Every year, as the last runners fight their way down towards Nature’s Valley or Storms River, two familiar faces are waiting at the finish. Carel Nolte and EasyEquities client Rikus Kok have personally placed a medal around the neck of every Otter finisher for years now, not just the winners. It’s a tradition that says a lot about why EasyEquities became the Otter TERREX Trail’s presenting sponsor in the first place, and why, six years on, that partnership has only grown deeper.
Carel is EasyEquities’ Chief Enablement Officer, where he spends his time removing friction, enabling people and helping colleagues, clients and partners build the futures they are working towards. He’s also proudly South African, a self-described “curious optimist,” and someone who believes 1 + 1 equals at least 22.
Actions speak louder than words, and his have long since earned him a place on the Otter’s wall of fame. Ask him if he’s an Otter legend, though, and he waves the idea away almost immediately.
“I’m not sure I’d ever describe myself as an ‘Otter Legend’. That feels far too grand. The Otter is the legend. The route is the legend. The athletes, organisers, volunteers, the SANParks teams, the sponsors, the families and the communities around the event are the legend. Rikus and I have simply been lucky enough to become a small part of the story through the privilege of handing out medals.”
A Life Lived Full
Carel doesn’t fit neatly into the “outdoors person” box, and he’s quite happy about that. He loves the arts as much as he loves sport, and growing up in Gauteng, his weekends were built around people rather than any particular pursuit.
“Running, hiking, sport, wine farms, theatre, books, travel, community projects, mentoring business owners, art. I like life full. Perhaps too full. Life is simply too interesting to choose only one passion.”
What the outdoors gives him, he says, is perspective. “A mountain, a forest, the ocean and the trail remind you very quickly that you are not the centre of the universe. In the great arc of history we are all wonderfully insignificant. I find that healthy, and perhaps oddly comforting.”
The full Otter distance is still on his list rather than his résumé, though he has walked the route several times and spent countless hours around race weekend. “It’s beautiful, technical, demanding and humbling. It’s called the Grail of Trail for a reason. I’m not going to make heroic promises, but I do hope to take part as an athlete one year.”
Two Journeys, One Philosophy
For Carel, the connection between EasyEquities and the Otter was never really about branding. It’s about a shared belief in what it takes to get somewhere worth going.
“Trail running has humility built into it. On the road you can sometimes fool yourself into thinking you’re in control. On the trail, the mountain, the weather, the rocks, the roots and the river crossings remind you that control is limited. You may have different levels of talent and fitness, but everyone has to move across the same terrain, and that aligns strongly with how I think about investing and about life. Start where you are. Keep going. Learn. Ask for help. Respect the process. Celebrate progress. Progress beats perfection almost every time.”
It’s this philosophical overlap, more than any marketing opportunity, that first drew EasyEquities to the Otter almost six years ago, through an introduction from former colleague Craig Turton and a shared financial services history with Faces CEO Clark Gardner.
“It was never a hard sell. It was a meeting of values. The Otter was already a remarkable event with a very clear soul, and EasyEquities was already a community-led brand trying to make investing more accessible, more human and more useful. For us, sponsorship has never been about visibility alone. It is about participating, contributing and leaving an event stronger than we found it.”
Why the Otter, Specifically
With no shortage of events competing for sponsorship budgets, Carel is clear on what set the Otter apart.
“Because the Otter has soul. That word gets overused, but here it’s true. The Otter is world-class without being sterile. Prestigious without being arrogant. Tough without being cruel. Intimate despite its reputation.”
Part of that, he says, comes down to place. The coastline, the forests, the river crossings and the communities that surround the route are inseparable from the event itself, which is exactly why the relationship with SANParks and local communities matters so much.
The Finish Line Tradition
Ask anyone who has run the Otter in recent years and they’ll likely mention it: Carel and Rikus, standing at the finish, congratulating every single runner as they come through, no matter what time it is or how long they’ve been out there.
“We were at the finish as sponsors, having been asked to hand out the top few medals. But we felt that every runner who crossed the line deserved our congratulations, our acknowledgement and our respect. So we helped, we loved it, and it became something we wanted to keep doing.”
He’s quick to point out that Rikus is not a supporting act in this story. “He’s not an accessory, he’s central to it. Rikus is an EasyEquities client, but above all he’s my partner in this tradition. We do this together, and it has become one of the most meaningful parts of our year.”
What keeps them there, hour after hour, rain or heat, is what they see from that vantage point.
“Standing at the finish gives you the best view of the Otter. Not the easiest view, but the best. You see the winners, yes, but you also see the person who’s been out there for hours fighting private battles. You see families waiting. You see tears. You see relief. You see people who are completely broken and completely alive at the same time.”
The runners who arrive after everyone else, right around the cut-off, mean just as much to him as the ones on the podium.
“The last runners always stay with me. The cut-off bell is emotional. I ring it, but never casually. Behind every second is a story. And the people who finish just after the bell, no medal, but finishers all the same, it matters to us to wait for them, to be there, to acknowledge them. Then the final sweeps come in, having been out all day. Those are the real legends.”
Backing Athletes Beyond the Podium
EasyEquities’ commitment to the Otter extends well beyond the finish line photo opportunity. The brand backs one of the most significant prize purses for trail running in Africa, structured deliberately to include an investment component, with part of the prize money placed into an EasyEquities account for each winning athlete.
“Excellence deserves recognition, and athletes need more than applause. We want athletes to receive immediate reward, but also to experience the idea of longer-term financial growth, which is core to who we are. We don’t want to hand over a cheque and disappear. At EasyEquities we invest in companies, but we also invest in people.”
Looking Ahead
2026 is shaping up to be a full year for Carel, with the 100th Comrades marathon as the headline focus. He’s entered the Winelands Marathon and a handful of other qualifiers, keen to discover more of the Western Cape’s trails before turning his attention back to the Otter.
But it’s the long game that seems to matter most to him. Asked what would make the EasyEquities and Otter partnership feel like it truly meant something a decade from now, his answer has little to do with medals or marketing.
“I’d feel proud if, ten years from now, people say EasyEquities helped the Otter grow stronger without losing its soul, and that we helped hundreds of people realise that anything is possible. Not always easy, but possible. Whether you’re breaking records, taking on the trail for the first time, a cut-off chaser, a volunteer, a marshal, a supporter, a sponsor, or someone watching online, the Otter reminds us that effort matters. And investing is like that too. Start. Keep going. Respect the journey. Celebrate progress. Do it with others. Build something that lasts.”
