Team SA Olympian Adriaan Wildschutt, fresh from his 13th-place finish at the World Cross-Country Championships, has confirmed his presence in the Absa Run Your City Gqerberha 10K on 1st March, where he aims to become the first athlete to clock a sub-27-minute 10km on African soil.
“It would mean a lot to run sub-27:00 on SA soil. It would probably be one of my very highest achievements. It would certainly mean the world to me,” says the 27-year-old, who set a South African record of 27:28 in this race last April, before Maxime Chaumeton eclipsed that mark with a 26:55 clocking in Romania six months later.
As his family, who had travelled from his hometown of Ceres in the Western Cape, watched on, the US-based Wildschutt took the lead just after the 3km mark before romping home to a ew SA 10km record in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. But in order to dip under 27min for the first time, the Olympian – who set a new SA Half Marathon record of 59:13 at the Valencia Half Marathon in October – says strong competition and good pacemaking will be essential.
“I want to emphasise how tall an order that is on this course, and I’d need competition. It wasn’t ideal running alone for most of the race last year. To even come close to sub-27, I need perfect weather (which is out of our control), as well as competitors who can push me all the way to the finish line. Pacers will also be extremely important and hopefully can pace even longer than 5km.”
The magnitude of the task at hand notwithstanding, Wildschutt draws confidence from his ability to inspire local up-and-coming top runners, as well as the vocal support he always enjoys when racing on home soil. That, coupled with his appreciation for a series that has provided much-needed opportunities for South African and African athletes to compete in a world-class event on the African continent, continues to drive him to use the Series as a platform for breaking barriers.
