Meet Sean (teacher Sơn) who’s motto for life is: “Live. Don’t just be alive.”
Hey everyone ????????
Sean here (“Sơn”, for all his Vietnamese friends).
Born in 1989, Sean grew up in Durban, South Africa and spent a lot of his time after school playing sports (you name the sport, he’s played it), swimming, being active in clubs, and learning to play the drums.
His passion for pushing limits came early on in his schooling where he completed the 55km Thomas More Long Walk at the age of 12 (grade 7). In the following years (age 13, 14, and 15), he completed the 55km once more and then the 88km distance back-to-back with his best time being 13 hours at age 15. He assumes that this early exposure to testing his physical and mental capabilities has stuck with him since then.
Following university, where Sean played cricket and field hockey, he took up walking/running as a means to commute to work. However, he quickly got bored with the shorter distance and started running home after long days at work – anywhere between 5km and 25km. This spurred him into road racing where he completed numerous half marathons, two full marathons, a 56km ultra marathon, and Africa’s most famous foot race, the Comrades Marathon (90km).
Sean has always been curious about the extent to which the human body and mind can be pushed. A few years back, a friend of his sent him the video “Where Dreams Go to Die” on YouTube which is about the Barkley Marathons in the USA – purported to be the hardest thing a person can voluntarily do (only 20 people have finished since it’s inception in 1986). And from that day, Sean has been hooked on trail running, hiking, and adventuring in the wilderness – testing his own personal limits in his own special – and oftentimes crazy – way. When asked about a return to road running, Sean had the following to say, “People often ask if I would go back to running on the road, but I’m not too sure that road running satisfies my passion for freedom and adventure nearly as much as the trail does. On the trail, I feel at home and one with this earth. The way the air smells is different, the views are WAY more enticing, the changing terrain is a greater challenge, and hugging trees has become my favourite past time (they give me super energy). So, no, I don’t think I would make a permanent move back to the road – the trail is where my heart is now. I know she will be there for me when nothing else is.”
Sean’s trail racing history is as follows:
2023 Vietnam Jungle Marathon 25km – 16th Overall (13th Male)
2024 Vietnam Trail Marathon 42km – 13th Overall (8th Male)
2024 Vietnam Ultra Marathon 70km – DNF at 55km due to electrolyte imbalance (and a lot of pre-race speed bumps)
Sean is looking forward to attempting the 2024 Vietnam Mountain Marathon 70km where he will hopefully redeem himself at this distance.
Further into the year, Sean intends to take part in the 2024 Vietnam Jungle Marathon 70km and hopefully a race somewhere overseas
