Name: Matthew Ma

Occupation: Mechanical Engineer

Home Town: Milton Keynes

Questions

What is your running background?

Road/trail running since early 2010s, “small” ultras (<100 miles) since 2013, “big” ultras (100+ miles) since 2023.

When did you first start running Ultra marathons and why?

It didn’t take long after I read “Born to Run” by Chris McDougall and “Eat & Run” by Scott Jurek that I entered my first Evesham Ultra (~47miles) in 2013. How I run and eat to this date is, by and large, heavily influenced by Scott Jurek’s past and achievements. His memoir also introduced me to Spartathlon, which felt so out of reach back then!

When or where (at which events) are we most likely to see you?

Good value, lowkey races with ideally minimal support where it’s just you against the elements, races with generous cut offs just don’t excite me as much. Or more recently 24 hours lap races as a Pair with my other half where we get to “spend more time together as a family”, and totally not a pretext where I get to do most of the running.

Also treat myself occasionally to big races like Spartathlon.

What are your personal key running achievements to date?

From a big ultras perspective, probably GUCR 2023, Canalslam 2024, and Spartathlon 2024. More recently completed my first 200 miler Cardiff to London after experiencing some of the most surreal hallucinations! I want to experience more of this, especially after watching Cocodona 250 documentary “THE CHASE” (available on Youtube, highly recommended).

What was your hardest experience?

I am no stranger to DNF (I seem to have my favourite photos taken when I DNF), but Liverpool to Leeds Canal Race (LLCR 130) 2023 was, by far, my hardest race experience. Not because the course was hard (it really wasn’t), but because I got so close in getting the Canalslam 2023 but only to DNF with less than 30 miles left, due to my lack of preparation (got too cold during the night) and the cumulative fatigue and injuries from previous Canal races that year.

On reflection I was pushing my body too far and too soon with the new distances. I took some time to adjust and returned the following year to complete the ‘slam 2024.

What is your typical race strategy for an ultra?

What I find most joy with running ultras is being able to plan, tweak and try different strategies as I learn from my mistakes. But one thing that I always go back to is breaking down the race into 5 miles lap, and focus on getting to mile 5. Rinse and repeat.

What does a typical training week look like?

I only average 40-60 miles/week nowadays, but with a more structured approach – 3-5 weeks periodisation with each week consisting of thresholds, intervals, and tempo/longer runs sandwiched in-between easy/rest days.

Also 5-6 sessions of weightlifting covering different body parts.
For the past year I started incorporating High-Intensity Training principles popularised by bodybuilder legends Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates to my workouts. Simply put on my “hard” days I train to or close to failure, follow by heavy emphasis on rest and nutrition for recovery. My main focus is longevity, probably not the best approach for big ultras but I try to avoid cycle of excessive volume without allowing my body the time it needs to recover.

What one tip would you pass onto people running an Ultra marathon for the first time?

When it gets tough in latter part of an Ultra marathon, just remember, it’ll get “better”. At some point it will stop getting harder and just stays hard, but you are used to that now.

Tell us one interesting fact about you?

I had a larger-than-life size banner of myself (think conference display stand size) for 10+ years.

Have you taken part in the Spartathlon before?

Yes, in 2024.

How did you get on at Spartathlon?

Apart from heat exhaustion early on, continuous stomach issues (Although lactose intolerant, I just couldn’t resist a traditional Greek youvetsi from the night before), and then forgetting one of my main drop bag half way so I had to rely on CPs’ provisions, i.e. honey, a lot of honey, as carbonated coke and Lucozade were making me throw up. I survived it in a time of 33hr49m with equal part honey and water, and a toothache.

What tip would you pass on to those taking part for the first time?
Don’t expect to get used to the heat, but train your body and mind to tolerate it.

What are you looking forward to at the Spartathlon race?

The heat! I generally consider myself to be above average in hot condition, but the heat from last year was a complete shock to my system. I’m back better prepared this year, eager to put my heat training to the test.

What are you not looking forward to during the Spartathlon race?

Technically not during the race, but the return coach trip from Sparta back to Athens was a challenge in itself…

How will you prepare specifically for the Spartathlon race?

My number 1 priority leading up to Spartathlon is to stay healthy, both physically and mentally. As Killian Jornet said in his recent WSER video, “Performance is only the maximum expression of health”. If I am healthy then I can train more, and make better adaptions.

I’ve slowly increased easy volume but reduced the intensity of my typical training week, and added as many heat adaptation sessions as I can – aka running on the treadmill in a heated room while wearing warm layers and waterproofs, or what my other half calls “bodysuit condom”.

Will you be bringing any support crew to the race? (If so, please introduce them briefly)

No