Ultra-runner and Suunto Ambassador Ryan Sandes was recently named as one of five Runner’s World South Africa Heroes of Running.
The 28-year-old from Cape Town was nominated by readers of the magazine for his numerous ultra-running achievements including winning every stage of the 250km Atacama Crossing race in Chile in March, 2010.
In 2008 he won long distance stage races in the Gobi and Sahara Deserts. In 2009 he won the Jungle Marathon and was runner-up in Racing the Planet’s Namibia event.
The Heroes of Running are chosen from nominations by readers to the Runner’s World magazine for having “inspired, encouraged and wowed us.”
“On current form, there’s no doubt that Ryan Sandes is the world’s best long distance trail runner,” says Runner’s World. “He has won so many races around the world that listing them all would be an endurance feat in itself.”
“Training for 18-25 hours (a week) is very demanding on your body and you need a lot of sleep to recover,” says Sandes, who races and trains with a Suunto t6c Red Arrow. “I believe what you put into something is what you get out; therefore, all the hard training definitely does pay off during a race.”
Sandes’ next challenges will be the Transalpine run in September, an eight-day stage race in Germany, Austria and Italy. In November, he travels to Antarctica to compete in the Final Desert event.
Image by RacingThePlanet Ltd