Product Description
Trail Blazer
Author: Ryan Sandes
Format: Paperback
My Life as an Ultra-distance Runner
What does it take to run a six-day race through the world’s harshest deserts? Or 100 miles in a single day at altitudes that would leave you breathless just walking? More than that, though: what is it like to win these races? South Africa’s ultra-trail-running superstar Ryan Sandes has done just that. Since bursting onto the international trail-running scene by winning the first multistage race he ever entered – the brutal Gobi March – Ryan has gone on to win various other multistage and single-day races around the globe.
Written with bestselling author and journalist Steve Smith, Trail Blazer – My Life as an Ultra-distance Trail Runner recounts the life story of this intrepid sportsman, from his experiences as a rudderless party animal to becoming a world-class athlete, and includes details on his training regimes, race strategies and aspirations for future sporting endeavours.
Sports enthusiasts will enjoy the adrenaline-inducing trials and tribulations of one of South Africa’s most awe-inspiring athletes, while endurance-sport participants – from beginners to aspirant pros – will benefit from his insights and advice. As Professor Tim Noakes says in the Foreword to this book: ‘However much we might think we know and understand, there are some phenomena which now, and perhaps forever, we will never fully comprehend. We call such happenings “enigmas”. Or even miracles. Ryan Sandes is one such.’
About the Author
Forty-two-year-old Ryan Sandes is a local and international trail-running sensation. Among his many accomplishments; he was the first person to win all four races in the 4 Desert Series; and in 2013 became the first person to ever win an ultra-trail race on all seven continents. In 2011; and on debut; Ryan won the Leadville 100-miler mountain race in Leadville; Colorado; setting the third-fastest time in the history of the race and the fastest time by a non-American. He is an ambassador for the prestigious Laureus Foundation; married to businesswoman Vanessa and is the father of Max.
For custom orders and quotes: shop@schoolspace.co.za
© 2026 Schoolspace. This product description is the exclusive intellectual property of the publisher, protected under copyright law. Unauthorized use, adaption, or copying is strictly prohibited.
