As a committed mountain and trail runner, Maldon resident Matthew Crehan has been part of an elite Australian team competing in the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck. He is currently based in the French Alps until September. Soon Matthew will be racing in a 120km event in the Italian Dolomites and then in a 100km around Mont Blanc, through France, Italy and Switzerland.
Matthew has only been running for about eight years. “I came to it kind of accidentally, watching friends do fun runs and eventually deciding to get involved,” he said. “But when I started trail running and was running in amazing landscapes, I was hooked. Last year I was named Australian Ultra Runner of the year and was absolutely stoked.”
While Matthew has competed in triathlons and iron man events, he gave them away when he began to get serious about running. He has a coach who oversees a weekly program that includes running (of course!), cycling and swimming.
Matthew loves running on Mt Tarrengower. “It feels like a well kept secret that not many other Victorian runners have discovered yet,” he said. He has also discovered the joys of running in the Nuggettys.
Over the years, Matthew has got to know the different trails on Mt Tarrengower. “The world championships race has 3,500 metres of elevation, which is the equivalent of about 20 reps up Mt Tarrengower,” Matthew said. “So a lot of my training is up and down, up and down…sometimes tourists look at me like I’m crazy. I studied Forest Science, so I love seeing how the landscapes change and identifying all the plants, especially in Spring.”
Matthew and his partner first bought a property in Maldon in 2008, and made the decision to base themselves in the town during the pandemic. In addition to his training schedule, Matthew works in Melbourne five days a week as a horticulturist in the State Parliament’s garden. He’s currently on leave while he competes in Europe.
Good luck to you Matthew, on your mountain trails – you were obviously born to run!
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 16 June 2023.
