This is Alan’s second year competing at the Kill Cliff Granite Games, and we just had to pull up and chat with him about what keeps him coming back to travel the Road to Minnesota from half a world away. Find out more about this South African athlete and his goals, and be sure to catch him in action this weekend!
GG: Now, your flight was how long??
Alan Foulis: It was a 26-hour flight. I flew from Cape Town up to Amsterdam and then across to St Paul. That’s 13 hours one way and eleven the next.
GG: Wow, that’s dedication. So what makes you want to come to St Cloud, MN, for a competition when you’re all the way in South Africa?
AF: I think for myself, anyway, it’s about getting out there and the experience of competing at a really high level, and I’d seen the Granite Games on social media, actually, because I follow some of the Games athletes, and Sam Dancer and a few others had spoken about it before. And we don’t have a lot of high level competitions down in South Africa at all, and I eventually want to make it to the CrossFit Games and this is one way of kind of seeing where I’m at and putting myself up against some of the best in the world.
GG: Absolutely. What was it like last year competing against all of those elites who were fresh off the CrossFit Games experience?
AF: For the first couple of days I was a little bit star struck I guess, cuz I’d only ever seen them on social media or on ESPN or something like that. So to be standing next to them in the lanes to compete was a little bit daunting but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once you hear “3-2-1-Go,” you kind of switch off to who’s around you.
GG: Yeah, tune everybody out. Tunnel vision. What do you think the best event will be for you this weekend?
AF: This weekend I like the squat clean and jerk, the 20-15-10. That’s just kind of a grind and I enjoy the barbell, so I’m looking forward to that. And then working on the football field. Yeah that should be fun as well.
GG: That looks like a lot of fun, I’m going to have to go out there and catch some of the action. Did you find a way to practice that carry?
AF: No, no I didn’t! I tried with a few wooden jags but it’s not quite the same because the bags are soft and floppy and I didn’t have a chance. I hope there will be some in the warm-up area, maybe.
GG: I saw you stopped by CrossFit Fast Factory and took that great photo in front of the flag! What did you think of the new gym?
AF: I think it was fantastic. It’s a really impressive facility. The floor space is HUGE. My box at home is maybe a fifth or sixth of the size. But it really is a fantastic facility. I’m really envious of everything you have going on there. And the showers were super fancy, which is really nice. And Dani Horan was there this morning as well, training, so I had a chance to meet her and catch up with a few athletes
