Ipeleng Motuba

Friday, January 02, 2015

Enchanted is the word I would use to describe how I felt when I first saw this woman. Never had I seen such a smile and a friendly personality from anybody at Run club. She pushed me to run further and longer, she also taught me how to breathe properly. She is one of the people who made the running experience amazing!


Q. Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do for a living?
A.  I am Ipeleng Motuba, aka, Khaleesi. I am a culinary artist; who, in my heart, comes from Cape Town. I was actually born in Johannesburg and raised in Mamelodi West, in Pretoria.


Q. How do you balance your exercise regime and your professional life?
A. I love exercising with all of my being, because of the way it makes my body feel and look. It is also something that comes naturally to my soul; as I have been playing an array of sports from since the age of four years old. This is probably the reason why I place sporting activity as a priority in my life. My profession is an intense workout of its own; so–much-so, that it forms a part of the reason, as to, why I love my job in itself. 


Q. What does your weekly fitness regime consist of?
A. I run and practice Yoga as frequently as possible and field hockey is one of my hobbies at the moment.


Q. When and why did you start running?
A. I started running when I was in my last year of kindergarten. I remember that I won my first-ever 30m sprint and it was then that I realised that I am a talented sport’s woman. I simply refuse to suppress my love for activity.

Q. What motivates to go out there, when you do not feel like it?
A. I do not like to look at my body when I can see that it is out of shape. I even sometimes ‘punish’ myself for skipping exercises by pushing my distance and/or time records ahead of the previous days’ workout – Those are definitely my favourite runs, because no matter what, I have to push myself to beat my personal records. Ha ha ha, I have a competitive streak in my bones, when it comes to performing in experiences that I love. This is most likely generic, as I am born of two super-fit parents. Understanding that they are runners comes from seeing them as very physically active people – Sporting wise.


Q. What is the longest distance you have ran?
A. Probably 14kms... accidentally. I was lost on the road. I aspire to run marathons, when I feel that I am ready enough run for silver.

Q. What do you love about running?
A. The fact that it comes naturally to my body.

Q. What do you hate about running?
A. Getting out of bed to do so.

Q. What gives you the confidence to run in the streets?
A. I believe that it is determined by my focus level. 

Q. How do you think running can empower women?
A. The purpose of women is to usurp men from any positions that they feel there to be an imbalance of power. I often like to prove that we are equal and at one’s fittest, one is able to challenge the man who runs in the street. This in itself is empowering, because when it comes to physical activity, men always believe themselves to be stronger than women. There is no greater feeling than outrunning a man in the street. Watch this space.


Q. What would you like to achieve in the future in terms of running?
A. I would like to run a marathon in Cape Town, New York, Tokyo, Berlin and of course, the City-to-City Ultra Marathon.

Q. How do you envision the future of running?
A. I cannot wait for the day that my training regimen increases from 10km/day to 15km/day. In the future, I would love to inspire others to run their own course. As a fit person, you can only maintain the fitness by continually training. In the long-run, I hope that the culture expands to the extent that we can participate in friendly continental long-distance relays.

Q. What do you think about the lack of exercise among the youth?
A. I think that it is normal that the youth do not want to indulge in exercise. Sport is generally diminished by the ideals of pursuing academic achievement. The day that our societies discover that they need to invest in sport, is the day that the youth will-again become more interested in the concept of participating in it, at International levels. 


Q. What was your best running experience?
A. I ran my final 200M race against this girl from St Andrews. She was a year younger than me, but we were then of the same age-group. She was the only girl who had ever beaten me in a school’s race and that made me unhappy, because we it had kind-of been happening all season. We ran separate heats and I was sceptical of my race-time vs. Hers. It really pissed me off when she beat me and the fact that her speed made me nervous, even more-so. Alas, my training paid off at the end of the day, because I ended up being faster than her by 1 minute and 12 seconds – which was the BEST! To this day, I wish that we could have run against each other properly, that time.

Q. What was your worst running experience?
A. When I lost my 200M race to the girl whom I mentioned in the story above. My sprint was shattered, because I let her intimidate me. I remember one of my soul-mates, Jamie du Plooy, mentioned that she had never seen me that nervous before a race, in the 12 years that we had been running together.

Q. How do you push through the pain?
A. I remind myself to breathe properly.

Q. What is your favourite shoe to run in?
A. My New Balance trainers.

Q. What can you not run without?
A. A head-scarf.

Q. What advice can you give somebody who wants to start running?
A. The challenge is a mental one, more than a physical one and you should always listen to your body.

Q. Which Social media sites are you on and how can one follow you?

A.  Facebook: The “Keep Eating” page.
     Twitter: @Thee_Khaleesi.
     Instagram: @Khaleesi_12.

This picture remains one of the best action shots that have been taken of me. In all of my running pictures I look nasty, but in this one I think I look like a model. Me and Ipeleng slayed this picture and the best part of it is that we were not asked to pose. 


#RunRevolution


You Might Also Like

0 comments