Author: Modern Athlete

Running is a spiritual experience for me. It puts me into a meditative state while pushing my body to its limits – and trail running takes this concept to another level, where joy meets pain, and they combine to give you a feeling of bliss that no drug ever could. I’ve tried my fair share of artificial highs to be confident in stating that! – BY PJ MOSES

Maybe it is the altitude that helps, or the close proximity to nature, but the trails transport me back to an ancient past where we as a species were not just observers of nature, but active participants in its daily drama. We used to run to catch our food, to save ourselves from becoming a meal. It was natural, and it was part of our make-up as humans.

However, when we started making use of other animals as transport, we slowly lost our sense of joy at the thought of running. Now only a small percentage of humans run for fun, and even fewer brave the trails and deserts in search of that running high.

I discovered my love of running by accident, while searching for a distraction to help me combat the urges of giving up my 20-year smoking habit. The running bug bit, and I now find myself smiling at the idea of spending hours running and searching for my next adventure. Now I go out scrambling over rocks or hurtling down the side of a mountain, and escaping the matrix has become the new normal for me.

The exhilaration of summiting new mountain peaks unaided is the type of daring-do my life has been missing for too long. As I sit on a conquered peak and look out over the beauty of the world around me, I smile at the amazing blessing of this adventurous life, and I look forward to the next bold step toward an epic existence.

I hope the joy of running always makes me wake up with a smile, and lets me go to sleep with a peaceful heart at night. This is my daily prayer.

About the Author
PJ Moses is a former Cape Flats gangster who took up running when he turned his back on that dangerous lifestyle, in order to set a good example for his two young sons and make sure he would be there for them, instead of becoming just another crime statistic.

Sometimes runners take on other challenges, be it multisport, obstacle racing or adventure racing, or even hiking, so when we heard about the story of ‘Two Porras and a Greek’ – Dina Do Couto, Grace Pereira and Maria Paschalides of Bedfordview Country Club Running Club in Johannesburg – heading to Portugal in June to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrim’s route, we asked them to send us the story.

Also known as the Way of St. James, the Camino de Santiago is the name of a number of pilgrimage routes to the shrine of the Apostle St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain, where the remains of the saint are said to be buried. With all three of us having run many marathons, we thought that walking an average of 30km per day following the scallop shell signs would be “a walk in the park.” Well, there were many uphills and downhills, stairs, cobblestone and pebble footpaths, and forest walkways, and they were far from “an easy walk.” Although we had trained for two months with our backpacks filled with six to seven kilograms of books, the continuous walking each day proved to be rather challenging, and yet the most rewarding and fulfilling outdoor experience of our lifetime.

Setting Forth
We started our journey on Sunday 4 June and at the first church we stopped at, we prayed for all our Comrades back in SA running the big race that same day. Our first day, 18km from Porto to Vila do Conde, having chosen the coastal route, made the first leg picturesque and calming. We felt fresh and alive, and the scenery was food for our souls as we ensured that we had our Pilgrims Passport stamped at the churches and inns to validate that we had walked that distance.

On the second day we had 32km to cover to Esposende, but what we didn’t know was that once we got into the town, we still had to walk to our Albergue (inn) where Pilgrims (or Peregrinos, backpackers like us) get a bed and a shower, which was another 6km. Thereafter, it was another couple of kilometres to a supermarket or a restaurant to get food. So day two was close to 40km. It had also been very windy, so we felt exhausted, plus the infamous blisters made their appearance on Grace’s right foot. To top it all, it began to rain so we wore every item of clothing in our backpacks to try stay warm!

The third day from the city of Esposende to Viana do Castelo (Castle at the top of the Hill) was about 27km. This route was mainly in the forests and it was here that we came upon two priests chanting in Polish at the Pilgrims Stone Pillar. We recorded them and often listened to this chant, especially when we felt we needed some higher power to get us through a stage. The greatest satisfaction was realising that we were getting stronger each day, and not feeling the weight on our backs as much, plus our core and leg strength had visibly improved.

Making New Friends
Sleeping at the inns was challenging. We had to learn to sleep in a room filled with snoring strangers, but it was a humbling reminder that we do not need much in a materialistic sense, and heart-warming to find that a great conversation can unfold even if speaking in a common language is difficult. This is also where we met several new friends from different countries and backgrounds, and our nights were time to relax with the other Pilgrims over a glass or two of Portuguese wine.

Day four was 25km from Viana do Castelo to Caminha, through the farmlands, up and down cobbled stone terrains through the villages and eventually into the town of Caminha. By now we had four Pilgrims (two Germans, one Austrian and a young girl from Canada) walking with us. The company was great and together we sang songs and shared stories of how to treat blisters and muscle fatigue. Thankfully, Herbert the Austrian had a fully kitted medical kit that had blister plasters, needles, thread and lots of magnesium tablets. We realised that we were not as prepared as we should have been…

The fifth day was nearly 37km from Caminha to Valenca, the last stop in Portugal. The seven of us started briskly, Manfred from Germany was celebrating his birthday and we had decided we would all picnic together, having packed fresh rolls, fruit and of course wine. Meanwhile, another of our new friends, Erdal, stopped at every church and landscape to draw sketches in his journal, and we began looking forward to seeing his next drawing.

We passed through the town of Vila Nova de Cerveira, known for its huge statue of a stag, and in the afternoon we walked the tarred section along the Minho River, which separates Spain from Portugal, and which was quite therapeutic, as it was the first time that we could walk at a fast pace. As we neared the day’s finish, a proud farmer took us on a tour of her greenhouse and gave us a huge 30cm-long courgette (baby marrow), which we shared in a salad that evening. Other farmers had given us green peppers, potatoes, fresh rolls, water and even bandages and plasters along the way, and we were humbled by the generosity of the locals.

Spanish Adventure
Day six was 42km, going from Valenca over the bridge to Porrino and then to Redondela. We said farewell to Portugal early in the morning and crossed into Spain, so we now changed our morning greeting from “Bom Dia” to “Buenos Dias.” In the first town, Tui, we came across the Camino Pilgrims’ Shop and spent a lot of time and Euros there, delaying our walk by more than an hour. We then rushed the morning walk and had a tough time dealing with blisters and pain, and had not covered anywhere near the planned distance for the day, so at 28km we made the decision to get a taxi to Redondela. It was a paradox of emotions: Guilt that we were not walking, and relief that we could let our feet take a break – but we quickly got over it.

On day seven we were off to Pontevedra, covering 27km. This was a busy route through the mountains and woodlands, with many backpackers en route to Santiago, as well as school groups, cyclists and a busload of Saturday hikers who complete each stage only on weekends. Needless to say, we felt a bit like we were on a highway during peak hour traffic, but the huge difference here is that even in this congestion, there was peace and serenity as each person was in awe of the picturesque surroundings. Pontevedra was abuzz with activity as a triathlon was underway and at 7pm we were still watching the action. That night we stayed at a monastery 7km out of town, where we had our own room and bath, and felt rather spoilt!

We then decided that we would take a chance the next day and follow an alternative route – the blue arrows of the Spiritual Route – which would still get us to our planned day eight destination at Vila De Arousa. The route was along the coast, and being a Sunday we passed many beaches filled with locals. We never saw any other Pilgrims, but being so enthralled by the surroundings, we never thought anything of it. Eventually by lunchtime, when we asked for some help with directions, we realised that although the Spiritual route is a genuine route to Santiago, it is much longer, and we would need three days to get to our destination. It was the first time that we felt a bit of concern and anxiety, so we once again made use of public transport to take us closer to where we were meant to be. We finally arrived at our Albergue at 8pm, 43km later, but the views that day were unforgettable, so we decided to name that day our best mistake!

Job Nearly Done
Monday was day nine, the final 53km stretch, and we were off by 7am, as we had to catch a ferry to Padron. We began our walk in silence, but with a sense of both excitement and apprehension, knowing that we had to finish that day, since we had booked our airplane tickets back. Our emotions were paralleled by sadness, as we also realised that our adventure would soon be coming to an end. The route was long and most pilgrims we met that day were going to stop halfway to rest, but we had no choice but to keep moving, so we tried to sing every song and play every memory game to keep our spirits up.

Herbert had decided to finish with us, so the four of us continued throughout the hottest day of our trip. We passed many churches and villages, and by about 5pm, still with 32-degree heat, we had reached Santiago. We then realised that we still had 7,5km to go before we reached the Church of St James, which was in the middle of the town. We all agreed that this was the hardest stretch, and each step seemed to take forever. It was like running a marathon and spectators start saying “you’re nearly there,” but you know that you still have to work very hard to get there. But we had no crowds cheering us on, the motivation had to come from within, and the desire to get there had gripped our emotions and squeezed out any negativity.

The excitement that overcame us as we entered into the square and began to ascend the stairs to the church was indescribable. Tourists and other Pilgrims were chatting and taking photos, oblivious of us as we held each other, tears pouring down our faces, our hugs so tight to prevent us from falling over with emotion, and complete exhaustion. There is no feeling that can equate to that realisation when you finish what you set out to achieve, and to do it with best friends in the most spiritual surroundings is by far one of the best experiences of our lives!

In the early 2000s, Hendrik De Villiers was one of SA’s leading sprint and Olympic distance triathletes, but his pro career was cut short by financial constraints. Having gone into financial planning and insurance, he is now trying to give back to the athletes of our country by offering them an opportunity to generate income to fund their careers. – BY SEAN FALCONER

He may have run his first Comrades Marathon this year, clocking 9:50:49, but Hendrik’s first love will always be multisport events The multisport bug bit him early, when he started doing biathlons at the age of 10. He says he could run and swim well, so did quite well, and that naturally saw him progress into triathlons in high school, when he and friends participated in the relay event at the 5FM Energade Series. “I can still remember my first tri race as a 16-year-old at Maselspoort in Bloemfontein. We won the relay, and I still have the Energade bag that was part of our prize hamper.”

In 2001 he set an under-19 SA Record in biathlon, which still stands, and was crowned World Biathle Champion three times from 2001 to 2003, before moving up to triathlon. Although he did own a bicycle in high school, he had only used it for commuting to school and practice, so giving triathlon a full go had to wait till after school. “I only got my first racing bike after school. I used all the money I had saved my whole life, and I told myself I would not buy another bike unless I earned enough through the sport to afford it.”

“I was studying full-time at Potch at the time, for my B.Com. Accounting degree, which is a really tough course, and I had to save up as well to afford weekend racing trips around the country. Fortunately, success came almost immediately. My running and swimming were strong, and even though my cycling still had to catch up, it was easy to ‘hide’ on the bike because drafting was legal. On the other hand, I was racing the three Storm brothers, who often worked together against me, but I did well and was approached by the Nestle team to race for them.”

ELITE PERFORMER
With sponsorship support, Hendrik became a podium regular throughout SA as well as in several international races and championships, often using his devastating run speed to clinch wins. He won the 5FM Energade series four years in a row from 2003 to 2006, won five SA Triathlon Champs titles, and also five African Triathlon Champs titles. Straight after completing his studies, he raced in Germany for a Bundesliga team, and contested his first World Cup season in 2004, posting five finishes frustratingly just one position outside the prize money!

In 2006 he won the London Triathlon, which he describes as a career highlight, and then finished 10th at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. The following year he won the Richards Bay World Cup event. “I was the first South African ever to win a World Cup event, which was the top level equivalent to the World Triathlon Series of today. That was probably the most special memory of my career,” says Hendrik. In 2008 he finished fourth in the World Champs in Vancouver Canada, and that saw him selected for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, but he unfortunately had to withdraw shortly before the Games due to illness – and that proved to be the closest he would get to the Games…

CALLING IT A DAY
While he continued posting numerous top 10 World Cup finishes as well as two end-of-year Top 5 World Rankings, Hendrik’s career came to an unplanned and abrupt end in March 2012, when he was 30. “I originally intended to retire after hopefully making it to the 2012 London Olympics, but I lost my sponsor in February that year and the national federation pulled my funding in April after I suffered a tummy bug at the African Champs in Mauritius and didn’t earn any qualifying points that day to help get me into London. At that time I only had three events left where I could earn more points, and I was only ranked 57th in the world – you needed to be in the top 50 to make the Olympics. The one race was in the USA, another was in Spain, and I think the third was in Canada, so it would have been very expensive to travel to all three events.”

“I was already in debt, had two beautiful children depending on me, and my divorce had just gone through, so I decided to retire, because it was just not financially possible for me to continue. It was a very hard decision, because I think I could have managed three Olympics if things had gone right for me and I had the financial backing to go all the way. These days I just watch the sport, and when I see what the guys earn thanks to the Ironman events and lucrative sponsorships, I really think I was around just a bit too early in the sport.”

FINANCIAL PLANNING
Having hung up his racing shoes, Hendrik went into the financial planning and insurance industry, and his experience in the final years of his triathlon career has very much influenced his decision to develop the Champsure platform specially targeted at athletes. “I learnt from my own experience that there are a number of financial gaps that athletes need to fill, including having insufficient funding to start their careers and no benefits such as medical aid or provident fund while pursuing their careers, losing out on prize money due to injuries, losing a sponsorship or federation funding, and retiring after a 10-year sporting career with little or no corporate work experience.”

“So, we are helping them to generate income for their sporting careers, and for after they retire, via the insurance industry. In essence, it’s a referral contract, but we also create a profile for them on our website, to promote them. The athletes get friends, family or even fans to sign up with us as clients, in order to support the athlete thanks to a portion of all payments being allocated to the athlete that brought their business in.”

Hendrik says Champsure is primarily focused on individual Olympic sports, such as athletics, swimming or triathlon. “Apart from individuals, we also sign up schools and sport clubs, and the public can also nominate them via our website. Many individual athletes and the minor sports tend to get little or no exposure and media coverage, so no funding either, and Champsure is therefore a great model for athletes, schools or clubs to make extra income… but this is a long-term deal, and we tell guys not to expect a get-rich-quick solution. This is about creating a win-win-win scenario for the client, athlete and the company, giving back and enabling athletes to live their dreams.”

For more info, visit www.champsure.com or contact [email protected]

Each year when the school holidays start, the South African news services provide a daily update on the number of deaths on our roads. Most of these deaths are a result of tired or drunk drivers losing control of their vehicles, or speeding and reckless driving, as well as pedestrians run over by vehicles. The rest of the year, that daily counter does not feature in the news, and ‘only’ the particularly gruesome or unusual accidents make the headlines. Unfortunately, when a runner is killed by a car, it makes the news, and tragically, there have been too many such headlines of late. – BY SEAN FALCONER

In the past two months alone, three well-known runners were killed in hit-and-run incidents, once again shaking the running community to its core. On the 6th of June, 42-year-old Nezaam Isaacs of the Lion of Africa Itheko Running Club was killed in a hit-and-run in Claremont, Cape Town. He had weighed 110kg when he took up running a decade earlier to improve his health, and had inspired many with his incredible transformation into a veteran of 17 ultra-marathons. Due to the Muslim Fast of Ramadan, he had taken to training earlier than normal to allow himself time to have breakfast before sunrise. His GPS device showed that he had covered 2.2km in 14 minutes and 18 seconds when he was struck down.

Just four days later, blind runner Malose Richard Monisi (48) died in a hit-and-run accident in Johannesburg. He was walking to the shops, not out running, but his death at the hands of a driver nevertheless rocked the running world, given how famous he had become for his exploits at the Comrades Marathon and other big races, often completing races alone, using his white stick as guide, when running guides could not keep up with him. Just a week before his death, he had run a brilliant 8:38 in the 2017 Comrades, guided successfully by first time ‘pilot,’ Andrew Hall of Celtic Harriers in Cape Town. Richard was a veteran of 13 Comrades runs, and was a former recipient of the Spirit of Comrades Award for his incredible courage and attitude towards running the race.

As if that were not enough, on 4 July news broke that Midrand Striders Men’s Club Captain Leon Baker was struck by a taxi during his morning run in Johannesburg, in yet another hit-and-run incident. He was a talented runner, capable of regularly earning Comrades silver medals and posting sub-40-minute times for 10km, but was better known for the selfless way he would go out of his way to help fellow runners. He had also inspired many with the story of how he took up running in 2004 when his broker told him he would have to pay more for insurance due to being 30kg overweight.

Rising Death Toll
A quick online search for reports about runners killed on SA roads shows that these recent deaths were by no means isolated incidents. What remains one of the most shocking accidents occurred in October 2011 in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, when six runners training for the Soweto Marathon were mowed down by a drunk driver. Geo Tlale, Moroese Mokoatsi, Reneilwe Lesenyeho, Given Mills and Nomvula Dumako were all killed, while Khanyisa Stengile was seriously injured. The runners were members of the Vodacom Striders, Midrand Striders and Goldfields Athletics Clubs. The Midrand Striders still hold an annual memorial run to the site of the accident to commemorate their fallen comrades, which is also attended by Khanyisa, who only returned to running after a lengthy recovery period for both physical and emotional injuries.

In February 2013, 60-year-old Neil Robinson was literally cut in half by a speeding driver that lost control of his vehicle in Pietermaritzburg, and worse, it happened right in front of his partner, Lynn-Rae van den Berg, as they were out training for the upcoming Maritzburg Half Marathon. The driver had lost concentration and drifted into oncoming traffic, then over-corrected and ploughed into Neil on the shoulder of the road.

In another horrific accident in February 2016 in Wartburg, near to Pietermaritzburg, 27-year-old Sithabile Mkhasibe and her boyfriend Xolani Nxele were killed when they were struck by a drunk driver during a Friday evening jog. Both runners’ bodies were picked up and carried further by the car, but while Xolani’s lifeless body eventually slid off the bonnet, Sithabile’s body was pinned against the windscreen and the driver kept going, later dumping her body in a sugarcane field near Dalton. Tragically, she had recently given up a high-paying engineering job in the Eastern Cape to move closer to her family in KwaZulu-Natal. Even though the driver was identified and arrested, her body was only found four days after the accident, because he had been too drunk to remember where he left her!

Also in 2016, top Cape Town veteran Sheryl De Lange (47) of the FNB Multisport Club was killed on 9 September when hit by a car during an early morning training run in Durbanville. She was a top performer for more than 20 years, winning a number of Western Province titles in road running and cross country as well as representing the province at national championships on many occasions. She was actually due to run the South African Cross Country Champs in Middelburg the same week she was killed, having finished second in her age category at the SA 10km Champs earlier in the year.

Run Defensively!
What these tragic deaths show is that the roads in South Africa are not safe for runners, and it is imperative that athletes do their utmost to promote their own safety when out running. While nothing can guarantee your safety, there are some basic tips that may help keep you safer:
1. Always run facing oncoming traffic, so that you can see approaching vehicles.
2. Avoid running with music, or wear just one ear-piece and listen at low volume, so that you can hear approaching vehicles.
3. Wear bright colours, reflective gear or flashing lights when running in low-light conditions. In fact, wear all three!
4. Signal your intentions to change direction or cross a road, much like cyclists use hand signals to notify other road users of their intentions.
5. Try to avoid running on roads that do not have a pavement or shoulder area, which force you to run in the road.
6. When running around a blind corner or rise, assume that a car could be coming and rather be safe by taking the long way round. Better yet, avoid running on roads with these features.
7. Try to make eye contact with drivers, so you know they have seen you. If you don’t see eyes, assume the driver has not seen you.
8. When crossing a road, rather wait till you know it is safe, especially if you are coming up suddenly on cars whose drivers may not have seen you.
9. Watch for danger points, such as entrances to parking lots and entry or exit points to busy highways, where drivers often drive faster or take gaps.
10. Beware high-risk drivers who may be driving under the influence, or may be tired in the early hours of the morning or after a long work day.
11. Assume that every driver of every vehicle is a bad driver, has bad eyesight, is texting on their phone while driving, and has not seen you.
12. Lastly, be courteous on the roads – wave thank you to drivers who see you running and wait for you. That will make them more likely to be aware of other runners going forward.

My long journey to becoming a triathlete has been an awesome, life-changing experience that I can recommend to any person. You will never know until you try a triathlon! – BY MORNE HEYSTEK

My journey started in September 2013 when my family went on holiday to Port Edward with my friend Peter Clark and his family, and they asked me if I had a mountain bike to bring with. I replied that I did, but that it had been locked in my garage for three years and needed some cleaning from all the dust… meanwhile, I was thinking, “Who wants to exercise on holiday? They must be crazy.” That first 4km ride was brutal and I kept checking my pulse to make sure I was still alive, but two or three days later I went for a 10km ride and actually started enjoying this cycling thing. The bug had bitten, and when I came home I continued cycling. Rides became longer and easier as Peter introduced me to road cycling, and soon I was entering races.

TAKING THE PLUNGE
Both our kids were swimming open water events and Peter suggested that we join them. I thought, “You must be joking! Swimming? No thank you, not for me.” Then in August 2014 he did the Bela Bela 5150 on his birthday and I went along to support. I was immediately caught up in this thing called triathlon, and by the end of that day I said, “Next year this time I’m doing this.” So I entered a sprint distance event at Germiston and thought if I can cycle and run/walk, I can probably swim. Biggest mistake of my life! Fifty metres into that swim I was basically drowning, but I prayed, doggy-paddled, and kept myself going with the thought, “If I can get through this, I can cycle, and that’s what I love.” I duly walked the 5km run and finished my first triathlon.

Back to the drawing board: I had to learn how to swim and run, so it was swimming five days a week and running on the treadmill for 20 minutes three days a week. Then I entered numerous open water events and 5km and 10km running races, supported by Peter and our wives, and in August 2015 I was standing at Bela Bela, ready for my first 5150 event. I survived the swim, loved the bike and ran/walked the 10km. Nerves got the better of me that day and I battled the whole day with a tummy bug, but I finished – and I loved it.

So what next? Peter suggest the 70.3 Half Ironman distance. “No ways! I will never be able to run 21km. How do people even do that?” I answered… but after completing a number of sprint and 5150 events in 2015, I pushed up the training and entered my first 70.3 distance event in February 2016, as well as the 70.3 Ironman in Durban later in 2016. That’s when s**t got real! I did numerous 21km road races, and got a Watt Bike, and as both my running and swimming got stronger, so my biking was also getting stronger. Loads of early morning runs and bike rides as well as swimming became a daily thing, and I went on to complete both 70.3 events in 2016.

THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE
And then the question became: “How is it even possible to do a full Ironman distance 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run? No way I can do that!” But my training was on track – running had become bearable and I was hovering at a 6:30/km average, my swimming was good and my bike was strong – so in December 2016 I looked at the three big races on the 2017 calendar and entered the lot: 70.3 East London, Ironman Port Elizabeth, 70.3 Durban! I pushed my training up to 14 hours a week and eventually it was the ultimate challenge on 2 April. I finished in 14 hours 31 minutes, and the best feeling ever was running down the red carpet to cross the finish line and hearing “You are an Ironman!” I’ve got goose bumps just writing about it.

Of course, none of this would have been possible if I had to do it on my own. Firstly, I need to thank Peter for all the encouragement and pushing me beyond my boundaries, and secondly, people sometimes forget the huge role an ‘Ironman wife’ plays – there is no way I could have done all this if it was not for Jacqui putting up with me during the months of training. That said, becoming a triathlete has brought huge bonuses: I have lost 32kg and five pants sizes, and where three years ago my cholesterol level was 6.3, now it is 3.1. I feel great, and long gone are the days where I was out of breath pushing a trolley in Pick n Pay. I always tell people you either love tri or you hate it, but you will never know if you don’t tri, so get off that couch!

At the end of June, ultra trail runner Ryan Sandes added yet another prestigious win to his already impressive record when he won the Western States 100 Miler in California in the USA, but he had to overcome extreme racing conditions before he could finally claim the win he has been chasing since 2012. – BY SEAN FALCONER

Been there, won it… that’s pretty much how one can sum up 34-year-old Ryan Sandes’ ultra-distance trail running career. He burst onto the world stage in 2008 as he won both the Sahara and Gobi March events, two of the four races that make up the 4 Deserts Challenge. The following year he finished second in RacingThePlanet Namibia, then won the Jungle Ultra Marathon in Brazil, and then in 2010 he added the Atacama Desert and Antarctica events to not only join a very small group to have ever done all four of the big desert races, but become the only runner to have won all four of these gruelling 250km, six- to seven-day events.

More titles followed in the next few years. In 2011 he won the Leadville 100 Miler in the USA, in 2012 the North Face 100 Miler in Australia, and in 2014 he won the North Face TransGranCanaria on the Canary Islands, a race that forms part of the prestigious Ultra Trail World Series Tour, which he now competes on each year. But there was one win he still wanted, in a race that he had come to obsess about, the Western States 100 Miler in the USA. “It’s just an iconic event, the original 100-mile trail race, and has a lot of history,” explains Ryan. “The legends of the sport have run it and won it, including Scott Jurek, Kilian Jornet and others. But for me, what makes the race so cool is the community that gets behind the race. Well over 2000 volunteers work on a race that only takes around 350 entries each year!”

“I finished second there in my debut in 2012, with a super fast time that also broke the course record, but then in 2013 I injured my ankle six weeks before the race and couldn’t run. In 2014 I was fifth, but after too much racing that year I was overcooked. In 2015 I got sick the Thursday night before the race and woke up dizzy and nauseous. I still tried to register, but almost collapsed, so I stumbled back to the hotel and missed the race. Then in 2016 I didn’t go, so I wanted to go back in 2017 and finally put it to bed.”

BRUTAL RACING CONDITIONS
Well, that’s exactly what he did. Overcoming brutal running conditions, he maintained a steady pace throughout to eventually take the lead in the second half of the race, and went on to claim the win in 16 hours 19 minutes 39 seconds, but he admits it was one of the toughest years ever for this race. “After a really huge winter, there was loads of snow still on the mountains, and they even had a ‘plan B’ to avoid the snow, but they announced two days before the race that we would use the original route. The first 30km were all snow, which took up to 20% more energy than normal to get through and made it slow-going to start off, so we were already on the back foot by the time we got to the lower altitude – and then we were whacked by one of the hottest years ever. At times we hit hot pockets of air for about 2km that made you feel almost like you couldn’t breathe. A lot of the race came down to managing the heat and keeping cool.”

Pre-race, the American Jim Walmsley talked about going after the course record, saying he thought he could become the first runner to break 14 hours, and in spite of the snow, he went for it, but Ryan bided his time. “Jim went out really hard and gave it a full go, but speaking to him afterwards, it was cool that he didn’t make any excuses – he said he burnt all his matches and set himself alight. I was lying second most of the race, and at the back of my mind I thought Jim might come unstuck, so I tried to stay within reach. At Forest Hill, around 100km in, I think the gap was around 45 minutes, but I got feedback that he wasn’t looking good.”

“I passed him around the 120km mark, just before the Rucky-Chucky River crossing. He was walking and looked pretty broken, and I knew I had it if I just kept going. When I crossed that line, I was just elated. This win brought me huge satisfaction, because it had become my biggest ‘Bucket List’ event. I won’t lie, I don’t think I have ever been so shattered at a race finish, but at the same time so elated, because I had waited a long time for that win. It was a dream come true.”

FINALLY FEELING RIGHT AGAIN
What made the win still sweeter for Ryan was that he finally felt like he had gotten over two years of struggling with illness and loss of form, which he attributes to his exploits in 2014. “That was a really big year for me. I won the TransGranCanaria, the first race in the Ultra World Trail Tour, which encouraged me to over-race to maximise the points. I eventually finished second overall in the Tour and probably did way too much racing that year, having also done the Drakensberg Traverse record run. It caught up with me when I contracted glandular fever at the beginning of 2015, and that whole year was a write-off. I still did some races, but was always on the back foot.”

“Looking back now, that was my toughest year, not knowing if I could get over it, and at the end of 2015 I took two months off. Then I decided to go back to my core reason for running, to enjoy it. Some days I would head out, and if I was not enjoying the run after 10 minutes, I would just turn around and head home again. Luckily I worked through that, and in 2016 I had consistent results, but nothing big – fourth place at Grand Raid Reunion, third at Tarawera Ultra in New Zealand, fourth at Ultra Trail Australia. All were part of the World Ultra Trail Tour, and I ended up fourth overall in the Tour, so I was fairly happy with my season, but still disappointed, because I knew I could do better. This year, I haven’t raced as much, because I wanted to focus on Western States. It’s risky to focus on one race – if something goes wrong, all your eggs are in one basket – but I realised that you need to focus for races like this.”

BACK TO THE BUCKET LIST
Looking ahead, the big question now for Ryan is what to focus on next. “I have other races coming up on the World Tour, but Western States was that one race I really dreamed of winning; the other is Ultra Trail Mont Blanc in France. So part of me wants to go back to Western States next year to defend my title, but another part says I’ve ticked that off, so rather go to UTMB. In 2015 I dropped out at UTMB because of the effects of the glandular fever – my legs were nowhere after just 40km – and I went back in 2016 but had stomach issues and dropped out again. So I haven’t decided yet… still plenty of time.”