Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 116, March 2019 | Page 23

ROAD RUNNING
They Said I
Shouldn’t
Run...
One of the regulars in Western Cape races is Juan Wiese,
chasing PBs each week and enjoying every minute of his
running, in spite of his condition... and in spite of the medical
experts who told him nearly 20 years ago he should not take up
running. – BY PJ MOSES
B
oy has Juan Wiese proven them
wrong! There was a time when
he was told by some people
in the medical field that he shouldn’t
run, because they felt that it would be
beyond his capabilities. Well, Juan not
only took up running in 2001, but he’s
still going strong in 2019, and running
just about everything on the racing
calendar, including distances up to
50km! When you see his running
gait, you can perhaps understand the reason for
that original diagnosis, but Juan continues to inspire
those around him with his positive attitude and obvious
enjoyment of his running.
“I was born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect where
there is an incomplete closing of the backbone and
membranes around the spinal cord. This condition
makes walking very difficult and it could also have
many more associated health problems,” says the
41-year-old debtors clerk. “But I wanted to see for
myself if what they said was true, and I found that not
all advice is good advice, because I ran my first 10km
race in 2001, and I haven’t stopped running since.”
To keep his body fuelled, Juan pretty much eats what
he wants and doesn’t follow any special diet plan,
but because of his condition, he does try to watch
what he eats from around 48 hours before a race, in
order not to have any added issues during his run.
“Another factor I have to be aware of is that having
very little balance can be a bit tricky in big crowds.
One cannot predict how the body will behave during
a run, but that does not stop me from turning up and
always hoping for the best. I think it is important to
be the best version of you that you
can be when you are taking part in any activity. I am
highly competitive. I compete against myself all the
time, and because of my condition, there is a fine line
between doing great and missing the cut-off.”
RUNNING IN THE GENES
Born in Robertson but raised in Moorreesburg,
Juan says he gets a lot of support for his running
adventures and achievements from the people who
know him best, and that helps to keep the passion
for running burning. He is not the only one in his
family who has an affinity to running. His sister was
a provincial middle distance runner at primary and
high school level, representing Boland and Western
Province at the SA Champs. His brother is not as avid
a runner, but has completed a number of races up to
the full marathon distance over the years, and even
earned a Comrades medal in 2017.
When he started running in 2001, Juan did not follow
any training programmes and was told that just to finish
the race was good enough, but for him, that was never
going to be enough. “I wanted to be better,
faster and stronger,” he says. His running did
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