Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel have circumnavigated almost 1100 kilometres of the landlocked African country Lesotho in 16 days, 6 hours and 56 minutes.
Lesotho (03 May 2022) – In early April, we shared that Ryan Sandes, 40-years-old, would attempt to circumnavigate Lesotho. We are excited to report that Ryan, along with fellow ultrarunner Ryno Griesel, 42-years-old, have successfully completed the epic 1100km journey through some of Southern Africa’s most brutal weather.
The pair circumnavigated almost 1100 kilometres in 16 days, 6 hours and 56 minutes. Ryan and Ryno started the trail at the Telle Bridge Border Post on the 10th of April, 2022. They faced many physical and mental challenges, and overcame 33,000m of elevation along the borders.
They covered the length of the entire Drakensberg Mountain range and summited some of Lesotho’s most breathtaking peaks, including Mafadi Peak – the highest mountain in South Africa at 3,446.1m. They walked along some of Southern Africa’s untouched land.
Ryan and Ryno endured freezing weather as well as dangerous flooding along the way. Some days, temperatures were as low as -5° on the mountains up to 30° degrees in the lower lands. They went through 23 pairs of socks.
“It was definitely a lot more challenging than we initially anticipated, especially the extreme weather we experienced in the mountain section – ice, snow and severe cold. There were some really cold nights out there, where we didn’t think we would make it through. All those curve balls make for real epic adventure with some incredible memories I’ll hold onto forever. We’ve been on enough crazy adventures together to know that the key is ultimately trust and respect. I wouldn’t want to have achieved this with anyone else.” – Ryan Sandes
The pair previously embarked on the ultimate Drakensberg adventure – the Drakensberg Grand Traverse – in 2014 when they ran 204km non-stop. They also broke the Great Himalaya Trail record in 2018 with a new mark of 25 days, three hours and 24 minutes.
Having gone through those challenges together, Ryan and Ryno knew that if they worked together, they could make it through this gruelling challenge. And they did!
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