TRACK & FIELD if I do a 10km race , I prepare for five or six weeks to race that 10km , but back than I would run five or six 10km races in less than two months , which led to injuries . In the US , we really focused on cross country and track and field , and it took Zola about two years to get me really healthy . That ’ s where I really started running well , sub-29 for 10,000 and sub-14 for the 5000 , and about eight flat for the 3000 . to have fun , and we played cricket soccer , rugby , and we also played chess . We played sports every day , and in the holidays , I remember we would play cricket or touch rugby from nine in the morning till late afternoon , with just a quick break for lunch before going back . That ’ s the base where we really started building endurance , long before we started running .
I actually only started running when I was in the 10th grade . Some people would consider that a bit late , considering many of the really top athletes from South Africa started from a much earlier age , but I think playing all those sports really prepared me for when I started to run , and it didn ’ t take me long to get going , maybe six months , and then I started winning my age category in cross country in my Boland province . I would be at least top three in the Western Cape , and top 20 in the country , and two to three years from when I started , I was one of the best in the country . It was mostly because I had a really good coach , Moos Hartnik , but also because we were so exposed to all types of sports before I even started running .
MA : How were you spotted by Zola Pieterse-Budd , and how did you get signed to go study and run at Coastal Carolina University in the USA ?
The Wildschutt brothers did well at Coastal Carolina University
AW : My brother went to the States first . He was studying at UWC in his first year and did really well in one of his races , and I think Zola spotted him and offered him the spot in the USA . He decided to go , especially because if you are a year in at UWC , you don ’ t have to write the SAT ( Scholastic Assessment Test , a standardised test widely used for college admissions in the United States – Ed .), so you skip that process , which makes it so much easier , and he was able to just transfer in . He was really good at that point , especially considering how competitive the college running level is in the US .
Six months later , I started at UWC as well , and a year , and I ended up going over as well , because I ran a 10K in 29:09 . To be honest , I don ’ t know if that course was a bit short , but still , I know it was still under 30 , which is pretty good for a junior athlete . Zola saw this , and said that since Nadeel was doing really well , she offered me scholarship as well , and I also didn ’ t have to write the SAT and could just transfer in .
We had a good time at Coastal for the next three years , but I unfortunately struggled a lot with injury . I actually came over from South Africa very much injured , because of all the road running I ’ d done . Now ,
Adriaan in action for Florida State University
MA : There was a large contingent of South Africans at Coastal Carolina at that time . Did that make it a bit easy to transition into the US system ?
AW : Yeah , it was me , my brother , Aynslee van Graan and Lisha van Onselin on the track and cross country team . I never met Aynslee ’ s sister Kyla there – she left just before I got there . We also had a hurdler from Welkom named Hesmari Coetzee , plus there were three South Africans in the soccer team , and Zola ’ s household with three kids and her husband , so that made it easier . We had a decent bunch , and we often hung out together .
MA : Did you guys talk any Afrikaans while there ? AW : Yeah , we talked a lot of Afrikaans , which made it a whole lot easier for me , as I struggled so much with English in the beginning , because we never used to speak much English growing up in Ceres ! really . It was a huge adaptation for me , but yeah , I think it made it a lot easier knowing there was so many South Africans there as well .
MA : What prompted the move to Florida State University for your Masters Degree ?
AW : I was going to stay at Coastal , but Zola was done there , so she helped to arrange for me to move to Florida State . One of the former coaches at Coastal Carolina knew the Florida State head coach , Bob Braman , and he offered me a spot on his roster while I did my MBA at Florida State . Bob is basically a professional coach , because he ’ s been coaching at Florida State for 20 years , and before that he was also coaching for 18 years at the University of Florida . He has coached multiple World Champs finalists and internationals , from the 1500m all the way to the 10,000m .
Florida State is about four times bigger than Coastal Carolina , and they have all the resources , including facilities , transport to get to races , physicians ,
Setting a new SA Record for 5000m indoors
Images : Courtesy Adriaan Wildschutt , Coastal Carolina University , Florida State University , NAZ Elite
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