Ryan Sandes facts for kids

Ryan "Hedgie" Nicholas Sandes (born March 10, 1982, in Cape Town) is a famous South African trail runner. He is known for running really long distances over tough natural paths. In 2010, he made history by becoming the first person to win all four of the super-hard 4 Deserts races.

About Ryan Sandes

Ryan Sandes went to the South African College Schools (S.A.C.S.) when he was younger. There, he enjoyed playing many sports like cricket, rugby, and water polo. Later, he studied at the University of Cape Town, where he earned a degree in Construction and then an advanced degree in Quantity Surveying (which is about managing costs in building projects). When he's not running, Ryan loves to ride his mountain bike, paddle, and surf.

Ryan's Running Adventures

Ryan started making a name for himself in the running world in 2008. That year, he won two big races: the Sahara Race and the Gobi March. In 2009, he came in second place in a race in Namibia. He also won the Jungle Ultra Marathon in Brazil, setting a new record for that course. In 2010, he set another record time for the 4Peaks Mountain Challenge.

Also in 2010, Ryan achieved something amazing! He became the first person ever to win all four of the 4 Deserts races. Each of these races is super challenging, lasting 6 or 7 days and covering about 250 kilometers (155 miles). Runners have to carry their own food and gear. These tough races take place in some of the world's most extreme places:

• The Atacama Desert in Chile
• The Gobi Desert in China
• The Sahara Desert in Egypt
• And finally, in Antarctica!

Mary Gadams, who started the RacingThePlanet events, said that Ryan is "clearly one of the top endurance athletes in the world." At that time, only 81 people had ever finished all four of these races, and Ryan was the first to win them all. In 2010, Time magazine even called the 4 Deserts Challenge one of the ten most demanding endurance races on Earth.

Ryan continued his winning streak. In 2011, he won the Leadville Trail 100 race in a fantastic time of 16 hours, 46 minutes, and 54 seconds. This was more than half an hour faster than the second-place runner! In 2012, he won the North Face 100 race in Australia. Later that year, he also broke a record for the 90-kilometer Fish River Canyon hiking trail, finishing it in just 6 hours and 57 minutes.

In 2014, Ryan won the Transgrancanaria race, which is part of the Ultra-Trail World Series Tour. Then, in 2017, he won the famous Western States Endurance Run in 16 hours, 19 minutes, and 37 seconds.

Running with a Partner

Ryan has also achieved amazing things by running with a partner. In 2014, he and Ryno Griesel set a fastest known time (FKT) for the Drakensberg Grand Traverse (DGT). This is a very long and unmarked route across the Drakensberg mountains between South Africa and Lesotho. They covered 200 kilometers (124 miles) and climbed 9,000 meters (about 29,500 feet) of elevation!

In 2018, Ryan and Ryno set another FKT, this time for the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT). They ran an incredible 1,504 kilometers (935 miles) in just 24 days, 4 hours, and 24 minutes.

See also

• Cape Town Trail Marathon