Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019 | Page 14

ROAD RUNNING
wasn’t there. You know, at these changeovers, there
is always a big crowd and the person you hand over
to is not always right there, so you sometimes have
to look for them. But this guy wasn’t there, so I ran
through the changeover point, thinking that maybe
he would be further down the road. He wasn’t, so I
just ran the next leg. I ran 18km that day, and I was
like ‘Hmmmm, I can do this running thing.’ And that is
how the running bug bit.”
pocket money he got from the bursary funds was
supplemented by tutoring on weekends and in school
holidays, and all that money went back home to help
the family. After Wandi finished his studies and started
to work, the money continued going to the family.
“My first job, my first salary cheque went straight to
my younger brother, who was first year at PE Tech.”
That trend continued with his other siblings, too,
and he then brought one sibling after another up to
Johannesburg, paid for their tuition and also rebuilt
the family home in Soto Location. His parents have
passed on, so he is now the head of the household.
Today Wandi works for De Beers in IT, as a system
manager, a position that sees him travel frequently to
places as far-flung as Canada. His travel schedule for
work, on top of frequent travels for running, means
that he needs to spend as much quality time as he
can with his wife and two children. “It isn’t always
easy, but I make sure that the time I spend with them
is the best time ever.” Wandi is a very private person
and keeps his family life away from the exposure of
social media, even though he is very active on social
media as part of his running. “That is my life and is
separate from my running, and the columns I do for
Asics as an Asics Front Runner. That will always be
sacred to me, and I will not expose them to that side
of my life.”
THE RUNNING BUG
Wandi’s introduction to running came some years
back when he was part of a business relay event for
work. “My leg was 7km long and the guy I handed
over to was to run 11km, but at the changeover, he
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These days Wandi races in the veteran category and
occasionally finds himself on the podium, which he
says has reignited his passion for racing, but adds
that his focus has changed from always trying to
improve his times and chasing medals and podiums,
to rather trying to inspire others to run. “In the past
three, maybe four years, my focus has changed. It
is now more about inspiring people. I want to show
people that you can do well, whatever ‘well’ means
to each individual. I won the Golden Gate stage trail
race a few years ago with no sponsor. It was literally
through dedication and hard work, so that is the
message I am now trying to send.”
BECOMING A FRONTRUNNER
The biggest impact on his running career has been
in the last three years, thanks to his successful
application to become an Asics Frontrunner. In
2016 Asics advertised on social media that they
were looking for brand ambassadors, or as they
call it, FrontRunners, and Wandi’s friend Charmaine
Mohokare encouraged him to apply. “She told me
I had nothing to lose, so I applied and I became
part of the crew in 2017. Through being
a FrontRunner, I have had so many
opportunities and experiences to run races,
so it has been really good for me. But being
an Asics FrontRunner does come with
responsibilities, and I still want people to
just be inspired to be their best. After all, I
became a Frontrunner because of trying to
motivate people.”
By far the biggest opportunity that has
come Wandi’s way through his association
ISSUE 122 SEPTEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
with Asics is the London to Paris Run, which he
describes as a life changing experience. “I learned
so much. We had runners from Russia, Portugal, the
UK, Germany, and more, 10 runners from 10 different
countries, and of course very few spoke decent
English, which made communication very difficult.
There were also different cultures, different outlooks
on life, which made it a very interesting trip. For
starters, not all of us ran at the same level, so we had
to figure out how each person would run and ended
up in broadly two groups. Obviously there were also
interpersonal dynamics.”
Having gotten through the longer than expected
first few days and overcome the initial problems of
communication and approach within the group, the
10 Frontrunners duly made it to Paris and lined up for
the marathon, which they all ran and finished together.
Wandi says the sense of achievement they felt as a
group was immense, of having conquered a huge
challenge, but even more gratifying was the newfound
friendships, and all that they learnt along the way.
“That journey was one of deep introspection for me.
I learnt so much, grew as a person, and discovered
things about myself of a deeply personal nature,
which show me that your background does not limit
you. Work hard, look for opportunities and when these
are presented to you, embrace them with open arms,”
says Wandi. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity
provided to me by Asics, and I am looking forward to
new adventures.”
“I then met a guy in the gym who would get there in
the morning for training, but he was already sweating.
He told me he was training for Comrades and ran
in the mornings before doing his gym. It was quite
funny... I knew nothing about having to qualify for
Comrades. I knew absolutely nothing about running,
I just knew I had to do Comrades.” And with that
Wandi began training for and ran his first Comrades
in 2008, finishing in 9:55:59. Having now run the race
12 consecutive times, he has posted a best of 6:39:45
in 2018 and has seven silver medals to his credit,
including six in the last six years.