TRAIL
Glittering Career
Sandes shot to fame in 2008 when he won the 250km Sahara and Gobi Desert races of the 4 Deserts Series , adding the titles for the Racing the Planet Namibia and Jungle Ultra Marathon ( Brazil ) in 2009 , and in 2010 , having also won the Atacama and Antarctica races , he became the first athlete to win all four races in the 4 Deserts Series . More victories followed in the next few years , including the 2011 Leadville Trail 100 Miler in the USA , the 2012 North Face 100km in Australia , the 2014 Transgrancanaria 130km in the Canary Islands , and the 2017 Western States 100-miler in the USA .
In between racing , Sandes also tackled a number of long-distance running challenges – or projects , as he likes to call them – and set a number of Fastest Known Times ( FKTs ) on various routes . In 2012 he bettered the record for the 90km Fish River Canyon run , and in 2014 he and Ryno Griesel set the FKT for the 200km Drakensberg Grand Traverse . In 2018 , they set a new FKT for the Great Himalaya Trail , running 1504km in just over 24 days , and then in 2022 tackled a circumnavigation run around Lesotho , covering around 1100km in 16 and a half days .
In the meantime , Sandes also came up with the 13 Peaks Challenge , designing a 106km route that links all his favourite peaks on Table Mountain and the Cape Peninsula . He now challenges others to tackle the route , which can be done in one day , two days or across multiple days . A roll of honour lists all finishers , and they receive badges from Ryan upon completion of the challenge , which continues to grow in popularity .
Time for a Chat
Fresh from his win in George , we caught up with Sandes for a chat about his MUT race experience , further racing and project plans , and a number of other running topics .
MA : First up , thanks for making time for a chat , Ryan . Hope all is well with you , Vanessa and son
Max , and that life is treating you well ?
RS : Yes , all good , thanks . Max is growing up quickly , but otherwise , all good .
MA : How old is he now ? RS : He is seven , tuning eight in September . So , yeah , as I said , time flies ... and I ’ ve got a few extra grey hairs now .
MA : We recently saw each other at the Wings for Life race . Firstly , it ’ s not that common to see you running on tar , but on the other hand , I know that the Wings For Life event has a place close to your heart .
RS : Yes , I ’ ve been a Wings for Life World Run Ambassador since the start . As you know , running is very close to my heart , and it ’ s given me so many opportunities , so I think it ’ s really important to give back . The Wings for Life World Run is an incredible initiative , where we can run for those who can ’ t , while helping to support efforts to find a cure for spinal cord injuries . I can ’ t imagine a day without being able to move freely , or to run or walk . It would be amazing to actually find a cure , and from my understanding , they ’ re actually not too far away .
MA : That ’ s great news ! Of course , the Wings for Life event is sponsored by one of your big supporters , Red Bull , and it ’ s great to see so many people pulling in the same direction for such a great cause .
RS : Yes , for sure . Red Bull is very involved , as co-founder , the late Mr Dietrich Mateschitz , was very passionate about the initiative . For me , it great to be able to be part of it , not just to support the cause , but also to support Red Bull , who have supported me in so many ventures over the past 15-plus years .
MA : Let ’ s turn to the MUT now . Take me through your race experience in George , because last year you won the Miler , and I would imagine that 43 kilometres would have felt a little bit easier on the body , but at the same time , probably also a much faster race , because you were up against some pretty speedy runners like Iain Peterkin and Robbie Rorich .
RS : I have to be honest , going into the race , I thought it would go one of two ways , either very good or very bad . I ’ d done a really big block of training the week before , doing over 200 kilometres , so my legs were a bit tired , but I did have two easy days just before the race , and then everything just seemed to click . Walking to the start line , I had a good feeling about things .
I ran within myself in the first half , relatively conservatively , but it was a marathon distance , so it was obviously faster than , say , running 100 miles . Then again , in some of the European or American 100km or 100-milers , you probably start off that fast anyway . But I ran within myself , spent a lot of time with Robbie Rorich , and then I left him and I think I passed Iain with about eight kays to go . We ran together for about 500 metres , maybe a kilometre , then I just kept on running to the finish . I didn ’ t really make a big push , I just tried to keep it as consistent as possible , and I felt pretty good all the way to the finish . I was really happy with how things went .
MA : Well , you say you didn ’ t really speed up that much , but you still managed to put 20 minutes on Ian after leaving him . Sounds like making a move to me …
RS : For sure , but I think the main thing that I take out of the MUT is that I finished feeling strong , that I didn ’ t have to force it . It wasn ’ t like I crossed the finish line and fell over because I had to push that hard – and I ’ m really happy about that going into the two UTMB races I ’ ve got coming up in Europe . The UTMB 100 Miler itself is the main race , at the end of August in France , and then also the Val d ’ Aran 110km , coming up now at the beginning of July .
So , I definitely took a lot of confidence out of the MUT . At the end of last year , when I ran Ultra-trail Cape Town , I fell and cracked a bone in my shoulder , and throughout the race I just didn ’ t feel great , both of which had an impact on me this year , so it was nice to actually have a race where I just felt good , and
Ryan won the 100-mile race at MUT in 2023
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