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