And you thought running in Pretoria was hot....

Look at what fellow South African endurance athlete Ryan Sandes achieved in the Sahara!

Sandes Storm

by Sean Falconer - Runner's World

Ryan Sandes blew the field away in the Sahara to claim his second multi-stage desert race.

South African ultra-running star Ryan Sandes has won the seven-day 250km Sahara Race 2008 in Egypt, having once again won every stage of the race, just as he did when he won the Gobi March desert race in March.

Sandes totally dominated the race from start to finish, including posting a blistering 18 minutes and 3 seconds for Saturday’s final 5km time trial sprint stage 6 around the Pyramids of Giza, which the athletes were bussed to following the last desert stage of 100km.

The South African finished with an overall time of 27 hours 9 minutes and 17 seconds, with legendary US runner Dean Karnazes second on 30:13:09. Third was Paolo Barghini on 30:43:59. The women’s overall winner was Nina Breith of Germany, who finished with a time of 32:50:37 to give her the sixth position overall and a comfortable lead of more than 2.5 hours over the second-placed woman, Mirjana Pellizzer of Croatia.

At the post-race prize-giving, Sandes said “It is awesome to have won this event, but to be honest, I think that everyone here is a winner, and that it is about the journey not the destination. I have so much respect for Jack Denness and Woon Noh Cheung for having completed this event, and they are an inspiration to keep running.” (Denness and Cheung were the oldest participants in the race - Ed.) Karnazes added that “We all crossed the same finish line today, and I feel so much gratitude for having run next to all of you in this event.”

Coming home fifth and claiming the men’s 30-39 age category prize was another South African, Paul Liebenberg (32:15:12), who along with Karnazes is one of two athletes vying to become the first to run all four of the 4 Deserts series races in a single year. The Sahara Race, which started on Sunday, is the third leg of the series, which also features the Gobi March, Atacama Crossing and Antarctic races.

The other South Africans in the race all made it to the finish line, with the best overall time posted by Alex Harkess (42nd, 40:00:43). He was followed home by Malcolm Girling in 70th place (46:33:44), Travis Wilkinson in 72nd (46:53:20) and Mark Dahl in 73rd (46:53:37).

Rounding off the SA contingent were Simone Bishop and Kimberly Dods, who came home in 107th position with an overall time of 56:56:37 and a helluva reputation – for being the best kempt on the course and really going out in style. Because in their bags, alongside survival blankets and blister kits, they carried tiny cosmetic bag each, packed with tiny little tester bottles of all the best high-end cosmetic brands, including a skincare range comprising of Clarins sunscreen, eye cream and anti-aging moisturising cream, and a miniature bottle of Chanel Mademoiselle eau de parfum!

Every morning, Dods and Bishop went through their beauty ritual. “You need to do something to make you feel better out on these things, because it is so horrible on its own and you are falling apart about ten times a day,” explained Bishop, with her ‘survival’ compact mirror in one hand and wielding a leopard-print mascara wand in the other. Dods agreed, emphasising that “ladies should definitely get their manicures and pedicures done before the event,” she said, pointing at her fire-engine red toenails.

The last finisher was Egyptian Hala Youssef, who took 72 hours, 43 minutes and 26 seconds (143rd position)to complete the full distance of the race. She received a standing ovation from her fellow competitiors when she finally finished the 100km fifth stage, with the all the athletes coming out of their tents to welcome her home, despite their own tiredness and sore feet and legs.

The Sahara Desert is the largest non-polar desert in the world and the Western Desert of Egypt, where the race was run, covers a total area of 2.8 million square kilometres with only five isolated oases in this vast expanse of sand. The race was run between the Bahariya and Farafra Oases, which are famed for the mummies discovered here and for the unique white chalk formations that dot the landscape. More importantly, the Sahara Race is the hottest in the 4 Deserts series with temperatures frequently reaching more than 45 degrees Celsius.