Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 124, November 2019 | Page 14

LEAD STORY
Making His Moves
Upon Matriculating in 1993, Shadrack was supposed
to go to University, but he decided one Saturday he
was going to the mines. On the Monday, he climbed
on a bus and got off at Rustenburg Platinum Mines,
who had recruited him as a runner. This proved to be
another pivotal decision in his life. He was given an
administration job, but more importantly, he was able
to run. There he met up with Simon again, and Patrick
Kuotsane, who was to play a big role in Shadrack’s
athletic development. Little did they know that they
were starting to form what was to become the all-
powerful Correctional Services team of 1995.
Another taste of international competition soon
followed. “Jos arranged for me to race in Spain in the
cross country league there, and Patrick would come
with. He was my older brother in the races and would
protect me.” Shadrack’s slight build was seen as
fair game by the jostling and shoving athletes in the
bunch in the brutal arena that is cross country, “So
Patrick would shield me,” he says.
The move to the mines allowed Shadrack to earn a
steady income while concentrating on his running,
and the results were immediate. This resulted in him,
Simon and Patrick being recruited by Kenny Bouwer
to join the Correctional Services in Pretoria. Kenny,
who now resides in Phuket, is still in regular contact
with Shadrack, who says he owes much to his former
mentor, and today Shadrack can still be found working
at the Correctional Services, and still running for them.
It was soon after this move that Shadrack really made
his presence known on the SA and world stage. Jos
arranged for him to compete in Gateshead, England in
July 1995, and he demolished the long-standing South
African 5000m record when he took on the likes of
Salah Hissou (1999 5000m World Champion) and came
out on top. His 13:14.16 was six seconds faster than
the 13:20.63 former SA record of Sydney Maree, run in
1979. Many believe that Shadrack could have broken
13 minutes for 5000m in his career, but it came down
to opportunities, and Shadrack’s voice has a tinge of
regret in it when he relives those moments. “In those
days you flew into Europe, ran a race and flew home. It
was not possible to stay in Europe for a racing season.
Jos’ set-up now allows for it, but back in those days it
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was not possible. We did discuss it,
but it was not feasible.”
Chasing Records &
Ramaala
In February 1999, Shadrack
decided to attempt to break the SA
Record in the 10,000m, which had
stood at 27:39.65 behind the name
of Xolile Yawa since 1987. Everything
had been planned to a Tee. The
venue was the track at the University
of Port Elizabeth, at a time of year when
the weather was usually perfect, and
Shadrack’s teammates from the Correctional
Services would set the pace, but there was also
a proverbial joker in the pack, Hendrick Ramaala,
and those plans soon went out the window.
“The guys were told to run at a specific pace and to
run for me. We were going for the SA Record and
had worked it all out. But when the gun went off, the
plan became the baby thrown out with the bath water.
After the first kilometre, Hendrick went to the front
and set a hard pace, encouraging and challenging my
teammates to go with him. So, instead of running for
me, they set him up nicely to break the record,” recalls
Shadrack, and you can still hear the disappointment
in his voice. Hendrick clocked 27:29.94, the SA record
that still stands today, while a demoralized Shadrack
finished third.
While Hendrick spoilt that particular Correctional
Services Party, there was no denying that Correctional
Services were kings of the road, track and cross
country in that era. They dominated so much that the
team that was sent to Japan for the Ekiden Relays in
Japan in 1999 and 2000 was virtually all Correctional
Services athletes, with Shadrack as the Captain.
“We did really well and won twice, and in those days
the Ekiden Relays were like the World Road Relay
Championships, so this showed just how good we
were as a team.”
Still Competitive
Shadrack at the age of 46 is still giving the youngsters
a run for their money. He not only races for line
honours in the Veteran (40-49) category, but unless
the big guns line up in a race, he can still challenge
for overall podium positions, too. He is still that good.
In fact, Shadrack became the oldest South African to
qualify for a World Cross Country Championships in
2015 when he finished fifth at the SA Cross Country
Trials, running in the senior category at the age of 42.
At those World Champs in China, Shadrack came
ISSUE 124 NOVEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
home 51 st . Stephen Mokoka was 29th, Precious
Mashele 39 th , Gladwin Mzazi 43rd and then Shadrack.
Not bad for a 42-year-old.
Shadrack has dabbled in ultra-marathons, but has
never really taken a liking to it. “I’m okay in the
training, but come racing, I just am flat. But I have a
new interest and goal now. Jos has been pushing me
and I have been thinking about it for a while now, to
compete in the World Marathon Majors in the Vets
division, but it is going to be hard, because these
guys are running 2:09’s! My marathon PB is 2:11.51,
so I will have to do lots of track work!”
To that end, Shadrack will soon be joining the famous
Sponge Group at Tuks for training, alongside Stephen
Mokoka. “If I want to be competitive, I need to be
running in a group like that. I am the ‘Madala’ in the
group, but I know I will still be giving the youngsters
a run for their money. And it will be good for me to
train at that pace again.” As with everything he does,
Shadrack has a plan and a goal, and when he lines
up in the World Marathon Majors next year, he is not
going just to make up the numbers.
stunned. So I spoke to Jos the next day, he asked
me all sorts of things, but because I was still a minor,
I needed my parents and school to sign contracts.
We did, and the next thing I knew, I was sent a brand
new pair of shoes, my first sponsored shoes. What a
difference! We used to run in whatever we could find,
and here I was with new, international shoes.”