TRAIL RUNNING
Matt being followed by the cameras during the 2022 UTCT
On the Up … an appropriate way to describe Matt ’ s trail running career
start the year with a local race – he is thinking about tackling the Mac Mac Ultra again . Later in the year , he will head to Europe again , and is thinking about a Spanish race , but is also considering options to race in Brazil or New Zealand . Unfortunately , he says he will not be running the UTCT in 2023 , because it will be on the same weekend as his one mate ’ s wedding . “ They chose the last weekend in November , so I ’ m a little disappointed about missing the UTCT , because after this year I wanted to try do better next time round , but not running UTCT also opens up my calendar and allows me to consider doing different things , so that ’ s also exciting .”
Overall , he says he is still just enjoying the journey , and learning more with each passing day , both about running and about himself . “ Essentially , I ’ m still relatively new to running , so I understand that right now I ’ m growing exponentially as an athlete , and eventually I will start plateauing . For now , it ’ s making sure I lay the right foundation while I am young , because when I ’ m 35 , I want to peak at the very highest level in the sport . That ’ s the goal . Otherwise , I wouldn ’ t be doing this ,” says Matt .
“ I suppose that ’ s also a part of why I was previously struggling mentally , because I ’ m always focused on the long road ahead . I know that endurance athletes tend to peak in their 30s , which means I ’ m running now for my future self . I suppose that was taking a bit of the joy out of it for me , because I was sacrificing the 20-year-old me in a way , but I ’ ve been able to find that balance of performance and joy in running .”
So , what does Matt ’ s father say now about his career as a professional trail runner ? “ He ’ s fully on board with it now . After all , he gets a lot of free Asics gear , so he can ’ t complain !” says Matt . “ No , I ’ m just joking . The best thing about this year for me was that I was able to make some incredible memories with my parents , as well as my sister and girlfriend , and having that support when I race has been wonderful . In Nice , I couldn ’ t have done it without them , because there were no other Asics runners in that particular race , so there was no other support structure for me there . It ’ s also a good excuse for them to go have an overseas holiday when I race , so now they usually ask me , where ’ s the next one ? So yeah , I have been very lucky .”
Images : Wild Air Sports
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