Hout Bay's Ryan Sandes leaves everyone in the dust in Sahara marathon

"Hamada," which is Bedouin for "nothing but sand, wind and sand for miles and miles, God help you." Ok, I added the God help you, but the race book does call the leg "a paradise without water."

NVDL: People are going to the ends of the earth to challenge themselves these days. That's fine. There are challenges galore coming our way, and they start at your front door.

clipped from outside-blog.away.com South African Ryan Sandes leads after two stages in the Sahara, running the 26.1-mile second leg in 3:39:55. Meanwhile, 73-year-old Jack Denness, the oldest competitor in the race, clocked stage one in 8:26:55 -- we're still waiting to see when he comes in for Stage 2. The terrain for stage 2 is sandy and rocky. Race organizers note, however, that "a small spring is located close to the second checkpoint." Well, phew.