in the first 600km , with much of the stretch from 350km to 600km being run around 3000m above sea level . In theory , this would make the second half of the run at least a little easier , with the rest of the route being run at less than 2000m altitude , but first the guys had to get through the Drakensberg .
Those early days of the run saw the guys passing through all the main border posts on the SA-Lesotho border , including the ones in the high mountains at Ongeluksnek , Qachas Nek and Ramatselisos Nek , as well as Sani Pass . They also summited some of Lesotho ’ s most breath-taking peaks , including Mafadi , the highest mountain in South Africa at 3446.1m . Unfortunately , there was little opportunity for enjoying the stunning scenery , as things proved tough and slow-going in the mountains , with the weather gods seemingly determined to slow the FKT attempt down , but Ryan says they just took it all in their stride .
“ We ran through a bit of snow and some sleet , and did lots of river crossings , and there were some really cold nights out there , where we didn ’ t think we would make it through . We were hoping for conditions to improve , but it stayed very chilly up in the mountains . On day seven , we made it to Sani Pass , and I think both of us were just stoked to get things back on track and make it to this milestone point still looking forward to the adventure ahead ! When you ’ re circumnavigating terrain like this , you go through a number of highs and lows – both physically and mentally – so staying in a positive headspace is essential , because the mind has the power to control the body . That ’ s why I see this as a form of meditation and escapism . I also joke to myself that I got into this situation , so I need to get myself out of it in the end ,” he adds with a smile .
Manageable Daily Targets
More importantly than the FKT time , Ryan says he wanted them to enjoy the journey , and not just the destination . To do that , they needed to approach
Clambering through a route recce while planning the challenge
47