A 35-YEAR-old has completed an ultramarathon for a charity which helped his family.
Matthew Todd, from Hayton, near Aspatria, ran a 100-mile ultramarathon in just under 24 hours, raising money for Hospice at Home in memory of his father and grandfather, who both received care from the charity in the later stages of their lives.
Matt, who works for London and country mortgages, ran the the Rat Race ultramarathon from Bamburgh to Edinburgh on Saturday, July 4.
Matt said: "The work the hospice did was absolutely phenomenal.
"The nurses that came round were so gentle, kind, and supportive to people who needed it at that point."
His journey into ultramarathon running began with shorter distances and gradually built up over time.
He started with 5k and 10k runs, progressed to half marathons, then full marathons, and eventually entered the world of ultrarunning.
The year before the 100-mile challenge, he completed 'The Wall,' a 100km race from Carlisle to Newcastle along Hadrian’s Wall.
Matt said: "There was actually a crazy stat that I once read that the percentage of people of humanity ever that's ran 100 miles is less than 1 per cent."
"So I did that and then thought the level up from this is the 100 mile."
Despite initially planning the ultramarathon as a personal goal, Matt was encouraged by his fiancé to use the challenge as an opportunity to raise funds for charity.
He ultimately decided to support Hospice at Home.
He said: "It’s nice to do something at a local, regional level for people of the community there that might not get the same kind of attention.
"So one, the family element, but also it’s nice for something in the Cumbria region as well, definitely."
Matt described his training approach as "maniacal," covering more than 300km each month for the three months leading up to the race.
His weekly distance often reached around 80km, with long runs of 40 to 50km at a time.
Despite the physical demands, he found the hardest part was simply finding the motivation to keep going, especially after a busy day at work.
The ultramarathon itself was not without challenges.
Matt developed a painful blister during the race, and his head torch began to fail in the early morning hours as he ran through sand dunes.
Fortunately, another runner named Gavin - who had packed a spare torch - joined him for around 20km.
Matt said: "That was quite noticeable as well.
"And that’s something I’ve never experienced when running is that kind of camaraderie with someone else in the moment.
"And that person helped me out with the head torch."
He completed the race in 23 hours and 22 minutes, placing 12th overall, a result he was especially proud of, having set himself a private goal of finishing in under 24 hours.
When asked about the moment he crossed the finish line, Matt said: "Oh, God, I'd love to say I was overcome with emotion. And I broke down into tears because I had this goal and I achieved it. But I don't think it was as grand as that. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm just knackered. I want to go to bed."
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