Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 58, May 2014 | Page 21

My Goal

The Grand Record

Ryan Sandes (left) and Ryno Griesel
on their way to a Drakensberg record.

In order for their attempt to be official, Ryan and Ryno
had to start at the Sentinel Car Park and end at the
Bushman’s Neck Border Post. As there is no set route for
the DGT, participants can choose any route as long as
they pass the eight checkpoints along the way, including
The Chain Ladders, the Mont-aux-Sources summit at
3282m and the highest point in Southern Africa at
Thabana Ntlenyana (3482m).

BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP

I

t’s broken many athletes in the past. Spanning
sections of the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho, the
mother of all ‘Berg hikes runs for about 220km across the
main range and has only seen three official records in 15
years. But with Ryno’s expert knowledge of the area (he
held the previous course record of 60 hours 29 minutes
with Cobus van Zyl) and Ryan’s ultra-running experience,
the pair were out to crush that DGT record. “We did the
homework and we saw early that our pace was on track
to get there,” says Ryno, “but with so many variables on
a bi