By: Howie Kahn (Brand Director)
What an absolutely incredible experience… on all levels. And by “all levels,” I mean physically, emotionally, spiritually - and let’s not forget gastrointestinally (because who knew trail food could be that good?).
Let’s rewind.
When our CEO, Adrian Hewlett, and Founder, Jasper Eales, kindly suggested that colleague Dean Scott, Operations Director, and I represent Sealand on the legendary Pondo Trail Run, I thought, “Sure! Sounds like a vibe. Nature, community, running shoes. I’m in.”
Then I Googled it.
101 kilometres. Over three days. Through Pondoland.
Cue internal panic. And a bit of denial to go with it.
Look, I have run before. Dean too. A few marathons and even two Two Oceans Ultras (Dean too.) But, from my side, my running over the past three/four years has been more “every-now-and-then” than “consistently-striding-
But we did it.
And it was, without exaggeration, one of the most rewarding adventures I’ve ever been part of.
We walked a LOT (trail running, it turns out, includes many “hiking interludes”). But we laughed even more. We saw sights that looked like something out of a movie - wild, untouched, jaw-droppingly beautiful. We met wonderful people, learned about the land we moved through, and got a sense of why Pondoland is such a sacred place.
There were moments we had to dig deep. I mean, really deep. Like, “why are my legs screaming and what is this hill’s personal vendetta against me?” As I said, deep. But every step gave something back - be it perspective, connection, or a reminder that the human body (with the right snacks) can do pretty incredible things.
Big love to Dean, partner-in-blisters and brother-in-slog. Pondo Brothers For Life. (We watched Ted 2 on TV the night before the race started.) We kept each other sane, encouraged each other through the tougher moments, and celebrated the finish line(s) with icy-cold post-run beers that tasted like liquid gold. (I swear the beers in Pondo hit harder… or maybe we were just really, really dehydrated.)
I was seriously proud to represent Sealand out there - not just rocking the kit, but embodying the spirit of community, sustainability, and shared adventure that Sealand is all about. It was also great to spread the Sealand story throughout the trip - hopefully converting some new brand custodians along the way too. (Incidentally, I have one new Facebook friend, three new Instagram followers and two phone numbers to show for my efforts!)
The route aside - which saw us (ME!) having to negotiate river crossings, jump down waterfalls, dodge random holes in the ground, run for long stretches on the beach, long grass, single track, clamber around cliff edges (with a fear of heights) - one moment stood out. With about 500 metres of the entire race left, having just negotiated a huge climb, a beach run and some nasty cliff edges, I bumped into a gentleman from Cape Town. I had not seen him in about ten years and there he was, in the Transkei looking for a place to fish with two friends and a cooler box in tow. Talk about random. Talk about how small the world is. Oh, I also met a couple en route to the Wild Coast on Day -1. On day 3, with about 12 kilometres of the race left, we realised that we had attended the same wedding in Malmesbury some 12/13 years before...
A massive shoutout to Pondo Trail Run and Wild Child Africa - you absolute wizards of event organisation. Thanks Matthew Botha for inspiring us with the full backstory on Night -1 at the Wild Coast Sun. Thanks Bron for all the tips in the lead-up, the constant encouragement and the last-minute transfer assistance. Overall, the logistics were seamless, the food was 10/10 (even if we almost missed lunch-time on Day 2), the camp vibes were on point, and you even made sure we stayed hydrated (a gentle euphemism for beers and electrolytes, often consumed in tandem). A scary statistic, on Night 1 of the race there were 100 runners and 68 staff members. This event and the small touches of excellence does not happen by accident. Bags (our beautiful Sealand Dune Duffels - which all runners were gifted) being transferred from Point A to Point B via boat, cars and trailers. A bottle of water in your room before bed-time. Snacks along the way - including an incredible braai on Day 3 with boerie rolls, salty potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. The official photography.
Lastly, both Dean and I found this out: a kilometre in Pondoland is, without a doubt, longer than a kilometre anywhere else in the country. Possibly the world. I don’t know how that works scientifically, but we stand by it.
Until next time, Pondo. We’re bringing more bodyglide. And probably doing some more training too.
