Marathons are BRUTAL mate. But they have a way of keeping us coming back for more! Kudos for grinding it out with those tummy issues. Never fun running in pain! We learn so much for each race. Great to see you out there and massive thanks to Kelly for all the support she gives me in route too. Onwards and upwards and go smack Chicagoooo 🇺🇸

“I love you too” - That went hard 🥹

You look so strong when running Matt. Epic job. I was so cooked training for my first sub 3 last year, I needed videos like yours to push me on so thanks! Well done Kelly on wretch cam.

You two, loves you mid marathon made me so emosh. You are such an amazing team. Well done Mattand huge kudos Kelly. The Jack B* heckle got me v cross 😂

The stride is so smooth. 🔥 thanks for sharing this character builder and still incredible time

You ran past me at 22miles and had no idea what you were going through. Solid solid effort!

Absolutely fantastic blog, you had so much support and the mental strength you had in that run was awesome. It just shows that marathons can and do eat you up, spit you out and laugh. However we go back for more. Well done to you both.

Nicely done Matt. You toughed that out! I now know first hand that marathons are definitely brutal. I did my first marathon a week ish ago in Brighton and threw up at 31km ish. Never had nausea issues before! Was wild. Couldn't stomach anything else after that. Snuck in at 3:57.

Well in Matt!! 2:33 for what practically ended up being a solo marathon is unreal!! Big things to come soon im sure ✊️

I loved this video!! Thank you for sharing. Your running is so smooth, looks effortless. Great teamwork and narration.

Inspiring effort...Love the honesty and how you owned the less than ideal training block without making excuses.

Amazing video Matt, love the effort that went into creating this video, from both of you. Quality running grinding that out.

Well Done Matt! You pushed through like an absolute trooper! It chewed so many of us up and spat us out the marathon. I'm still trying to process it and think of reasons why I felt it so hard. By the time mile 10 came, I was done for. I think more sessions at actual MP for me as I reckon I've been far to sociable on those long runs. When I should have been dialing in to chunks of MP. Well Done again mate!!

Great job Matt! A pleasure to watch despite the sickness, the determination and outlook were truly inspiring!

Matt, you showed true resilience in pushing on and finishing what was for you a brutal race. Make no mistake, I am sure you will take the positives form this and kick on at Chicago. Please take heart and encouragement from the fact that your knowledge sharing with your pupils is having life changing effects on their own running journeys (my own included). I can't thank you enough for the focus you have given me and look forward to continuing our partnership. Your expertise has supported me in achieving a Boston Qualifying time which I hope to participate in 2025. Onwards and upwards. Lets now close in that sub 3 hour target. BOOM.

I think we all felt sick from 5.45 of thos vlogg onwards, so was quite glad you joined in with the gagging during your race!

Way to finish Matt. Well done. Can't wait to see what you do in Chicago. I'll be there

Epic video from both of you and a great story from beginning to end. As you say, a good day to make mistakes after less than optimal training. Agreed Manchester is the right mix between great support without the overwhelming nature of London. Excellent event.

I am in awe of the amount of mental fortitude you have to keep running while trying to throw up! 😮 I don't think I could ever be that strong. You are incredible💪 thanks for always being inspiring, things go wrong in most marathons, even for elites, so don't listen to people telling you to stop! Best you can do is train and plan. Well done 👏👏👏

great honest video Matt. Well done for grinding it out when you had stomach issues. On to the next one!!😄

Ahh Matt, that looked brutal. Well done for digging in and getting it done and well done to Kelly too. Enjoyed your I love your messages mid race to each other 🥹

Well done! Continuing to push when you’re all alone like that is really hard.

Good work 🎉 that said, just wanted to add my humble opinion as I’ve watched you go through a few blocks now and always get the sense that you are shooting yourself in the foot. Have you ever considered getting a coach to help you break 2:20? You’re very knowledgeable and a great runner but it’s hard to self coach! Either way, great job getting through that, it looked brutal!

Great video and incredible effort Matt

Congrats fella - top work!

well done Matt great running. They shut down the roads just for you for most of it :P (watching the rest of the video not got to the end yet!)

Great run Matt and a great video, love you two. 😊 I had stomach issues too, never experienced it before, nowhere near as bad as yours though. 🤢 You said it Marathons are HARD. 😬

Us, who are at the 5:45 to 6h 42ks, just have nothing but praises for runners/elites like you. Your worst runs are even unreachable for us. Maybe 1/8 of your prowess is good enough for us.

Ran this on Sunday too, my first marathon, my left hamstring cramped at mile 23, my right hamstring at 24. I’ve never cramped on any run before! Enjoyed the race though, was brilliant atmosphere? Great effort mate!

Well done Matt mate, love the content!

Well done Matt for that sheer grit and determination, you’re an inspiration.

Great video guys! I saw you ran past as I was about to start. Still on a high, ran 3:27 (31min PB!) :)

Well done Matt....YJB.....good work Kelly .....sorry my video didnt come through .

Raw footage is great. Shows the reality of the marathon. A very gutsy run. Now enjoy some time off.

Great running Matt. I take it your Stryd pod is not fully calibrated with a correction factor to match GPS distance on your Coros.

What a tough day for you! Incredible strength to power on. Well done Matt, 2:33 is still a fantastic time. Excited for Chicago 😃

the epitome of grit and determination as always matt, well done. thankfully my retching didn't start until i'd finished (with a 2 min PB) but would love to know the cause - too many gels, too much caffeine etc etc - or maybe we just picked up a bug from the same portaloo haha.

Amazing to watch.

Top class mate 👏👏👏 massive respect✊ You running Swansea Half this year?

Incredible effort Matt! In pain in the wind without a pack awesome 😎 I would love your pace for a 5k let alone 42 😅 I was hoping to do Manchester this year for my first marathon but injury says no 🤦🏻‍♂️

I was on the 6 mile drink station and was wondering how the cup/soft flask would work. I gave you a shout out, but you had you serious face on 😂

Applause! ...and greets from berlin🙋‍♂

As someone injured and catastrophising never running again, I am dreaming of one of these races. The battle where you know who you are eventhough you don't achieve what you set out to do. Top grind

Those guys playing the music under the bridge! If you know, you know 👌👊

Matt, they had you on the start of the London marathon BBC1 TV coverage…helping that guy…

Well done Matt! Strong finish despite the discomfort

well done, i feel so sorry for martin so close to that sub 3 but still a PB.

top class Matt, why am I crying

Hard as nails. Well done

See you in Chicago!!!!!!!

Well done Matt. Great, honest video. I did Paris this month which was great, but nothing as quick as you! So sorry someone shouted something so horrible at you. Madness. I love your films.

this was hardcore, good for you

What an attitude. Way to take a knock. 🎉

Another solid performance

damn this is so inspiring. ❤

I used to only use a Chest HRM, but the constant chaffing and sliding down in hard efforts was annoying. I switched to a Polar OH1 arm monitor which I have reading from the meaty part of my tricep, and after numerous runs of various distance/intensity of wearing both since I was paranoid the HR data from the arm strap was suspect....I've now officially retired my Chest HRM and the random scars it would gift me. I do find the Optical is a "tad" slow to update compared to the electrical method the Chest HRM uses, but I don't check my HR fluctuations in real time often, so slight delays (and we are talking 3-5secs) are background noise. Every Stryd pod is unique, so they do require some calibration. I haven't used GPS in realtime in years. Since I have my pod calibrated for outdoors. It's a bit under reporting on treadmill (even when removing no AP from the equation), but it's negligible, so I don't worry about it. The Marathon owes us nothing. Thanks for the real content! And I look forward to seeing you at Chicago 2024!

#welsh #runner well done for getting it done

Big up bro.

Great support from Kelly. Are you allowed to have someone cycling along on course like that?

Ben is Running had tummy troubles with too many gels at Valencia....seems a similar problem...well done anyway, I really enjoyed your video 👍👍👍🏃🏃

I’m fairly sure I saw Kelly in my starting box at the Valencia marathon last December. Am I going crazy, or was she there?

Well Done Matt, Get over to Dublin again lad, 2:20 in the bag for sure

“You can’t climb the ladder of success with you’re hands in your pockets “ Arnie S. you will get your sub 2:20 I have no doubt, great effort

Mate, I cannot believe you manage to keep running when you're retching like that. Sometimes running into the strong wind when I'm really pushing workouts makes me retch, and I try to run through it but I always succumb and stop.

Beside every strong man is a strong woman. 🏃🚲💪🏅

Well lad , it won’t make you faster or change your times but I still think you’re a bloody warrior. That lack of fat burning might be something to look at🧐. And the lack of group would have been a detriment , deffo a mental challange.

Great running, but just as great cycling and filming by Kelly 👌

Can't really be bothered with the KZfaq guys but I felt your pain - glad you finished.

I thought Matt was joking about the thong at first … evidently not 😂🍑

well done kid, you live and learn from every race. What have you learned from this one ? easy for me to say but your fueling was off, did you really need the amount you took?

If it was easy everyone would be doing it, well done!

Mate, you don’t have to explain yourself . 2:30 is an amazing run. You’ve done well. It’s a marathon, and shit can happen !

Everyone is different I appreciate, but I do wonder if you are seriously overthinking this - it’s just running after all 😮. Get fit and run ! 😊

Still a great time Matt! You were in solo city from very early on, that looked a tough run. Congrats on grinding it out 👍

Commenting as the video plays! Gels, gels, gels! How many KZfaqrs have had stomach problems in the later stages of a marathon (FOD runner again!) after ingesting several gels. It cannot be helpful to force copious amounts of sugar, caffine and God knows what else into your stomach at the very time it is under severe strain because of the demands of the race. It seems to me the only people who benefit from these things are the manufacturers who, no doubt, make huge profits from flogging the stuff to runners.

You seem strong but just not ready for a marathon. Which heart monitor are you using please?

Unicorn Onesie 😂

Can't believe how alone you were in the race - even for the first 10K. Can this be helpful or would you have preferred to be running with agroup even if it meant running a bit quicker? Some people - FOD runner for example - complained London was too crowded even for good standard runners butnyou certainly can't say that about Manchester!

Hi Matt - such a gritty run ! Are you sure it wasnt the thong that was too tight that caused the stomach issues 😀

Great run Matt. Wonder if the Coca Cola was a factor in the stomach issues?

❤❤❤ nice motivational video 👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏😃😃😃

Why not rotterdam ❤️🎉 u a beast 💪

Good work💪 but u should learn to lap pace ur self 1km by 1 km .. u never need a gps and dont get that kind of issue ..

Electrolytes?

Wo much emphasis on nutrition yet nutrition is what your downfall was. Keep it simple.

Seems like all the KZfaq runners that ran marathons the past few weekends have not done well! Maybe get away from marathons for a while? Like 2-3 years. I think the marathon obsession has just gone too far. I’d watch your channel no matter what.

Aha My small club East Sutherland AC from Scotland feature a few times in your video! Spot myself a few times. ⬜️🟪🟦 SOAR vest tucked in behind you @ 10:58 At the end my best mate walks past, over your right shoulder @ 30:59 Well done grinding it out. Tough day. (Especially the middle miles!) We found it quite windy too and we train in the hills of the Scottish Highlands!

Love your humour - good to see you laughing after this torture… 🫶🏻

Great vid. Awesome seeing the support you received around the course