TRAIL RUNNING
On his way to one of the fastest times ever for the 13 Peaks Challenge
“ I want to peak at the very highest level in the sport . That ’ s the goal . Otherwise , I wouldn ’ t be doing this ”
runner Armand Du Plessis , who showed him a few places to save time and gave him advice to speed up on the really technical sections . He also had regular chats with Ryan about route choices . And so , on 15 August , Matt hit the trails , being followed through much of the course by the camera crew of Wild Air Sports , who did live stories on the day in order to “ bring the run to the couch ,” as Matt puts it .
“ I went out and got a 14:11:58 , just 12 minutes off that 13 Peaks Impossible badge . It wasn ’ t an easy day , but I was even more chuffed with my time , and it ’ s motivated me to want to try again , and beat Ryan ’ s FKT ,” says Matt . “ I don ’ t think it ’ s arrogant to say that I think I can beat Ryan ’ s time , because I think I ’ m a better version of me now , stronger and more experienced – but it won ’ t be soon , because I will need to find a time for it between my racing commitments . That said , doing an FKT run is mentally taxing , because every time you stop to rest or refuel , you ’ re wasting time – and that route is brutal , so everybody needs to rest or refuel sometimes !”
Mental Speedbump
When it comes to racing , Matt is a strict adherent of the ‘ less is more ’ school of thought , especially since his focus is on trail ultras . “ I think a lot of guys do overcook themselves , so I ’ ve always been about doing three goal races for the year , and at most four . I know some people think , oh , doesn ’ t that put more pressure on you – as in , I only have three days a year to prove myself ? But for me , I feel like it allows me to tick all the boxes , and when I do go race , I ’ m
100 % ready . I have watched the careers of many international guys closely for the last two years , and at the end of last year , many of them were getting operations – often because their racing calendars were ridiculous , with at least 250 miles of racing even in their most relaxed month !”
And so , after recovering from his Addo and 13 Peaks efforts , Matt lined up for 2021 UTCT , and for the first time in his racing career , he posted a DNF . “ I just felt that mentally , I was really struggling . I think it was the first time where I felt anxious , including about germs and getting sick , after the COVID pandemic . It just felt like I didn ’ t have the tools to deal with that kind of stuff , and going into that race , I wasn ’ t in a great space mentally , so I feel like I lost that race before I even started . By the time I got to Llandudno , I knew I wanted to pull out , but I told myself , just run to Hout Bay and then you can have that conversation with yourself and decide whether you should or shouldn ’ t continue ,” says Matt .
“ In the end , I was actually quite proud of myself for pulling out in Hout Bay , because normally , I would not have honoured my true emotions – I would have just told myself to get it done . I think that If I had continued , I would have probably picked up a position or two , but I would not have learnt a valuable lesson . By pulling out , I learnt a lot more , because it made me realise that I wasn ’ t enjoying myself . In fact , I was hating running at that time , so I just said , I ’ m going to pull out , and then I ’ m going to make a conscious effort to learn from this and to deal with whatever I ’ m going through mentally .”
Matt with girlfriend Chelsea Taylor during his 13 Peaks run
Images : Wild Air Sports , Jonathan Ferreirra / ASICS
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