Run. Risk. Reward.: My epic trail-running adventures

An adrenaline-fueled journey through Ryan Sandes’ extreme ultra-running adventures, pushing human endurance to its limits.

As a follow-up to his hugely popular 2016 autobiography Trailblazer, Ryan Sandes’ new book explores the gripping and often life-threatening adventures this extraordinary ultra-trail runner has experienced around the globe since then. Not only have these projects tested the very edge of human endurance, but on several occasions, Ryan literally had to run for his life. Along with a 1 500-kilometre Himalayan adventure, read about his attempt at completing the first 700-kilometre solo run up Namibia’s legendary Skeleton Coast – only to stumble upon some very angry Namibian soldiers conducting controversial seal clubbing. And, with his running partner Ryno Griesel, becoming the first people to run the entire circumference of Lesotho in one go, during which they find themselves fighting off an attack from local herdsmen armed with rocks and knobkerries. In between these adventures, Ryan battles to balance a challenging career with a dedicated commitment to his young family. Run. Risk. Reward. is packed with adventure, humour and some fascinating insights into the psyche of an ultra-endurance athlete. These people are not like you and me…

Ryan Sandes burst onto the trail-running scene seemingly out of nowhere in 2008 by winning the Gobi March, a seven-stage, 250-kilometre race across the brutal Gobi Desert. Proving this was no fluke, he would go on to become the first, and only, person to win every race in the 4 Deserts Race Series before turning his attention to the world’s great single-stage 100-milers. A sensational win at the high-altitude Leadville 100 in Colorado and victories in Australia, Hong Kong, the Canaries and Patagonia, as well as setting the fastest known time for the 209-kilometre Drakensberg Grand Traverse, have confirmed his status among the very elite of ultra-trail running. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Steve Smith is a successful magazine editor and writer who penned the bestselling sports autobiographies To the Point, for bad-boy cricketer Herschelle Gibbs, and SuperVan & I, for motor-racing legend Sarel van der Merwe. Steve is also an enthusiastic mountain-biker, having completed several multiday stage races. He is the editor of CAR magazine, and was previously at the helm of Red Bull’s magazine, The Red Bulletin, and Sports Illustrated. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.