ORANJESTAD ― This week we had the chance to interview the strong and courageous Amadee Nicolaas. The 29th year old Amadee was born and raised on the island of Aruba and has been in the sport of Running and Triathlon for quite some time. Her dedication and perseverance has gotten her a long way in these sports and many athletes admire her and see her as an inspiration. Upcoming Sunday the 24th of June Amadee will be attending her first IRONMAN 70.3 in Costa Rica which will consist of 1.9km swim, 90km bike and finishing with a 21.1km run. We wish Amadee all the best on her journey.
-At what age did you start practicing these sports and what kept you practicing them till now?
Competitive running for 5 years. Why running? Running builds a tenacity and mental toughness that translates into every area of your life. If you can handle getting through 26.2 miles (42.2km), you can handle anything. This is why once you start running and love the feeling you get afterwards you will never stop doing this. Running is like a therapy session. And as Bonus: IT IS FREE! Furthermore, you can run any time of the day! The trail/road is never closed. Whether you want to get in a workout at 10pm or 4am, you can. These are some of the reasons why I am still in love with running.
However, there are some sacrifices to become a better runner and you have to suffer from time to time but I LOVE this kind of suffering because in the end you will only get faster and stronger! If you want to get better you have to put in work and time. At this moment I am working with Coach Aldrick Maduro (Al training Performance) and we have some goals for the future. So I am looking forward to my coming running years!
Triathlon for 6 months. I just started this year with triathlon. Running is “just” the last part of triathlons and according to most athletes the hardest part of the sport. I wanted to challenge myself and this is why I decided to give triathlon a try. I AM CURRENTLY IN LOVE AND ADDICTED to this swim bike and run sport. Why do one sport if you can do all three together? I completed 3 sprint distance triathlons, 1 Olympic distance triathlon and by end of June 24, 2018 I will be an Ironman70.3 Finisher! This is just the beginning!
– What event would you like to take part of next and what are your future goals?There are a lot of personal goals for the future. I am in my ‘glory’ years at the moment and I am planning to stay in this moment for a while together with my coach with proper training and guidance. Next race is Ironman70.3 Costa Rica (1.9km swim- 90 km bike- 21.1km run). In October I have the next BIG race which is the Chicago Marathon. Trainings will start in July and we are definitely going for a PR! My ultimate marathon goal is to Qualify for the Boston Marathon. When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible. With the guidance of my coach we WILL definitely make this happen!
Furthermore, I want to finish a couple of Ironman70.3 and marathons in the following years and when I feel ready and my coach thinks I am ready we will go for an Ironman140.6 (Full IM). Full Ironman consists of 3.8 km swimming, 180km biking and followed by running a full marathon (42.2km). Then who knows? Ultra marathons? Ronde van Aruba single? I am looking forward to many sportive and active years ahead.
-What changes would you like to see in these sports?
All in all, I am happy and satisfied with the running and triathlon events on Aruba. What I love the most are the people you get to know during these events/races. The running and triathlon community is awesome! At last I want to give a shout out to Adidas Aruba and Sport Caribe Aruba for believing in the local athletes! I am honored to be part of Team Adidas (female runner)! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the support, MY TEAM ROCKS!
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Aruba Top Athletes is a new section in ArubaToday dedicated to all local athletes representing the island of Aruba. Once a month we will bring to you a local athlete from a variety of sports happening on the island of Aruba.
