Run. Risk. Reward by Ryan Sandes [Review]

Some people said that they dreamt of getting an entry to Western States or UTMB, so how could I drop out of these races? They would have crawled over the finish line. I acknowledged the criticism, but I don’t think they understood that this was my career and I had to manage my body properly…As a professional athlete, though, there are only so many ultra-distance races you can run competitively, and it made no sense for me to crawl over a finish line and risk permanently damaging my body.
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In a nutshell

Run. Risk. Reward is the follow up to Ryan Sandes’ 2016 autobiography, Trailblazer. He picks up where he left off and takes you through the gripping and often life-threatening adventures he’s experienced since then. From a 1500km Himalayan adventure to an attempted 700km solo run up Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, Ryan very rarely says no to a new challenge. In between all the adventures, you get to know Ryan and what the life of a professional ultra-endurance athlete is like.

Book Club Notes

Like many South African runners who’ve read their fair share of Runner’s World magazine, the name Ryan Sandes is a familiar one. I’ve also been interviewing him since 2017 and got to chat to him post the world record breaking Himalayan adventure he speaks about in this book. So picking up Run. Risk. Reward felt like having coffee with an old friend and listening to their crazy life. Ryan along with Steve Smith manage to capture the thrill, hardships and wins of being a professional athlete in an authentic down-to-earth way that gives you an inside look at the makings of world records, running as a professional and adventure.

Read If

You love trail-running, have followed Ryan Sandes career or want to know what it’s actually like being the Red Bull athlete being given the green light to run in the harshest, most desolate environments.