Ian: ‘You’re going to run how far?’
Ryan: ‘250 kilometres. But it’s over seven days, though.’
Ian: ‘And the furthest you’ve ever run is …?’
Ryan: ‘42.2 kilometres … on the road. And on trail … 35 kilometres.’
Ian: ‘Ryan, I think you need to reassess this …’

What does it take to run a six-day race through the world’s harshest deserts? Or 100 miles in a single day at altitudes that would leave you breathless just walking? More than that, though: what is it like to win these races? South Africa’s ultra-trail-running superstar Ryan Sandes has done just that.

Since bursting onto the international trail-running scene by winning the first multistage race he ever entered – the brutal Gobi March – Ryan has gone on to win various other multistage and single-day races around the globe. Written with bestselling author and journalist Steve Smith, Trail Blazer – My Life as an Ultra-distance Trail Runner recounts the life story of this intrepid sportsman, from his experiences as a rudderless party animal to becoming a world-class athlete, and includes details on his training regimes, race strategies and aspirations for future sporting endeavours. Sports enthusiasts will enjoy the adrenaline-inducing trials and tribulations of one of South Africa’s most awe-inspiring athletes, while endurance-sport participants – from beginners to aspirant pros – will benefit from his insights and advice.

As Professor Tim Noakes says in the Foreword to this book: ‘However much we might think we know and understand, there are some phenomena which now, and perhaps forever, we will never fully comprehend. We call such happenings “enigmas”. Or even miracles. Ryan Sandes is one such.’

Tokyo Zombie is a horror-comedy manga about two blue-collar factory workers (who happen to be jiu-jitsu experts) dealing with a zombie uprising in Tokyo. When the story begins, Fujio and Mitsuo are dreaming of training in martial arts overseas and becoming famous. When they accidentally kill their overbearing boss, they decide to cover up the evidence and bury him at a man-made garbage mountain known as DARK FUJI. Unfortunately for them, the tons of rotting garbage have been contaminated with industrial waste... Which, naturally, transforms the bodies of the dead into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies. Fuji and Mitsuo try their best to survive in this horrific new landscape, but the hapless pair become separated after an idiotic mistake involving potato chips and a stray dog.Skip to a few years later. Post-apocalyptic Tokyo has become a feudalistic society, in which the rich have enslaved the lower classes, who toil in the walled city for protection against the zombies. To alleviate boredom, the rich have created gladiator death matches, pitting zombies against slaves. Fuji and Mitsuo meet up under strange circumstances in the ring of one of these death matches. All hell breaks loose when the two are reunited, and the sanctuary city of the rich comes under fire from a revolutionary pig farmer and a motorcycle gang of roving bandits.Tokyo Zombie was originally serialized in the cutting-edge manga magazine AX from 1998 to 1999. Many years before the film Shaun of the Dead introduced Western audiences to the zombie comedy genre, Hanakuma's send up of Romero zombie films and post-apocalyptic survival story was already a cult classic in Japan. Now English-speaking audiences will have the chance to check out the genre-mashing tale that started it all.Hanakuma's "heta uma" (Literally "Bad, but Good") drawing style punctuates the gory but hilarious depiction of a Tokyo overrun with zombies. This is mixed with a dynamic and authentic depiction of actual martial arts, sourced from Hanakuma's own years of training and competing as a professional martial artist. In addition to the success of the cult manga, Tokyo Zombie was also adapted into a hit film directed by Sakichi Sato and starring cult film stars Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer) and Sho Aikawa (Dead or Alive), with a cameo from famed horror manga artist Kazuo Umezu.

As a follow-up to his hugely popular 2016 autobiography Trail Blazer, Ryan Sandes’ new book explores the gripping and often life-threatening adventures this extraordinary ultra-trail runner has experienced around the globe since then. Not only have these projects tested the very edge of human endurance, but on several occasions, Ryan literally had to run for his life.

Along with a 1 500-kilometre Himalayan adventure, read about his attempt at completing the first 700-kilometre solo run up Namibia’s legendary Skeleton Coast – only to stumble upon some very angry Namibian soldiers conducting illegal and, possibly, government-sponsored seal clubbing. And, with his running partner Ryno Griessel, becoming the first people to run the entire circumference of Lesotho, during which they find themselves fighting off an attack from local herdsman armed with rocks and clubs.

In between these adventures, Ryan battles to balance a challenging career with a dedicated commitment to his young family. Risk. Run. Reward. is packed with adventure, humour and some fascinating insights into the psyche of an ultra-endurance athlete. Trust me, these people are not like you and me …