Adriaan Wildschutt, a USA-based South African runner, maintains a calm demeanour as he prepares to attempt a sub 27-minute 10K in Gqeberha, focusing on his task while balancing relaxation and competition. Picture: Anthonty Grote
Image: Anthonty Grote
On the eve of arguably the biggest test of his fledgling road running career, Adriaan Wildschutt’s calm demeanour belied that of one so new to the discipline.
Whereas many a runner would probably have been a bag of nerves facing the potential of making history, the 27-year-old from Ceres in the Western Cape was nonchalant about it all.
Speaking during the pre-race media conference of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K at which he will be striving to become the first man to run a sub 27 minutes on African soil, the USA-based athlete was nonchalant about it all. And perhaps therein lay his strength, the ability to remain downright focused when everyone around him is getting overly excited.
Granted, he pleaded with the country to ‘pray for me’— the only time perhaps he gave a glimpse of the storm within— but the former national record holder came across cool as a cucumber. Resplendent in shorts among opposition weighed down by heavy tracksuits in the Gqeberha heat, the man who won last year’s race at a canter to set the then South African record of 27:28 expressed delight at the prospects of having serious competition this time around.
“Yeah, that's also very important (having the Kenyan Isaac Tibet Ndiema who boasts a 26:55 PB in the field). I have no idea what he's going to do, I'm just here focusing on my task and my task is to try and run sub 27.”
Wildschutt was, however, in easy mode as he spoke about how he learnt the hard way not to obsess about goals during his track days when he was still in college in the US.
“I had an experience when I was still in college on obsessing about a race so much that it just negatively impacted you. So, I just kind of put that in the backdrop and focus on other things and then I'm sure I'll be ready on Sunday like I always am.”
To that effect, he keeps the company of people who know to allow him to be.
“I just surround myself with people that won’t be constantly talking about running all the time, and I just do my own thing. I'm writing a book, so I'm focusing on that as well. Of course, I don't completely distract myself because I am focused as well in the background. I know what task lies ahead, and I'm focusing on that as well, but it's good to compartmentalise a little bit sometimes. But yeah, like you said, I don't want to think about it too much because it just causes stress and all that type of stuff, and I don't want it to get there.”
IOL Sport