TRAIL RUNNING
Support from the family at an aid station during the Mozart 100
The satisfaction of a first top 10 finish on the European circuit
The good news for Matt is that withdrawing from the race did have a positive effect on his running . “ I just feel like this year I ’ ve been so chilled , and my whole approach to races is totally different . It ’ s really simple , to get from A to B as quickly and efficiently as you can , and the more I stress going into the run , the less I ’ m going to perform during the run . I think having those mental tools to deal with being anxious , has been crucial to my success this year , because I really used it to my advantage when I went to race in Austria and France .”
Austrian Ultra
Having taken December 2021 off , Matt then focused on a block of road training from January to March , to work on his speed , including running the Bay to Bay 30km road race as a fun training run . “ It was cool to actually see how much of the trail community was out on the road , and I really just enjoyed myself . Then I did the Peninsula Half Marathon competitively , and those races really reminded me why I ’ m doing the sport , because the road community really love their running . I only started specifically training for trail at the end of March , and I made that transition slowly , to get my climbing legs back , and start preparing for my first big race of the year , the Mozart 100km in Salzburg , Austria , in June .”
The Mozart 100 is also part of the UTMB World Series . It takes place in the European summer months , and is a less technical , very fast , runnable race at lower altitude – which is why Matt says he was attracted to the event . “ I chose the Mozart because it played to my strengths . I didn ’ t want to put myself on the backfoot in my first international race in Europe by coming from sea level in South Africa to high altitude mountains in Europe . I was given a free entry and listed as one of the elites , but I was literally the last elite on the list , so I was quite surprised when I got called up on stage before the race . I was sitting way in the back , in the shade , so I had to run up when they called my name !”
Matt had actually gone over to Austria three and a half weeks before the race , to recce the route and give himself the best chance of doing well . He says it was made easier because the public transport system over there is so good , and by the time he ran the race , he felt like a local . “ I had seen about 90 % of the route , and my race plan went perfectly . I knew the European athletes are used to long , steep climbs and equally long , steep descents – much longer than anything we have here – so I knew I would lose time to them in the first half of the race , especially on the descents , but I also knew the second half of the race suited me better , so I thought I could make up positions then , if everything went to plan , and get into the top 10 .”
With his support crew of his parents , sister and girlfriend , Chelsea Taylor , waiting for him at the aid station after the second big descent , Matt found out that he was lying 16th . “ I thought to myself , OK , now it ’ s time to move , and absolutely emptied my tank for the next 30-odd kays , passing all the guys who had run past me on the downhills , and fought my way up from 16th to 10th . At the end , I think I was less than a minute off ninth , so I was chuffed , not just because I had made top 10 in my first international race , but because I was able to use all the physical and mental tools I ’ d been working , and that obviously gave me a lot of confidence .”
Bringing it Home
With the top 10 in Austria in the bag , Matt ’ s next race was the ultra in Nice , where he claimed that brilliant and gutsy fifth place , and then he lined up for the UTCT 100km in November . However , he says he now realised the UTCT route is not ideal for him , as it has far more climbing than runnable flats . He also didn ’ t have as much time to recover as he would have wanted , given that Nice was so close to UTCT , so
he went into the race knowing he may not be able to replicate his top five result . “ I was very realistic – my goal was to be first South African , and if that placed me in the top 10 , then cool . The UTCT doesn ’ t suit my strengths , which is ironic , considering I live here , but the first 40 kays are super technical , especially now the route changed over the Twelve Apostles . It ’ s not easy running ,” says Matt .
“ Still , I am a little disappointed about how my day went , purely because I started cramping , and I hadn ’ t cramped in three years . My legs just fell apart when I had to climb , and I lost a lot of time , because at times I wasn ’ t actually running , I was on my haunches . But I still really enjoyed my day , as I had some of my mates crewing for me , so it was a really fun day having that much support on the route . James and I chatted about it afterwards and agreed that maybe I just lacked a bit of technical conditioning for those first 40 technical kays after all the focus on runnable trails ahead of my two European races .”
In the end , Matt finished sixth ( and second South African ), close to 40 minutes behind local rival Daniël Claassen , and describes the day as frustrating and disappointing . “ Huge congrats to Daniël , the way he consistently delivers excellent performances at this event is inspiring . Mentally I was feeling good , and my energy was great , but because I cramped so severely , my legs had only one gear . From a performance point of view , I ’ m disappointed , but I still finished happy , especially considering it was just a year ago that I DNFed this race . Also , I can ’ t really tell people I ’ m disappointed with a third top 10 finish in a race featuring top international athletes … but the athlete in me is still disappointed .”
For Future Self
Looking ahead to 2023 , Matt says he has not quite nailed down his racing plans yet , but would like to
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