Pushing Limits: Matt’s 215km Ultra for a Cause
On 6 May, Matt Davies from Aico set off on an epic 215km ultramarathon from Bristol to Oswestry with the ambitious goal of completing the route in 48 hours.
That means, at the time of publication, Matt is currently pushing his body to the physical limit and battling sleep deprivation whilst weaving his way through the historical Offa’s Dyke through England and Wales with over 4,500m of elevation.
We caught up with Matt as he prepared for his ultramarathon to see how his training was going, what inspired him to take on this challenge, and what advice he has for others who want to fundraise for the EIC.
Q: What inspired you to take on this challenge for the EIC?
Matt: Endurance sports have always been my hobby; I love pushing myself to achieve more and go further. This is by far my biggest challenge yet, so it made sense to raise some money alongside the run. EIC stood out as an obvious choice, it helps support the workers and families that keep our industry ticking over, and the work and outreach programmes they have are amazing.
Q: How has training been going so far?
Matt: This specific block has around 16 weeks. I started on January 1st and have run 1050km in training so far. That’s an average of 9.5km a day, every day. However, I have focused more on doing long-distance, back-to-back training runs (for example 20km Saturday and 30km Sunday)
Q: What differences have you found between training for an ultramarathon vs a standard marathon?
Matt: I genuinely believe that if you have trained for a marathon, you can run 100km+. It’s a mindset. As long as you have a good reason “why?” you’re doing it then your body is not the limiting factor.
Q: What do you think will be the hardest part of the challenge?
Matt: Definitely the sleep deprivation. I have done multi-day challenges before but never on such little sleep. I’m relying on an awesome support team to help me with food, mini-sleep stations and foot bandaging!
Q: What message/advice would you like to give to our LiveSpark readers who are thinking of completing a similar challenge?
Matt: These kind of distances and training blocks are life-changing! Keep a positive mindset in training and on race day. Plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Q: Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
Matt: Firstly, a massive thanks to all the donors. We’ve smashed our targets across the 3 charities I’m raising money for. Big thanks to Jane and Neal for facilitating this as an Aico-backed project. And to my support crew – Chris, Adam, Si and Billy, who will be supporting in different capacities. Couldn’t do it without them!
We’re wishing Matt the best of luck for this incredible challenge. There’s still time to donate to his challenge and show Matt that the industry is behind him!
