Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 39

RACE WALKING
to connect with the road or track surface properly.
To get your speed up, you also need to move your
hips forward in the most effective way, and lock your
knees to avoid penalties and disqualification. This also
makes the training for race walking very technical and
hard, because of the penalties you can get from the
officials during a race.”
Support Appreciated
In terms of support, Adam says his family and friends
have played a very important role in his walking,
spurring him on with their motivation to keep pushing.
Unfortunately, none of them have been inspired to
take it up and join him as yet, but he lives in hope. “I
would love for some of them to be motivated enough
to join me, but for now their support means a lot.
My wife Jennifer is my biggest supporter, and she is
constantly pushing me to do my best. My one wish
is that my grandchildren will try it one day, because I
think they will love it, and I will be very proud to see
them out there with me.”
Adam has been a part of the OptiFit training group in
Kuils River and says their support and encouragement
motivates him when he is training. Also, he is a
member of the Ommiedraai Friends AC, having
recently decided it was time for a change in club
scenery and leaving Brackenfell AC to join the ‘orange
army.’ “I have been with Ommiedraai for the past
four months and I love the vibe and energy the club
generates at races and in training. We encourage and
motivate each other constantly. I am also thankful
to Coach Fabian Collins, who is always available to
support me and get the best out of me. He has even
pushed me at the trail runs that we do together, and
has helped me to better my 5km trail personal best to
22 minutes.”
This serial podium finisher says he doesn’t have
a favourite racing distance, because he enjoys
everything from a short, fast 5km to the long, brutal
ultra distances. “I just love to walk, and I have raced
from the very short distances on the track and road
to the very long ones, like three Two Oceans 56km
races, four Cape Town marathons, the 12-hour ORAK
race and also three half marathons at Two Oceans.”
(He completed a massive 80km at ORAK.) He has also
represented his province in race walking. “I think one
of my highest points during my race walking career
has been to earn Western Province colours, and also
to win the WP Championship 30km title.” Add to that
tally a bronze medal in the 10km at the SA National
Champs, and you can see why Adam loves race
walking so much.
Building the Community
Running is definitely still the most popular discipline
among Cape Town athletes, but Adam believes that
there has been a tremendous growth in race walking
in recent years, and that it has the potential to be
even bigger in future. “I think race walking in South
Africa has great potential, and it will benefit from a
grassroots programme that targets primary schools
and high schools. Guided by qualified racing coaches,
these kids have the chance to make a significant
impact on the local and international scene. Race
walking is currently dominated on the Cape scene
by the older generation of athletes, especially the
Masters category, but I would love to see the younger
generation coming through to revitalise the sport.”
relationship with my competitors, guys like Denny
Hines and Ebrahim Fisher. We encourage each other,
help out where possible, and even give advice on how
to improve. We may be rivals during races, but we are
great buddies when we are not racing.”
He adds that he feels he still has much more to prove
to himself, and thus he keeps working hard on his
walking targets. “My big goal would be to qualify and
compete at the World Masters Championships. This
event happens every two years, and if I can just get
there, I think on the day everybody has a chance of
doing something special.”
He acknowledges that there are still many hurdles to
jump over before that can happen, though, because
race walking just does not have the ‘it factor’ at
the moment, as many of the running disciplines or
running-related events have. “It is not very popular in
my community, and the kids who watch me train and
race sometimes laugh at first, but then often join me
for a few hundred metres. They are just not exposed
enough to this discipline.”
There has been an upsurge in interest, though, and
Adam welcomes the new people to the sport with
open arms. “My advice to anybody who wants to
get into race walking would be to first find a group
that they can train with on a regular basis. Don’t get
discouraged at the beginning if you fail during your
first few attempts at races, but learn from it and
become stronger. It takes time to get used to the
proper technique, but once you have it you will enjoy
every step. Also, listen to your body, and get advice
from coaches and those that have more experience.”
Friends and Rivals
Adam says the friendly rivalries he has developed with
fellow walkers keeps him focused and motivated to
hone his walking technique. “Runners and walkers will
always have something positive to say when we see
each on the road, and this camaraderie is what makes
our athletic community so special. I also have a great
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