Novice Runner Turned Boston Qualifier in Less Than a Year: RunnersConnect Team Member Matt Stewart

Name: Matt Stewart

Lives: Currently live in Sydney, Australia, although I was born in Auckland, New Zealand and married to Emma (also a RunnersConnect runner).

Work: Osteopath

Hobbies: Running (obviously!), bodysurfing

How long have you been running?

I have run sporadically throughout my life but I didn’t start training till May 2012. I ran 100m, 200m and occasionally 400m (I considered that long distance!) in school athletics and also competed in the high jump and long jump.

But I would never actually train for these events, I would just turn up, do the event, and if I qualified for the city athletics meet I’d go to that with zero training. I was able to do that because I was playing rugby and swimming at the time and training in those sports.

Later on, my training centered around underwater hockey, which is a crazy sport but was developed by divers to keep their fitness up during colder months and is perhaps the only one sport in which you need to hold your breath to be able to play! Our team went onto win a national title short-handed so we had to extra fit to overcome our opposition.

I think the aerobic conditioning that I developed then is what has helped me in my more recent training.

When and what was your first race?

My first race was a 5k in July 2012 that was part of a training series leading in the Auckland Half Marathon that was to be my first ‘big’ race. I finished 2nd overall (it was a small race field) and I was sore for five days afterwards! But I was hooked.

What is your favorite race?

The Comrades marathon in South Africa. It’s an incredible race and one very much steeped in history and ingrained in South African culture – the whole 12 hour race is broadcast live on national TV! It is the oldest and largest ultra-marathon in the world, a 56-mile road race run on the roads between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Usually the race direction is reversed each year so that one year is an up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and the next a down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

What are your goals? Goal races? Any bucket list running goals?

Fairly early on I decided that my biggest goal would be to run the Boston marathon. I ’d hadn’t even run a half-marathon at that stage but the combination of being the sport’s oldest continuously conducted marathon and requiring qualification makes it my mind the ‘runner’s marathon’. I’ve visited the city a couple of times and love it. I have a qualifying time that will probably get me in for 2015, I just have to get there and get there in one piece.

I’ll be heading back again to South Africa for the Comrades Marathon.

Last year was the ‘up’ run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, starting by the coast and heading up for 37km before levelling out a bit and making your way to the highest point of the course at 870m. I should mention that this race is not a standard marathon distance but 87km on the up run and close to 90km on the ‘down’ run.

As far as times go I’d like to crack the 3 hour mark in the full marathon, 1:25 in the half marathon and get my 5k time down to 18 minutes something. There’s another goal I want crack but I might need to bounce that one off the coaches, let’s just say that Coach Sarah laid down the gauntlet!

What do you love most about running?

Running for me is a couple of things. In training, running for me is about solitude. I mostly run by myself and the solitude allows some space away from the everyday ‘stuff’. Being active also refreshes the body and mind. The tough training sessions are great for pushing the limits of what my mind thinks I’m capable of.

Chris Chataway, a British runner who paced Roger Bannister to the first sub 4 minute mile, said that in moments when you force yourself to the limit and emerge from the challenge intact, a person ’will know more about himself, his character, his strengths, his emotions and his strengths, than any man who has never in some direction forced himself to his very limit.” I believe that to be true.

Running events are a combination of pushing your limits and enjoying the conviviality of running with ‘the pack’, the nervousness and high spirits of the starting line corral and the relief of crossing the finish line.

What were your biggest struggles before joining RunnersConnect? Example, what part of training did you struggle with the most?

I think the biggest struggle I had was doubt. I had all the questions a newbie has. I didn’t have a coach that could answer those questions, fine-tune the schedule to my fitness level, schedule and progression, so I had some doubt as to whether I was on the right track or not.

I didn’t have a background in athletics and wasn’t part of a running group so I didn’t have a knowledge base to work from.

What did your training look like prior to working with us?

I was using an app on my iPhone. One of my patients had recently started running, so I asked him how he got started. I downloaded the app that night and did my first assessment run the following morning.

I used that app to build a schedule and record my progress. I used that app for approximately six months, basically it got me from a complete novice planning to run a half marathon to completing my first marathon. I started running three times a week and the first 4–6 weeks were actually fairly unpleasant!

Then I reach a cardiovascular fitness ‘tipping point’ and I started to feel much more comfortable during my running. About 10 weeks in, after my first long run, I got a tremendous runner’s high. It was then that I knew what runners were talking about!

What prompted you to start looking for a better solution?

As my training progressed, my goals changed and I wanted to do a little more analysis on my training and secondly I had a few questions that I researched on the internet. Runners Connect articles more often than not come up in the search results. I appreciated the clear straightforward approach and using the research literature to support the advice given. Jeff also utilized Lydiard’s principles in his coaching, which I’ve followed in general too.

The app that I had been using was limited in the analysis it could do and it very difficult to export the data. Additionally, I didn’t want to have to run with an iPhone strapped to my arm all the time. Anyone who has been to Auckland, where I was living at the time, will know that it rains a lot there (137 rain days a year) and electronics and rain don’t mix well.

So as a reward for completing my first marathon I purchased a Garmin and after my recovery phase for that race, I signed up with Runners Connect at the start of 2013.

How has your training changed since you started working with RunnersConnect?

In short, speed work, bigger volume of overall training, a consistent 6 days a week of training, and a variety of training paces. Also, at times I have added strength training and mobility work as well. Some of the changes are related to my fitness progression and some to refocusing my goals on marathon and ultra distance training from the half marathon.

My longer runs are longer than I previously did and I have started to head to the track to do some of the harder speed sessions. I like the variety and the challenge of the harder workouts.

Recently, I had my first Michigan and a 2×6 mile workout, both tough but I think I did well with them.

What has been the biggest surprise or most interesting revelation about either the training or your own abilities that you’ve had in the last few months?

The biggest limits are those imposed by your own mind.

What is your favorite part of RunnersConnect now?

Getting to know some of the other runners on Runners Connect and having a laugh. I’ve met Dan Rose at races and I have the promise of a massage in Kuala Lumpur courtesy of Sweeny Choong! It’s great to see peoples successes and get amped about that. It’s also comforting to know other are struggling at times so you know you are not alone in facing the down moments in training.

A trouble shared is a trouble halved.

What recent results have you been able to attain since joining (PRs, staying healthy, new outlook, etc.)?

On the racing and PR front, my initial success with RunnersConnect training came early on. With about 6 weeks of training I entered a half marathon and shaved almost 4 and a half minutes off my 1/2 marathon PR, negative splitting at all the timing points. Not only that but that race also happened to be the New Zealand Half Marathon Championships and I placed in the top 50 overall and top 15 in my age group! It’s no US Olympic Trial type of field in terms of competition but I really happy with my effort and pushed hard all race.

My second marathon was off a nine-week training block after a calf strain that had me taking it easy for a couple of weeks. I managed a 25 minute PR to snag a Boston Qualifying time.

I’m really enjoying getting faster and pushing my performance while staying healthy and injury-free.