Q. Who are you and what you do for a living?

My name is Bridgette Hattingh. I am from Pretoria and I am a qualified Quantity Surveyor (this is someone that manages budgets and costs on construction sites)

Q. How do you balance your exercise regime and your professional life? 

I am fortunate this year in that I have taken some time away from a normal 8 to 5 job to pursue my studies further and to look into the option of starting my own business, so my time is now a little bit more flexible, but in previous years it was difficult to find the right balance. I found that it used to help to prioritise my training before I got to work in the mornings – that way it was always done before my day got busy and allowed me the opportunity to get to work feeling as though I had already accomplished something before the day had even started. 

Q. When and why did you start running? 

I started running track and cross country in school and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Although I stopped running altogether in my early university days, I decided to start up again when I finished my degree and started working. Being office bound and behind a desk all day at my job made me realise just how much I truly missed being outdoors and active. I have now been running again for a few years and enjoy racing all distances from 5km to ultra marathons. 

Q. What motivates you to go out there, when you do not feel like it? 

I think that it always helps to set goals for yourself, no matter how big or small they may be. For some people, the goal may be to just lose weight or just be able to run around the block. For others the goal might be a marathon or Comrades. No goal is ever too big or too small and the challenge of pursuing a goal will always help to keep one motivated to carry on

Q. What is the longest distance you have ran? 

I have recently run the Om Die Dam 50km ultra marathon and so this is my furthest. I am however planning on running the Comrades this year and have one or two more long training runs planned which will take me slightly further than the 50km distance

 

Q. What gives you the confidence to run in the streets?

Knowing that I have had the courage to start, and to also look back to see how far I have come in the past few years gives me great confidence to carry on

Q. What do you think about the lack of exercise? 

Lack of exercise is a great problem in our society. If people knew the benefits of being active, more people would do it. Benefits extend to all areas of life, not just physical and health but also for mental well being. 

Q. What was your best running experience? 

This may sound strange but I went down to Cape Town last year for the Cape Town Marathon 10km peace run. It’s a long way to travel to just run 10km but I wanted to test my speed at sea level. The race was fantastic and I had a great run. It was also great to watch the marathon and to experience a race of that calibre taking place on home soil 

Q. What was your worst running experience? 

Last year I ran the PE Marathon and it just did not go according to plan for me. Although I did manage to finish the race and I enjoyed the experience, I was looking to finish in under 3h20 on the day to obtain a B seeding for Comrades. Unfortunately, I had a terrible second half and only managed a 3h30 on the day (which is still very good, but it was not what I was looking to do as I know I am capable of doing better). Sometimes we want things too much and harm our own self-esteem in the pursuit of our goals 

Q. How do you push through the pain? 

I try to just stay mentally strong. Running can be very tough and your mind has to get you through to the finish on the days that your body wants to give up

Q. What advice can you give somebody who wants to start running? 

I think that new runners probably hear this a lot but two things that will always help are patience and consistency. Fitness will take time to develop and forcing it before you are ready for it will only lead to frustration and injury. Try to get out there as often as possible but do so at a reasonable pace and at manageable distances. Build slowly and steadily 

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

Twitter : @MrsHattinghRuns 

Instagram : mrshattingh_runs 

I also have a blog which I try to update once a month: bridgetteelk.wixsite.com/mrshattinghruns

#RunRevolution