Reviews and Testimonials

Pen  (Javelina Jundred, Dick Collins 50M)

Photo: Jesse Ellis

Working with Mat as my coach for Javelina Jundred was the best coaching experience I’ve had since I started running 100 Mile ultras. I sought Mat’s coaching services to help me meet my goal for the year; to complete my first 100 Mile race since overcoming health issues and running injuries these past four years. 
 
From the time I first reached out to him in May to the day after I finished Javelina in October, Mat was enthusiastic and engaging. His welcome letter was the most comprehensive and thorough I have received from any coach I’ve worked with before.  As a planner, I appreciate that he gave me the big picture, where every stage is explained so that I could “see” the progression and understand the rationale behind the training process. 
 
But what I really appreciate most about Mat is that he genuinely cared about my progress, a quality of a truly gifted coach. He was generous in sharing his wealth of experience and knowledge as they were relevant to my training. He kept our line of communication open and accessible. He stayed on top of his weekly emails. He checked in with me (by phone) every few weeks (even though he is in France!) and especially before and after my training races (Skyline 50K, Dick Collins 50M) and my goal race (Javelina Jundred 100M) to chat about strategy, gear recommendations, pro-tips, how I was feeling, what my concerns were, etc. He was always one or two steps ahead of me, knew exactly when to introduce specific components to training (heat training, for example).  He encouraged me to have “process goals”, goals which I learned went beyond my number goals (i.e. finish time) and gave more meaning to my training which ultimately lead to my growth as a runner and person. Lastly, and most importantly, I felt that I could trust him completely.  And I believe that this is why I resolved to commit to the training plan he created for me – I truly felt I was in good hands. 

Brian  (UTMB, TRT 50M)

When at long last I won the lottery for the UTMB, I knew I needed a coach to help me prepare for my biggest undertaking yet. I had heard of Mat and read about his own recent experience at the UTMB and running in the Alps. Reaching out to Mat and working together undoubtedly led to my successful lap around Mont Blanc!

John  (Death Valley Trail Marathon)

Working with Mat was inspiring, educational, and a lot of fun.  Instead of following a generic online training program like I have in the past, I connected with Mat before my trail marathon training started. 

The personalized, dynamic training and ongoing feedback Mat provided gave me confidence that each workout was helping me to progress towards my goal, and I found that I enjoyed my runs much more as a result.
 
I keep a busy schedule and often need to shuffle workouts around. Mat kept the plan flexible so that I could hit my weekly goals without making too many non-running sacrifices.  I learned a lot about race training from Mat and can confidently say that I’m a smarter runner as a result.

Maureen  (Tor des Géants 350k, Canyons 100k)

I worked with Mat for my second attempt at Italy’s 350km Tor des Géants.  Mat is a teacher by trade and that shines through in his coaching – he is patient, positive, consistent, and empowering.  Nothing about working with Mat felt formulaic, rather it felt deeply individualized and personal.  He was able to stay focused on my bigger dreams and visions for the season, and he didn’t let me make sloppy short-sighted decisions, even when that meant scaling back other training runs and races. 

Mat has a big heart.  He genuinely wants to see his athletes succeed and he worked hard to help me achieve my goal of crossing that finish line in Courmayeur this year.  He’s the kind of coach that fields last minute calls from the start line, meets you cheering at the finish line, and stays up late glued to live tracking of his athletes.  I highly recommend working with Mat for any running or race goals. 

Full disclosure: Mat is also my husband, but in my mind this only demonstrates his ability to communicate with and coach all types of athletes.  If he can coach me, he can coach anyone!!  🙂 

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