The Southern Lodestar Foundation, an organisation providing nutritional solutions at schools requiring intervention; and provides thousands of school children with a nutritionally balanced breakfast every day; has recently appointed ultra-marathon trail runner, Ryan Sandes, as an Executive Director.

“I am really excited to join the Southern Lodestar Foundation,” says Ryan Sandes. “André Redinger and his team have been doing some amazing work at setting up nutritional solutions in schools and early childhood development centres in impoverished areas. I have been given so many opportunities in life that I feel it is really important to give back and create positive change!”

The Southern Lodestar Foundation was born out of a need to improve the lives of impoverished children across Sub-Saharan Africa. Through education and nutrition, the Foundation aims to create meaningful change, foster hope and deliver sustainable transformation to enhance the long-term health and development of individuals and nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“I have such gratitude and feel honoured that Ryan has joined our board,” says Southern Lodestar Foundation Founder, André Redinger. “Ryan has shown great care to our foundation from the outset when introduced to SLF a few years ago - on what we do and in the integrity of our service to our children. He loves South Africa and as a fellow South African will assist the foundation and its communities in having an impact on current and future generations; both from a nutritional perspective as well as from personal development of individuals throughout our continent.”

“Our passion is to feed, nurture and grow communities through knowledge and nutrition as we believe that no-one can reach their full potential on an empty stomach,” explains Redinger. “And who understands the importance of nutrition more than an ultra-athlete?”

As an ultra-distance runner, Sandes, knows the true value of good nutrition. “In my game you cannot get far without good nutrition. I have had a number of nutritional bonks during races and I know how debilitating that feels, so I can only imagine what these children go through on a daily basis not having access to food!”

Founded by three ultra-distance runners, the Southern Lodestar Foundation also aims to use running as a tool to inspire change at grass roots level. “By identifying individuals with a passion for running, who are determined to succeed and committed to challenging themselves, we plan to develop a team of dedicated athletes to take on ultra-marathons, run the journey with us, and inspire the champion in each other,” explains Redinger. “In-turn, the aim is for them to inspire others who look up to them as role-models and have aspirations to run and to carry the message of hope to the children supported by the Foundation, bringing much needed awareness to Vitamin and Mineral deficiencies amongst our communities.”

“Through projects that focus on nutrition, nutritional education and inspiring children to be healthy and active, we hope the see the children of Southern Africa nourished, educated and inspired to change our country, and beautiful continent for the better,” says Sandes.

For more information on the Southern Lodestar Foundation please visit
Website - https://lodestar.org.za/
Facebook - @SouthernLodestarFoundation

Ryan Sandes will again be returning to the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc Festival later this month, but this time will be tackling the 145km TDS route as preparation for his 160km UTMB race in 2020. Over the years the event has become Sandes nemesis and he is hoping the TDS route will allow him to master the European Trail running conditions before coming back next year.

“I am really excited to be running TDS this year, I believe this will give me the experience I need on the European trails,” says Sandes. “I am feeling strong and positive about the race, and hope to get the best result possible and have a great day out in the mountain. I haven’t had the best races at UTMB in the past, so I am looking forward to getting out there and getting on the front foot!”

Top names joining Ryan at the 2019 start line include French runner Ludovic Pommeret, a previous UTMB winner; Spaniard, Tofol Castaner Bernat, previous CCC winner and 2nd place at UTMB and Russian, Dmitry Mityaev, who took 3rd place at TDS in 2018.

TDS, an acronym for Traces des Ducs de Savoie (the footprints of the Dukes of Savoie), follows his journey from Courmayeur to Charmonix, will take place on Wednesday, 28 August. The 2019 edition of the race has been lengthened by 23km to 145km with an astounding 9100m of elevation gain and will now take runners through the exquisite Beaufortain region. The new addition allows for easy adjustments in the case of extreme weather conditions with several options that will take runners as close to the original route as possible and not only increases the distance by 23km but also adds 1800m of elevation gain.

For more information on the race please visit www.ultratrailmb.com for live coverage on race day, and follow Ryan live on his Facebook Page @Ryan.Nicholas.Sandes, Twitter and Instagram account @RyanSandes.

On Saturday 29 June, ultra-marathon trail runner, Ryan Sandes, will be returning to the start line of the world’s oldest trail race – the Western States 100 Miler. “I am super excited to be heading back to Western States again this year to race,” says Sandes. “Having run this race a few times, I feel my preparations have gone really well. With my win in 2017, the pressure is off to prove anything so I am looking forward to getting out onto the start line and enjoying the unique experience that is Western States.”

This year’s start line see’s some of the world’s best trail runners lining up, including 2018 defending champion Jim Walmsley who set a new course record of 14hrs30min04sec, Matt Daniels, Ian Sharman and David Laney to mention a few.

The 369 strong competitor list also includes 72 year old race founder, Gordy Ainsleigh, who has completed the race a whopping 23 times. Starting in Squaw Valley, California near the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics and ending 100.2 miles (160km) away in Auburn, California, Western States, in the decades since its inception in 1974, has come to represent one of the ultimate endurance tests in the world. Following the historic Western States Trail, runners climb more than 5500m and descend nearly 7000m before reaching the finish line in Auburn.

Over the 160km, runners experience the majestic high country beauty of Emigrant Pass and the Granite Chief Wilderness, the crucible of the canyons of the California gold country, a memorable crossing of the ice-cold waters of the main stem of the Middle Fork of the American River, and, during the latter stages, the historic reddish-brown-coloured trails that led gold-seeking prospectors and homesteading pilgrims alike to the welcoming arms of Auburn. The race will start at 5am local time on Saturday 29 June 2019 – 2pm local South African time.

To find out more about the race please visit https://www.wser.org/

To follow Ryan live on race day please follow his social media pages: Facebook - @Ryan.Nicholas.Sandes Twitter - @RyanSandes Instagram - @RyanSandes www.ryansandes.com

In March this year South African ultra-runners, Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel, braved sub-zero temperatures, frost bite, exhaustion and starvation to set a new Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) FKT in a time of 24days 3hours 24min covering a staggering distance of 1504k. Joining Ryan and Ryno on their journey was a SPOT Gen 3 satellite tracking device, which proved an integral tool in not only their safety but also the filming of their documentary – Lessons from the Edge – by film maker Dean Leslie from Wandering Fever.

“Logistically, this was one of the most complex shoots I have ever done. Having the SPOT tracking and being able to physically see the dot moving was integral to this trip. In fact I would be inclined to say that it would have been almost impossible to have documented their journey without SPOT!” says Dean Leslie from Wandering Fever. “When we had no comms for days on end it was our only source of “communication” with Ryan and Ryno. We were able to see from the live tracking exactly where they were and if they were safe or not, along with that we were also able to plan our weeks and gauge what sort of distances they were covering each day.”

The film sees Sandes and Griesel traverse heavily snow-covered mountains and experience incredibly extreme weather conditions unusual for this time of the year along the way. They suffered frost-bitten fingers, serious tummy bugs, breathing difficulties and a couple of near death experiences. A constant on the route, however, was the incredibly welcoming spirit of the Nepalese people who truly embody the spirit of Namaste, and welcomed the both of them into their homes.

“There was no way we could have attempted a challenge like this without SPOT and its tracking,” explains Ryno Griesel. “SPOT allowed us share our journey in real time with the rest of the world, logistically plan our routes and allowed us the confidence to push boundaries, knowing that help was always on hand!”

Lessons from the Edge makes it world premiere on Red Bull TV on Tuesday 04 December 2018.

Website - Africa.FindMeSpot.com
Facebook - @SPOTinAfrica
Instagram - @spotafrica

Lessons from the Edge, a film documenting Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel’s epic adventures traversing the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) earlier this year, will be premiering at the Ultra Trail Cape Town opening night on Thursday 29 November 2018. The film, shot by Dean Leslie and Jared Paisley from The Wandering Fever Productions for Red Bull Media House, captures the intricate stories within Ryan and Ryno’s successful 25 day 1500km Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Great Himalaya Trail

“Looking back on our GHT attempt, it is definitely one of the craziest projects I have attempted, and it was really awesome to have my close friend, Dean Lesley with Jared Paisley, along to document the journey,” says Ryan. “I’m really looking forward to the movie coming out, Dean has spent many months editing and crafting this story, so I am really excited to share it with everyone!”

"Our Lessons from the Edge” project was one wild raw adventure,” exclaims Ryno Griesel. “It turned out a bit crazier and way more dangerous than expected and I am extremely grateful that I could share it with Ryan. It was definitely a life changing journey through massive mountain range and we got to meet amazing Nepali people along the way, but there were some dark times that we had to deal with ... we are excited to share this journey of our highs and lows with everyone!"

The film sees Sandes and Griesel traverse heavily snow-covered mountains and experience incredibly extreme weather conditions unusual for that time of year along the way. They suffered frost-bitten fingers, serious tummy bugs, breathing difficulties and a few of near death experiences. A constant on the route, however, was the incredibly welcoming spirit of the Nepalese people who truly embody the spirit of Namaste, and welcomed the both of them into their homes.

“Logistically, this was one of the most complex shoots I have ever done. The simplicity of Ryan and Ryno moving through the Himalayan Mountains on foot was seemingly countered by the chaos behind the scenes,” explains Dean Leslie from The African Attachment. “Going into the project, I hadn’t fully grasped the enormity of the challenge that Ryan and Ryno were undertaking. We faced daily challenges and obstacles as we tried to keep up with Ryan and Ryno and as the attempt progressed the filmmaking slipped into the background as concerns grew around their safety and well-being.”

Lessons from the Edge will premiere on Thursday 29 November at the opening of Ultra Trail Cape Town at Garden’s Rugby Club at 7:30pm and is open to all. It will be launched globally on Red Bull TV and Red Bull’s YouTube Channel on Tuesday 04 December 2018.

For more information please follow Ryan’s social media pages.

Ultra-distance trail runner, Ryan Sandes, maiden Downhill Event at Meerendal Wine Estate on Wednesday evening was a resounding success with over 200 runners taking on the challenge. Llewellyn Groeneveld took top honours amongst the men, setting a blazing winning time of 10min18sec and Hayley Preen took the ladies crown in a time of 12min37sec for the 3.4km route.

“We had a great turn out last night and the feedback has been phenomenal,” says Ryan. “I was super stoked with the event. The main aim was to have fun, and everyone that ran yesterday had a massive smile on their face and said what a cool and unique event this was.”

“I wanted to do something that showcased the fun side of trail running, which downhill running does so perfectly,” explains Ryan. “The route wasn’t super technical, so it was a great place for beginners to feel safe and have a bit of fun, whilst at the same time letting the faster runners really open up and get some good speed going. Big thanks to Seth Phitides and Red Bull for giving the event wings, and Salomon and Oakley for supporting the event. And last but not least a big thank you to Meerendal Wine Estate and Carlucci’s Meerendal for hosting us – we look forward to having many more of these events in the future.”

For more information and to see pictures from the event please visit Ryan Sandes Facebook Page - @Ryan.Sandes.Ultra.Marathon.Runner, Twitter and Instagram account @RyanSandes 

A series of unfortunate injuries to leading trail runners this year means that new champions will be crowned at the 22nd running of the 2018 K-Way SkyRun taking place in Lady Grey on Saturday 17 November. K-Way athlete and defending champion Lucky Miya, who will not be able to fight for his crown in the 100km race, due to injuries during the year, will be welcoming in the 2018 champion before heading out on the inaugural 38km night run at this year’s event. “We are sad not to have our defending champs back to try reclaim their crowns, but it means that we have an exciting race on our hands for who will take the title this year,” says race organiser Mike de Haast from Pure Adventures.

Leading contenders in the men’s race this year include K-Way athlete AJ Calitz, who has yet to add a SkyRun win to his list of achievements, along with Stewart Chaperon, who was crowned South African Ultra Trail Running Champion after his recent win at the Addo Elephant Trail. Also in the mix are SkyRun stalwarts, Hylton Dunn and Mr. SkyRun himself, Bruce Arnett, who has taken the title 13 times. The bug has bitten Nepalese mountain runner, Sange Sherpa, who will be back for his second year to race SkyRun after coming 2nd to Lucky Miya in 2017.

There is a joke amongst mountain and trail runners that SkyRun has been bewitched by a foreigner curse, in the last 21 years of running this race, despite some of the very top names coming out to do it, it has never been won by a male foreigner, with overall first place always going to a local South African runner. Can Sange break the curse this year? And will this be the year that the elite men are able to break the Sub12 time barrier? Ryan Sandes was the first to run a sub14 in 2012, and this time has since only been achieved by a select few number of athletes, with none having yet gone under the 12 hour mark!

In the ladies field, SPOT athlete Naomi Brand, who has been making a solid name for herself on the trail running scene is a firm favourite for first place, with SkyRun regulars Su Don-Wauchope and Tracy Zunkel hot on her heals. In 2016 former SkyRun champion and K-Way athlete, Nicolette Griffioen, set a record sub 16 hour time of 15hrs16min. “No woman in the history of the race has been able to break the sub 14 hour time achieved by male competitors,” says Mike, “but we know how strong these ladies are and we know that endurance and toughness are where they excel, so we are hoping for great things this year!” Unfortunately Nicolette has been amongst the list of injured athletes this year and will be running the 100km route with her mom as part of her fitness rehabilitation. K-Way athlete Cleo Albertus, will be looking for first place on the 38km route after her recent win at the 3 Peaks Challenge.

K-Way SkyRun will be taking place on the 17th of November 2018 in the small town of Lady Grey In the Eastern Cape. The race encompasses 3 distances – 100km, 65km and a new 38km route. All 3 races are unique in that they are truly self-supported and self-navigational races, where athletes tackle the remote terrain of the Witteberg Mountain range with a map, compass or GPS unit and a backpack containing all their food, water and compulsory equipment that will enable them to survive in this harsh environment, while operating at an average height of between 2200-2500 meters above sea level.

Live tracking for the race will be offered through Sportraxs and all social media channels will be kept updated throughout the race to let supporters know how their competitors are doing.

Website – skyrun.co.za
Facebook – SkyRun
#Hellofarun
#SkyRun
#AuthenticallyAfrican
#gearupgetout
ENDS

King of the trails, Ryan Sandes, has turned the tables and instead of taking you up a mountain, has announced that he will be hosting a first of hopefully many to come, Downhill Run Events. The inaugural event will be taking place at Meerendal Wine Estate on Wednesday 14 November and is open to all levels of fitness and abilities.

“I am super excited about this event and having the chance to have some fun on the trails with the local Cape Town runners,” says Ryan Sandes. “Downhill running is gaining huge momentum in Europe, and I honestly believe that with all of our incredible mountains we can have just as much fun as they are having.”
Ryan will release the 3.4km downhill Strava segment which descends less than 300m, via social media the day before the event.

In order to take part, runners need to register a Strava profile on www.strava.com, and then take the plunge at Meerendal between 5:30pm and 7:30pm on the evening of the 14th to set their fastest time. “The route we have chosen is currently only open to mountain bikers, but will be closed off for the event,” explains Ryan. “We are so thankful to Meerendal and their mountain biking community for allowing us to use their trails for this event.”

The downhill route will finish at Carlucci’s in Meerendal where runners can celebrate with their family and friends, rehashing their war stories. Megan Mackenzie and some of the Salomon Running Ambassadors will also be at the event and are happy to chat about techniques and trail running advice!
Entry is free and all are welcome to join in the festivities. For more information on the event please follow Ryan Sandes on social media

SPOT southern Africa will be sponsoring the tracking of the Elite Runners at the 2018 Otter African Trail Run. The elite field, including Christiaan Greyling, Marc Lauenstein, Kane Reilly and Meghan Mackenzie, will carry a small, lightweight, SPOT Gen3® satellite tracking and safety device to allow followers to track the race through the rough and out-of-cellular-range route. All runners will have the opportunity to hire a device through OtterShop : http://otter.run/product-category/tracking/ prior to the race so loved ones at home may follow their progress as well as have emergency response at the tip of their fingers should the need arise.

This year the Otter African Trail run marks the Grand Final for the 2018 Golden Series and takes place from 17 - 20 October 2018 starting in Nature’s Valley and finishing at Storm’s River Mouth. With 42 kilometres distance and 2600 meters of elevation gain, this race forces even the strongest of runners to walk and with a TrailFactor of 2.0, the Otter can take twice as long as the equivalent distance on road. Rugged, rough, off-the-grid and being beyond cellular range makes this the perfect environment to use SPOT’s satellite-based technology. As the race status was previously limited to checkpoints, SPOT devices will now enable followers to track the race at 5 minute intervals, increasing supporter experience and providing insight about the location of participants for emergency response should it be needed.

Belen Sanchez, Event Director for The Otter African Trail Run commented, “SPOT is the benchmark when it comes to race management due to its satellite based tracking in remote areas. It is a cutting edge tool for organisers to monitor the exact progress of their participants as well as track the whereabouts of their resources in terms of logistics, media and safety personal and vehicles. SPOT exponentially increases the speed and effectiveness of emergency response while significantly reducing the amount of personal required to provide a responsible level of safety and emergency support for a remote event. Being reliant on satellite coverage, not cellular, means it is nearly 100% reliable and opens up a broad range of remote areas that can be effectively managed from an event perspective. SPOT also enables the public to follow a remote event through regular coverage. This dramatically increases the level of interest that can be generated bringing sports that previously were hard to follow or understand to global audiences. This exponentially increases the value of the event property.”
SPOT is no stranger to the trail running vertical; recently having tracked Ryan Sandes and SPOT Ambassador Ryno Griesel’s adventure to traverse and beat the Fastest Known Time for The Great Himalaya Trail. Other trail ambassadors and regular contenders in the Otter African Trail Run include Rory Scheffer, Naomi Brand and Marzelle van de Merwe. Rory Scheffer, a top 10 finisher in the 2016 and 2017 races, commented. “Having SPOT on board as the tracking partner for the event is amazing! Now our supporters get to follow us along the whole route and follow the race closely. Due to the remoteness of the race and lack of access, supporters never got a chance to see the race unfold. Now they get to be a part of the action."

“We are proud to provide support to the Otter African Trail Run this year especially as it forms the Grand Final for the Golden Series. The beautiful remote and rugged terrain of the Otter Trail is the perfect playing ground for our devices which use satellite technology, which is not reliant on cellular coverage, to transmit tracking and emergency messaging to followers. Supporter’s viewing experience and runner’s safety will increase considerably,” commented Deborah Fourie, Marketing Manager of Globalstar Satellite Africa.

About Globalstar, Inc.
Globalstar is a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services. Customers around the world in industries such as government, emergency management, marine, logging, oil & gas and outdoor recreation rely on Globalstar to conduct business smarter and faster, maintain peace of mind and access emergency personnel. Globalstar data solutions are ideal for various asset and personal tracking, data monitoring, SCADA and IoT applications. The Company's products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, the innovative Sat-Fi satellite hotspot, Simplex and Duplex satellite data modems, tracking devices and flexible service packages.

Note that all SPOT products described in this press release are the products of SPOT LLC, which is not affiliated in any manner with Spot Image of Toulouse, France or Spot Image Corporation of Chantilly, Virginia.

After setting a fastest known time in the Himalayas earlier this year, Ryan Sandes will be lining up for what many are calling the World Championships of Trail Running at this year’s Ultra Trail Mont Blanc on Friday 31 August in Chamonix. 2018 sees the “who’s-who” of trail running taking part with names like Jim Walmsley, Kilian Jornet, Luis Hernando and Tim Tollefson to mention a few all looking to take the title of King of the Mountain.

“UTMB is a race that has never gone well for me and I think in the past I have put too much pressure on myself. It was really refreshing to pre run the UTMB route over a few days with a group of friends earlier this year,” says Ryan. “It was a pretty unplanned disaster style lap of the Mont Blanc. On the first night we ended up sleeping in a cow shed to take shelter from a storm as all the accommodation was fully booked, but we had an awesome few days on the mountain with lots of laughs. I have so many good memories from the trip and I will take that positive energy with me into the race.”

“Running the Great Himalaya Trail earlier this year took a lot more out of me both physically and mentally than I initially thought,” explains Ryan. “I took quite a long break from training to properly recover, but I have started feeling a lot better over the past few weeks and I am really looking forward to lining up at the start line of UTMB.”

UTMB will see roughly 2300 of the toughest runners in the world to taking on the French, Swiss and Italian Alps over 100miles. Known as one of the most difficult foot races in Europe, the 170km loop race, has more than 10 000m of positive altitude change before it ends - a total climb which is higher than Mount Everest.

The race loop around Mont Blanc follows the Tour du Mont Blanc hiking path that normally takes hikers between 7 to 9 days to complete, but the lead runners will complete this course in just over 20hrs, with the final cut off time after 46hrs30min. The race is termed semi-self-sufficient, with 10 food/ drink posts situated on the course where the participants can take whatever food and drink they need.

For more information on the race please visit www.ultratrailmb.com, and follow Ryan live on his Facebook Page @Ryan.Sandes.Ultra.Marathon.Runner, Twitter and Instagram account @RyanSandes. For live coverage of the race on race day please visit http://www.ultratrail.tv/en