interviewed by Nick Berrill
Personal details
Name: Amanda Nimon Peters
Nickname: none that I know of
Nationality: Australian
Married: to Mike Peters
Children: twin boys, James & Luke
Occupation: I have just resigned after ten years at Procter & Gamble in order to launch my own company.
What 3 words best describe you: energetic, extroverted, talkative
How many press-ups can you do in one minute: 50 to 55. On my toes and hands. No kidding.
For how long can you hold your breath: depends where I am! In the sea it's not very long because I get nervous!
Thoughts on Dubai
Years in Dubai: almost four
Where else have you lived: after Australia I moved to England to study, then I lived in Antarctica for field research, then I moved to Belgium to start with P&G. With P&G I moved again to The Netherlands, then the UK, then the UAE.
3 best things about Dubai: six months of perfect weather; living on the coast; Safa Park
3 worst things about Dubai: the traffic; constant fear of being evicted for someone who will pay more; lack of free media
Which 3 words would you use to best describe Dubai: expatriate; expanding; expensive
What is your recommendation for a great night/day out in Dubai: there are so many great choices and they are easily accessible- another thing I like about Dubai! My current favourite nightspots are Bussola and Jambase at the Madinat.
Favourites
Favourite food: raw salmon. I envy Canadian bears.
Favourite music: fast house or chill out, depending on whether I am running or sitting still.
Favourite smell: sweat. Isn't that lucky?
Favourite drink: Corona with lemon. It shouldn't even be called beer. It should have its own category.
Favourite movie: oh loads of them! Gladiator, Star Wars, Terminator 2 and Cyrano de Bergerac with Gerard Depardieu
Favourite animal: chimpanzee. When I was a little girl I wanted to live with them. Now with twin boys, I sort of do!
Favourite film star: Will Smith. Doesn't everyone love Will Smith? Also Diane Lane, Jodie Foster and Angelina Jolie.
Favourite sports person: Anna Berrill! You may have heard of her.
Favourite part of your body: probably somewhere behind my left ear.
If you were...
If you were an animal what would you be: anything that eats raw salmon
If you were an object what would you be: women are not objects
If you were a film star who would you be: Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2 but a version who is kinder to her children
If you ruled the world what would you change: actually I have a long and detailed list because this is something I am hoping will happen one day. I'd rather tell you from a podium.
If you were an inventor what would you invent: a means to transport myself instantaneously anywhere in the world so I could see family and friends without polluting the atmosphere or paying through the nose to outrageous, sadistic airlines.
General knowledge
How much does a Big Mac cost: I have never bought one in my life and I doubt I ever will. The only time I have eaten McDonalds in the past 30 years is one night in Surrey when I was pregnant and I had such a strong craving I made Mike get in the car immediately. We had to drive for 45 minutes because we had no clue where to find hamburgers.
How far is a mile in metres (do not use the internet or calculator): I guess you mean centimetres, no? There are 100cm in a metre x 1600m in a mile, so 160,000. If you are asking this question to test how many decimal points I know on the km to mile conversion, then my answer is it's high time the British moved into the modern era and adopted the metric system. Now I have another point to add to the list of things I will change when I rule the world.
How far is it to the sun (do not use the internet): I don't know this exactly, but I do know that if the earth were the size of a tennis ball, Pluto would be the size of a pea and about 3 miles away. Going on this I guess the sun is millions of light years away, but I could be an order of magnitude out.
Across your life...
What is you most embarrassing moment: I don't get embarrassed very easily
What is your most memorable moment: I don't have a very good memory...that's why I take lots of pictures!
What is your greatest achievement in life: I'm proud of lots of things I've done and I try to achieve things all the time. Perhaps some of the my most unusual achievements are becoming the fifth-elected female member of the British Antarctic club, an old-boys' `establishment' network in the UK, or being classified as a Belgian by Procter & Gamble and being sent a return ticket to Belgium every year when I have no connection whatsoever to Belgium and I told them so regularly.
What is your motto for life: Be happy and think well of others unless you have very strong first hand reasons to do otherwise.
What gets you out of bed in the morning: at 5am to train? The thought of Anna telling me that if my race times suck I have no one to blame but myself.
What is your worst habit: I interrupt other people. I hate it. Problem is I spent 6 years in sales in P&G and you learn bad habits because in sales if you don't scream and beat your chest, no one listens.
What are you afraid of: cooking, gardening and Anna.
Choices....
Red or White (wine): red, purely on health grounds!
Clinton or Obama: oh damn, both...and that's exactly the sort of fence-sitting indecisiveness that could lead the Republicans to win...so how to decide? If I lived in America, I would vote Hillary because she has a strong national record, but seeing as I live in the Middle East I hope its Obama. He has a much better international perspective and is the only one who does not look at us non-Americans as expendable.
Victoria or David (Beckham): he should be seen and not heard; she should be neither seen nor heard.
Pajero or Prado: I love my Pajero! But I am trying to drive it less to reduce my impact.
Prada or Top Shop: I wear mainly Adidas and Rip Curl!
MoE or Karama: I don't see shopping as a past time. I would mail order if I could.
Spinneys or Choithrams: Spinneys has a better range of fruit but they play the most ghastly canned music. If you are stuck in there for more than 20 minutes you want to rip your own ears off.
Brains or Beauty: Well ideally both! But it's a 60/40 split. I once had a totally gorgeous boyfriend I couldn't talk to and it was a disaster. It doesn't matter how lovely someone looks, sooner or later you need to be able to have a conversation with an adult.
Paris or London: I'd really rather live in Dubai than either.
Running and sport
How many years have you been running: I've run on and off since I was 19, but the type of running has varied. In Australia I was never serious, but I ran competitive cross country in the UK. It's only in Dubai I have started to do longer distances.
How many kms per week do you run: at the moment it's about 50km, but in high season its closer to 70km.
Favourite racing distance: half marathon for sure! You can enjoy a half. You can't enjoy 10km, there is nowhere to hide.
Best ever race: I loved RAK 2008, but my best ever is Abu Dhabi Half, March 2008, where I got my PB of 1:32.
Worst ever race: the Vancouver half marathon in the pouring rain, May 2006. I had total brain failure when packing and turned up in shorts and a vest, so I was the only one of more than 3000 runners not wearing wrist to ankle covering. People were laughing when they saw my Dubai logo and how I was dressed. I would have quit but we were in the middle of Stanley Park and there were no cabs.
What training do you hate: Track, before the session
What training do you like best: Track, after the session
What advice would you give a fellow runner: do whatever Anna tells you. It's just best that way.
What is your 'must have' piece of running kit: I have so many pieces of running kit I practically need a handbag on the course. I am the Queen of Pfaff.
What other sport do you do: in the past week or so I have raced up the Emirates Towers stair case, gone dragon boating, and had a two hour surfing lesson, in addition to my running and weights routine. I try to swim when I can also...but during the racing season it's hard to fit in much besides my usual training schedule.
