Adrian Williams - Faster at 55
There are very few people in the world who can say that their sprinting times for the 100m, 200m and 400m improved every year through their 50’s. I come with that hard earned experience and knowledge of what it takes to make improvements as an older athlete.
At 57 years of age, I currently run 58.1 seconds for the 400m. My sprinting journey started in my late 40s when I was fit but untrained and ran 71 seconds. A year later I ran 65 seconds and since then it’s been a gradual process of dropping 0.5 to 1 second each year. I feel blessed to be part of the broader athletic community and my own coaches Peter Upham (Shire Speed and Strength) and Teri Fragiadakis (T Athletic) have been and continue to be central to my personal journey.
Performance highlights have been winning State Titles, making National Finals and competing at 3 World Masters Championships. At the last World Championships in Sweden I missed the Semi Finals by 1/100th of a second and my next personal training goal is to make a Semi Final at Worlds in either the 200m or 400m events.
Developing a mindset and practices that drive improvement has been central to my success. Managing family life, a demanding work schedule, community contributions, and my athletic program has required me to be consistently diligent in prioritising my time efficiently.
The reality is that every older athlete is managing a matrix of competing demands across their family, work and life and that every time they make the start line in an athletic event is a major achievement that provides a warm inner glow !
I am firm believer that the hardest attribute to build is consistency. This requires more than physical excellence, and is only achieved with a holistic approach.
I haven’t always had success but I have learnt from each one of my experiences and bring this knowledge to my coaching.
Fulfilling your athletic potential is much more than learning skills and drills. It’s about understanding yourself and how to ingrain the habits that drive consistency and success. It takes time but every step is fulfilling if tackled with the right mindset.
My Track Journey
Running fast is an incredible feeling.
When you run fast the world slows down.
When you run fast, things start to make sense as you feel a connection to life, your body and the ground beneath and around you.
I had always played sport … 40 odd years of competing, improving, striving for success, coaching, refereeing, managing, scoring … but it wasn’t until I was 48 that I re-engaged with athletics and began sprinting competitively.
With the support of great coaches in my corner in my late 40s and through my 50s I have taken the path less travelled and trained and developed my fast twitch capabilities as a sprinter.
A decade later that means regularly competing against guys 30-40 years younger than myself … travelling the world to compete against the fastest men on the planet my age … all the while learning new skills and capabilities and developing my understanding of what it means to be an athlete.
Alongside sport and the last decade in athletics I am a husband, father of 3 beautiful children and have worked at the highest level of global corporate organisations and have consistently worked as a volunteer, creator and supporter of community based initiatives.
In this context, perhaps my key skill has been as a ‘juggler’ … balancing progress in family life, community work, corporate demands and athletic improvements has been incredibly rewarding but required more than passion and aspiration … ingraining the right daily habits has been key.
Success is built on mindset, efficiency and consistency and is different for each person.
If you are at any stage of your journey and would like someone to help you find the right path for you then I’d love to hear from you.
As I’ve shifted my focus to mentorship as well as my own athletic performance I have undertaken several coaching qualifications to equip myself with the knowledge and skills to deliver these programs and training to you in an efficient and structured way. See below relevant coaching accreditation. I also have a Working with Children’s check (Ref. No: WWC1335408E)
