After a 4 week high altitude training camp in Dullstroom in January, Matt made the long haul to New Zealand for his first race of the year at Tarawera Ultra-Trail By UTMB
Designed to capture the stunning and diverse landscapes of the Rotorua region and showcase what #TrailsFullofHeart is all about – connection with land and people in breathe taking surroundings on 105km of runnable trails with roughly 3000m of ascent.
The pace on Saturday was fast from the start and Matt was with the lead bunch. Last years winner Daniel Jones piled the pressure on, Matt measured his efforts to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race picking off runners one by one and moving into third place where he would manage a comfortable gap and find himself crossing the finish line to stand on yet another UTMB World Series podium behind now two times champion Daniel Jones(NZ) and Justin Grunewald(USA).
Races of this nature are not run on a weekly or even monthly bases as athletes need time to prepare with each Ultra Trail Run presenting its own unique challenges but then there is the recovery time post the race. The consistency Matt is showing is incredible and testament to his meticulous training and strategic race craft, in the past two years, Matt has accumulated incredible accolades:
• 2022 Mozart100 by UTMB, Austria – 10th overall, 5th in Category
• 2022 Nice by UTMB, France – 5th overall, 3rd in Category
• 2022 UTCT, South Africa – 6th overall and in Category
• 2023 Trail Alsace Grand Est by UTMB, France – 2nd overall(behind 1st by 58seconds)
• 2023 Julian Alps Trail Run by UTMB, Slovenia – 5th overall, 3rd in Category
• 2024 Tarawera Ultra Trail by UTMB, New Zealand – 3rd overall, 2nd in Category