In 2006, during his final year of college, Sandes planned to take a weekend getaway with friends and run a half marathon. But, as so often happens, fate intervened. He noticed that half marathon entries were full and he impulsively signed up for the full marathon simply because he didn't want to miss out on that weekend. Despite his friends' doubts about his endurance, he not only completed the race, but found deep enjoyment in the challenge.
After all, it's the experience, not the numbers, that stays in the memory
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When did Ryan Sandes start running?
This spontaneous marathon was just the first step in a journey that would redefine Sandes' life. Living on the backside of his mountain, he became increasingly drawn to trails. It wasn't long before his adventurous spirit led him to seek more than just a job at the company he joined after graduating from college. In search of adventure, he simply searched for “extreme trail racing” on Google, which led him to the Racing the 4 Deserts series. This decision instantly catapulted him into ultra-running history.
Inspired by Dean Karnazes' exploits in the same series, Sandes entered the grueling field of ultra trail running starting with the 2008 Gobi Desert Race. Fifteen years later, Sandes now boasts a world-leading record, having run more than twice his distance around the globe. The most impressive resume in ultrarunning history. Judge for yourself.
02
Ryan Sandes' record-setting accomplishments
First person to win an ultra on each of the seven continents
Ryan Sandes is the first person to win an ultramarathon on each of the seven continents. His string of victories began in 2008 with wins in the Gobi March and the Sahara Race. His 250 km stage race over six days took him through the extreme conditions of China's Gobi Desert and Egypt's Sahara Desert. This momentum continued into his 2009, when he won the Jungle Ultra Marathon in the Brazilian Amazon. The race was his five stage, 230km race that tested competitors in dense rainforest and humid conditions. In 2010, Sandes completed his eight-day Gore-Tex Transalpine run across the mountain ranges of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. In the same year, he won the 250km Last Desert Challenge in the harsh ice fields of Antarctica. His accomplishments followed his win at Colorado's Leadville Trail 100 in 2011 and concluded with Australia's The North Face 100 in 2012, completing his Seven Continents run. “After he won the race on five continents, he decided this would be a cool mini-goal,” Sandes said modestly.
First competitor to win all four of the four desert ultramarathon series
In 2010, Ryan Sandes achieved another notable milestone by becoming the first ultrarunner to win all four desert races. Each of these races is his 250km self-propelled foot race over six to seven days, with competitors passing through some of the harshest deserts on earth. At the time Sandes completed the challenge, it included the Atacama in Chile, the Gobi in China, the Sahara in Egypt, and Antarctica. At that point, his 81 was the only racer to have completed all four races, and only 11 of them had finished within the same calendar year. Time magazine recognized this race as one of his ten toughest endurance races in the world.
Fastest known time on the iconic Great Himalayan Trail and the Drakensberg Grand Traverse
Ryan Sandes, along with his running partner Rhino Griesel, set amazing records on some of the world's most difficult mountain trails. In 2014, they set the fastest known time (FKT) on the Drakensberg Grand Traverse (DGT), marking their first significant record together. This 209km unmarked, self-navigated route traverses the main Drakensberg escarpment between South Africa and Lesotho and includes 9,000 meters of demanding elevation changes. In a video introducing his Drakensberg world record attempt, Ryan Sandes reflects on the unique demands of the route, saying: This challenge takes your mental aspect to a whole new level. ”
Their most groundbreaking achievement was in 2018 when Sandes and Griesel set a new FKT on one of the ultimate tests in ultra running: the Great Himalayan Trail (GHT). They completed the 1,504km route winding through the world's highest mountain ranges in 24 days, 4 hours and 24 minutes, breaking the previous record by three days. Reflecting on this epic journey, Sandes said, “This was, without a doubt, the wildest and craziest journey I've ever been on.”
If you are a good runner you can run fast, but that doesn't really matter in the Drakensberg
Western States Endurance Run Winner
Among Sandes' prestigious victories, his win at the 2017 Western States Endurance Run stands out as a highlight. The Western States Endurance Run is one of the oldest and most challenging 100-mile (161 km) trail races in the world, winding through California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Sandes completed the race in 16 hours, 19 minutes and 37 seconds. This victory at Western States cemented his reputation as one of the world's top ultra-distance runners. “All of my training is carefully planned to mimic Western State,” he explains in a full documentary dedicated to Ryan's performance.
8 minutes
100 miles west
Will Ryan Sandes' extreme training help him win the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in record time?
Leadville Trail 100 Winner
Another important milestone in Ryan Sandes' career was winning the 2011 Leadville Trail 100. The Leadville Trail 100, located in the heart of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, is one of the toughest ultramarathons in the United States. Sandes completed this difficult 100 mile race in 16 hours, 46 minutes and 54 seconds.
An experience that goes beyond victory
Sandes' ultrarunning career has been marked not only by victories, but also by some truly unique and frightening experiences. Throughout his adventures, Sandes ran as high as 5,550 meters above sea level and faced extreme temperatures ranging from his scorching 52 degrees Celsius to a bone-chilling -18 degrees Celsius. He got lost 44 times during the race. His journey brought him face-to-face with the wild side of nature, including an encounter with six bears and two hallucinations due to exhaustion. Looking back on his own journey, Sandes muses, “At the end of the day, it's the experiences that are remembered, not the numbers.''