Sandes surges to dream win in 100-miler

Though he admitted it was one of the hardest races of his career, ultra-distance trail runner Ryan Sandes (right) was delighted with his victory at the Western States 100-mile race in California yesterday.

Sandes was rewarded for his cautious approach, emerging triumphant in a battle of attrition as he became the first South African to win the prestigious annual event.

“It was a brutal day out, with thick snow in the early stages and then extremely high temperatures later,” Sandes said.

“I won’t lie, I don’t think I have ever been so shattered but at the same time so elated.”

The 35-year-old athlete from Cape Town was trailing early leader Jim Walmsley by nearly an hour at the halfway mark of the 161km contest.

Walmsley’s title charge fell apart in the second half, however, and Sandes cruised into the lead with 40km remaining.

While another American challenger, Alex Nichols, tried to close the gap in the latter stages, Sandes shook him off and gradually drew clear to cross the line in 16:19:37.

He was well outside his own best time at the race, after finishing second in 15:03:56 in 2012, but Sandes earned a convincing victory to bag his first win in more than three years on the Ultra-Trail World Tour.

Nichols crossed the line more than 28 minutes off the pace in 16:48:23.

“This is a dream come true for me as Western States is the one race I have always dreamed of winning,” Sandes said.