Passionate athlete once hated running

Published date26 January 2023
Publication titleClutha Leader
Kaitangata man Matthew Barton recently ran the Aotearoa Ultra Marathon in Christchurch and was second of 16 entrants, but he has not always had a love for running

‘‘I grew up not being much of a runner. I actually hated it, especially during rugby training. I always wanted to avoid it,’’ Barton said.

‘‘I just never enjoyed it.’’

Through his adult years and during the first COVID lockdown, Barton needed something to do. So he decided he would run.

‘‘I will say I don’t enjoy running on flat ground. I love running up hills and being on an incline.’’

Becoming obsessed with the idea of running long distance 2 hours on a weekday and 8-9 hours over a weekend, Barton stumbled across marathons online and entered.

‘‘My first ever 50km run I did three months training for it, and from that race the passion grew further and further so I didn’t stop,’’ he said.

He said he saw the opportunity for the Ultra Marathon and went straight for it.

Barton entered the 101km marathon and completed it in just under 14 hours, a target he made for himself while training for the marathon.

‘‘I had no music or anything in my ears. It was just the sound of my feet hitting the ground as I ran.

‘‘There were a few parts of the run where I had a bit of trouble, but I told myself to suck it up and managed to get through it.

‘‘My cousin, Regan, helped me out and was my pacer during some of my run. He was there to convince me to...

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