PROGRESS NEEDS CHANGE
MULTISPORT
any. I especially needed to sort out the clothing, because you need something practical that won’ t hinder your progress. You can’ t swim in a doekie!”
Rogeema says that event organisers have been very understanding and she’ s never had a problem with officials regarding her religion. The tri community has also been wonderfully supportive, and she now sees them as an extension of her family, especially the Atlantic Triathlon Club and the Embark triathlon training group that she is a part of. However, she has received some push-back from members of the Muslim community who feel that triathlons are not a sport Muslim woman should be taking part in...
“ It is a question of balance, in my opinion, between my spiritual life and my physical pursuits. I don’ t think I could do one without the other. People may judge me, but I am not doing it for them, and I am not harming anyone in any way, but I am building myself into a stronger and healthier human being. I don’ t always handle the negativity as well as I should, but I try to steer clear of those who judge without understanding. I want to educate people that sport is important and that it helps you in all aspects of your life. It changes you as a person and helps you to find the courage within yourself that you didn’ t even know existed.”
STEPPING IT UP
Just as had happened in her running, Rogeema found that first taste of triathlon just made her want more.“ I knew that I would want to step up a level one day and go on to do the Ironman race, but initially I kept putting my Ironman entry off, until last year I eventually decided to just go for it, and I put in the work needed to be successful at it. It took me a while to get to the Half Ironman 70.3 distance, but it was all worth the effort in the end.”
“ The feeling of standing on that beach in January, looking out at the ocean, was indescribable, and I felt very excited about the challenge that lay ahead. I think that is one of the reasons I love the structure and intensity of the training programmes that triathletes put themselves through. It takes away most of the butterflies and doubt on race day. It leaves you with an excited anticipation of the adventure that lies ahead of you.”
“ Today I look at my medal and I know that I have finished one of the toughest things I could ever try and do. Months of preparation and sacrifice went into that event, and the emotion of those last few kilometres of my run were so heavy that I wanted to choke up with each step that I took closer to the finish line. This achievement, for me, is up there with finishing the Two Oceans Ultra. It is an empowering moment that I savour.”
GIVING BACK
The journey from Karateka to runner to Ironman triathlete has been an eventful one for Rogeema, and at times a lonely one. Today, she sees herself as an example to women, especially young women, who want to follow a more active lifestyle, and thus she has become active in the Dreamgirls mentorship programmes.“ Young women need positive role models and people who can identify and nurture their potential. It took me a while to talk about my sport in public, but since I have done so, many girls have come up to me and said that they feel empowered by my story.”
“ All women should use their experiences to help other people, especially young girls. They shouldn’ t believe that they can’ t do things just because other people can’ t do it. There must be a first person to do things, and if what I do can benefit somebody else in their lives, then that is a good reason to keep on doing it. I believe that you must know what you want, have a clear idea of what it will take to get there, and be prepared to do whatever it takes, because nothing worth it is easy. At the end of it, when you achieve that goal, all the sacrifice will have been worth it. The person that starts is not the same person that finishes the race. It transforms you and will make you stronger and better than you were before.”
PJ’ S PIECE
By PJ Moses
PROGRESS NEEDS CHANGE
I
remember when I was still a drug-user and my life revolved around chasing the highs – that feeling of euphoria brought on by the chemical changes your brain undergoes when you are pumping your body full of stuff that has no benefit to your physical wellbeing. It was like my mind was trying to protect me from the harm I was doing to my body when I was using. Or the drug was fooling my mind into thinking that what I was using was a good thing. I remember the anxiety of not being able to feed the hunger I was feeling, the craving that consumed my thoughts and the fear that I wouldn’ t be able to experience that level of bliss again.
I am glad that I could rid myself of those destructive practices and those dark days. Still, I think that there is still some echo of those days left deep inside of me. The echo seems totally different now, though. It rings out over the abyss of the darkness that I left behind, but is a happier and more optimistic sound now. Not a cry of desperation or fear, but a rolling thunder of life rumbling along over the majestic mountain peaks that I now get to explore.
I hear that echo every time I look up at a mountain, or find an event that I have not done before. This echo of‘ chasing the high’ is what drove me early on in road running, and later when I started doing trail, that urge to get over every hill and see what is next. And now the next hill I see beckoning is a race they call Ironman.
It is a trifecta of pain and suffering, but also a mash-up of achievement that few events even try to emulate. You swim and then you cycle, before you put on your running shoes and hope that you have done enough in training to get over that finish line and hear those famous words,“ You are an Ironman!”
I’ ve given myself till 2019 to prepare for it, and I believe that progress can only be achieved by embracing change and pushing your boundaries. It is time for the creation of # IronPeej.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: PJ is a former Cape Flats gangster who took up running, and writing about it, when he turned his back on that dangerous lifestyle in order to set a better example for his two young sons.
Images: Courtesy Ironman SA & PJ Moses
34 ISSUE 104 MARCH 2018 / www. modernathlete. co. za