Today’s #FastFriday starts all the way back in October of 2009. Brad Nadauld was a school friend and he heard I was giving a talk at the KHOSA Club in Krugersdorp. At the time he weighed 145kg, down from 165kg at his peak. Needless to say, I did not recognise him. He told me he was going to run Comrades and I think he was pleasantly surprised that instead of the: “Are you mad?” or “No Ways” retort he got from everyone else, I told him that he could do it. BUT he had to lose some weight first.
Brad qualified for but did not finish the first Comrades (2010) at 130kg. In 2011 he came back and got his medal, weighing in at 120kg and finishing in 11:39. In 2012, Brad ran an astonishing 10:41 weighing 115kg. A lot of people know Brads story (Watch this short video if you don’t), but what I love about it is not that he achieved something amazing by finishing Comrades (and in the process saving his life). It’s the fact that after doing the seemingly impossible, he decided that it was time to set new, bigger goals. He wanted to be a fast runner too.
At the outset, let me say that I have never formally coached Brad, however through our business dealings, Comrades Road Shows and friendship I have provided programmes and advice when it was needed. I therefore take much pride in seeing where he has ended up.
So how did Brad end up on #FastFriday? In May 2013, Brad ran the Randburg Harriers 8km Time Trial in 38:55!! That equates to a 3:50 Marathon and a 9:30 Comrades. Bearing in mind that Brad still weighs over 100kg and ran his first Marathon in 4:59 – this is an unbelievable achievement.
What is Brad’s secret?
He is consistent in his training and importantly does not over-run. He adds swimming and cycling to the weekly mix; running a maximum of 4 days a week. This helps to prevent him from being too sore from day to day and reduces injury risk.
When he moved to Cape Town in 2015 however he got a little too excited about all the beautiful places he could run and decided to run every day. His calf let him know that this wasn’t such a great idea after all and I’m glad to report that Brad is now back on the road. As a result, I’m looking forward to Brad running a sub 35min for 8km in the not-to-distant future!
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