MY RUNNING LIFE

ORDINARY RUNNERS doing EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

After learning his trade at established bakeries, Brode Gleason got his chance to sell his own creations when a friend who was selling fresh vegetables informally from his folding chair on the side of Valley Road in Hout Bay, Cape Town, asked Gleason to come and join him.

Things escalated quickly from there, largely thanks to social media and the clamour from those craving his tasty treats, and now his South Yeaster Bakery has a cult following and many of his fans are runners.

But Gleason doesn't just sit back after providing carbs to runners; he smashes out some impressive times on the trails himself, and intends to go professional.

We sat down over a loaf of 100% rye to hear his story.

Runner's World: Tell us about the origins of your bakery and of your running...

Brode Gleason: My sister Amber and I believed that Hout Bay needed a bakery, and that it deserved to be a destination worth visiting. And so South Yeaster Bakery was born.

Running is a practice for me. Similar to baking. It requires patience, respect and kindness. And it's the perfect fit for a full-time job, as it gives me the confidence that I'm more capable than I think. I use a lot of what I learn from running and apply it to baking, and vice versa.

But I wasn't always a runner. I used to be a semiprofessional bodyboarder up, until about 2017, and had my Western Province colours in the junior division. Then work got in the way for a few years. I'm actually quite new to running.