Described on Wikipedia as "an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa," Potchefstroom in fact doubles as a hotbed for high performance sport. Similar to Stellenbosch in this combination of education and athleticism, "Potch" has the added dimension of altitude, so much so that many an overseas athlete or squad has - and continues to - make use of the great sporting facilities.
But it's pretty cold in winter. Ask Elroy Gelant, one South Africa's premiere long distance athletes. A perennial international contender over 5,000m, Elroy hails from the Southern Cape town of George. With a personal best of just over 13min for the 12.5 laps of the track, one might be forgiven for assuming that the Potchestroom resident would be a full time athlete, training twice daily and sleeping the rest. But not so. You see, Elroy works a full day as an HR consultant at the North-West University. His days start early (4:30am) with the requisite aerobic runs that are part and parcel of any distance athlete. Then it's off to the office before his second session of the day in the early evening. Training there through the winter means tracksuits, woolly hats and two pairs of gloves.
But that's OK with Elroy. Having a day job and other commitments balances out the Olympian's life. He says he is happy with this work-life combo. Having experienced the life of a full-time athlete in 2016, he feels that being working a full day and the structure that that brings to his life actually benefits his sporting performance.
The fact that Elroy has taken special leave (yes, it is true) to compete in Sunday's Sanlam Cape Town Marathon (his debut over the distance) might be a surprise to many, but it doesn't seem bother him. And maybe that is one of the keys to his consistent performances over the years. He's got other things to think about every day.
