South African extreme athletes Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel will embark on a quest to conquer Lesotho’s mountains on 7 April. Their self-planned trail run will span 1 100km, an expedition they hope to finish in 15 days. No one else has ever run this route to their knowledge.
Ryno (left) and Ryan in the Himalayas
The pair is familiar with the terrain in Lesotho after training there for the 1 406 km Great Himalaya Trail challenge, which they completed in record time (28 days) in 2018.
‘We have both spent a lot of time in the Drakensberg mountains, and have lots of good memories there,’ Ryan said. They set a new record of 41 hours and 49 minutes on the 210 km Drakensberg Grand Traverse. Ryan and Ryno are clearly two like-minded souls. ‘We aspire to live in the present and make the most of life. We are hoping to do this as fast as possible, pushing ourselves physically and mentally.’
Ryan is no stranger to the running community, or even to those who are just vaguely interested in the sport. He became the first person to win all four of the 250km ‘Desert Races’ in 2010. These include the Gobi Desert (China and Mongolia), the Sahara Desert (Morocco), the Atacama Desert (Chile) and the ‘Last Desert’ (Antarctica).
Ryan is in his element when the going gets tough
‘Circumnavigating Lesotho on foot will be an epic challenge. Post-Covid, I started focussing on exploring areas closer to me, to showcase and see more of my home country and neighbouring countries,’ he added.
‘When running, some of the biggest challenges are weather changes and the elements, so being prepared and having the right gear is really important. We also have to keep wild animals in mind. Running outdoors, we have had many encounters with wild animals like snakes, and in Lesotho, we have had herdsmen’s dogs chasing us.’
He mentioned that dehydration can easily get the better of you on arduous trails, and the likelihood of sustaining injuries also increases. ‘A lot of the trail will be off-road, and injuries are very possible when the landscape gets unpredictable. You have to be focused and in the zone.’
When asked about their training for this run, Ryan said he has been training his whole running career. ‘I have spent the last 15 years getting used to running on technical terrain and running for consecutive days. Mentally, having that belief in yourself and knowing you can do it has also been something I had to train. So for this run, I will be drawing on experience a lot. To be more specific, for the last three months we trained a lot in strength and conditioning at the gym. We also did training with heavy backpacks and poles.
Ryan and Ryno flying the South African flag in Nepal
Ryan also commented that taking time off from training is just as crucial when preparing for a run. ‘It’s really important to also have downtime to reset mentally and physically before a big run.’
His favourite place to run in the world? He admits he’s biased, but this Capetonian can’t get enough of the Mother City. ‘Being able to run up Table Mountain and be surrounded by the ocean keeps me grounded. I feel at home, and this will always be my favourite place.’
Pictures: Red Bull Content Pool
ALSO READ
Bottelary Hills Conservancy to host trail run series around Stellenbosch
Yvette Ebertsohn hiked through the wild for six months, and wants more
