Sandes caps off a great 2011
Sandes on his way to the Nepal 2011 win
After his epic run at Leadville, South Africa’s Ryan Sandes led from start to finish in the 2011 Nepal ‘roving race – part of the Racing the Planet series. Sandes is a familiar figure at these events, having won the complete set of 4 Deserts races over the last few years...
The course goes through the Annapurna foothills reaching up to 3,200 meters / 10,500 feet and passing through many villages where competitors will experience the true Nepali culture.
The Salomon Running SA Facebook page reports
While his spectacular success (he won by over two hours) might make it seem like it was just another week-long trot in the mountains for the man from Hout Bay, the race was not without incident for him. Sandes battled with stomach problems (which forced many racers, including two South Africans to withdraw) during the early stages. “My stomach is still not feeling great so I am battling to get down enough nutrition when running so hit a few walls along the way,” he commented after stage 3.
He also rolled his ankle on a technical descent during one of the early stages. “The last few kilometres to the finish were quite painful but I soaked it in an ice cold river,” he said. Besides the spectacular scenery and views along the route, Sandes highlighted “how passionate and supportive the locals have been during the race.”
Full event reports here, with an image gallery from the whole event here, and keep an eye on Ryan’s blog for his post event reactions.
Reactions so far
Ronel Grobler Nov 27, 06:53 AM
Congrats Ryan your achievements are becomic historic..you’re a natural athlete with no competion yet..you’re living your dream! SA is very proud of you!