Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 18

ROAD RUNNING
Teaching
a Better Way
Always full of jokes, Angelo Adams uses
both his running and his role as a teacher,
with a dash of humour, to help and positively
influence all around him. – BY PJ MOSES
Now nearly 130 races later, and with the two big
ultra-marathon road races under his belt, Two Oceans
and Comrades, Angelo’s passion for running has only
increased. This Rylands High School teacher sees
himself as a medal lover, rather than a PB hunter.
“Medals represent sacrifice and the determination to
get the job done. PB’s are important, too, but that is
more for me and the man I see in the mirror,” he says.
He says that he counts every one of his four
Two Oceans ultra-marathons as his worst race
experiences. “They were tough and brutal. I also
didn’t have the best Red Hill Marathon in 2019, so it
has sometimes been a struggle out there for me, but
running keeps me grounded. Everyone I meet has
their own unique story, and sometimes it is wonderful
just to listen and absorb, or to even help someone
achieve a goal they thought impossible. Each runner’s
effort deserves respect. One individual’s 5km is
another runner’s marathon. Running and life is the
same thing for me. I want to be known as the guy who
inspires, always helps, has helped and will help.”
Influencing the Youngsters
Being a teacher, Angelo says he can see first-hand
that kids today are not as active as when he was at
school. Then again, he also concedes that it was
much safer then to play outside. “Our parents didn’t
have to worry about us. We were always one loud
scream away from having to make a mad dash home.
And if I pushed the boundaries to a second scream
from my mum, I would be eating a teary eyed, salty
supper!”
His love of running and other sport like cricket aside,
Angelo sees teaching kids as a privilege that he does not
take for granted. “I do whatever it takes to make sure I
influence the learners in a positive manner, and joke with
them that I was an influencer way before social media,”
he says. “One of my favourite lines to use in class is,
‘No excuses, we all have 24 hours in a day,’ as I preach
about the opportunities that they have.”
“I drill in to them that South Africa is culturally diverse
and beautiful, and the opportunities are endless for
youngsters, and I am continuously trying to show
them what exists beyond Cape Town and South
Africa,” he says with an excited tone. He adds that
he is also getting his family more active. “There are
a few lazy buggers there, but I’ve started to groom
my nieces to be the next generation of athletes... but
each to their own.”
Taking to Running
Angelo contemplating
the next kay with a
mid-race rest...
18
ISSUE 118 MAY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
As a youngster himself, Angelo was an active boy. I
was always running around or playing, and cricket
was my first love. There’s nothing quite like swinging
the red ball and hitting the top of off stump, but I
also loved football, and loved getting stuck in. What
is better than a 50/50 tackle in a game of football?”
Unsurprisingly, his sporting heroes were cricketers
ARD
I
n his first half marathon, with his future wife Tamsyn
standing on the top of a hill, cheering him on with a
loud, “Come on baby, you can do this,” Angelo Adams
of Cape Town felt like he was on top of the world.
That is, until a female runner from Fish Hoek Athletic
Club, with an 80 years age tag, pulled up next to him
and chirped, “Let’s go, my boy!” As he recalls several
years later, “It was one of my most memorable race
moments… inspiring and humbling all rolled into one.”