Ryan Sandes

Award-winning Professional Athlete Ryan Sandes, 35, is South Africa’s Hout Bay Hero.  After participating in his first ever marathon in 2006, Sandes has gone from step to stride, gaining International acclaim as one of the world’s top trail runners, whose focus is always on the challenges of the ultra-distance. Setting new course records are a common occurance for Sandes.

In the Racing the Planet/4-deserts Challenge, Sandes was named 4 Desert Champion for being the first competitor to win all four desert races, and in addition to that, the first competitor to win every single stage in each of the desert races. In 2011 Sandes won the Leadville 100-miler in Colorado with the third fastest time in history and was the most recent non-American to do so.

Sandes is quite simply, unstoppable, and attributes his success and prime motivating factor to having had the privilege of running with Dean Karnazes, the re-knowned world leader and authority on endurance running. They both ran together in the 100km Sahara Desert Challenge in 2008, both sharing first place. The most remarkable characteristic of all is that Sandes has come from absolutely nowhere to secure his place alongside some of the worlds finest endurance athletes. His determination and drive, tenacity and agility are borne simply out of an inherent desire to succeed against all the odds. Sandes is an enormous inspiration to so many.