Trail Blazer: 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 "e;enigmas"e;. Or even miracles. Ryan Sandes is one such.'