Friday Spotlight: Mattack73
It's Friday. We're ready for the weekend. The Spotlight has locked on to it's next target! This week's featured athlete is one of those people you find here that you want to see more of. Well now's the time to learn more about him. Yet another person I'll have the pleasure to be meeting soon, I'm glad I get to hear more about him myself. Ladies and gents...it's u/Mattack73!
Let's do this!!!!
###The Runner:
First Name?
Matt
Age?
43
Where are you from?
Born in Connecticut, spent most of the last 35 years in Florida.
Occupation?
Sales Manager / Stage Hand
###The Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
5K = 25:53
10K = 56:39
13.1 = 2:13:29
26.2 = 5:07:08
50K = 8:01:05
What is your distance PR?
Somewhere around 32-33 miles. I added an extra loop during my 50K. My watch died before I finished so I might never know the actual total of what I ran that happy day.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
43.1 miles
What’s your comfy pace?
I am nice and comfortable right around 11 minute miles.
How long have you been running?
I started C25K around August of 2015
Tell us why you began running?
I am 5'-8" tall, I was weighing in at over 280lbs, and my blood pressure was through the roof. My Dr. told me that I HAD to start exercising, so I started walking which is a perfectly acceptable form of exercise, but to me I felt too young to be a "walker". So I tried running and it was absolutely horrible. Then it dawned on me that I was 41 years old and I had never run a full mile at one time in my life.
Most memorable running moment?
I was about 27 miles into a 50K. The pack had cleared and no one else was in sight. I come to this fork in the road and there are arrows going to the left and arrows going to the right. At this point I vaguely remember the guy at the last aid station mumbling something about which way to turn. I jogged a little bit to the left and didn't see any more arrows, I jogged back to the right and saw some more arrows. I looked closely at one of the arrows and it said something about return loop. I decided that this was the way to go. I pushed onward. The sun was hot, the shade was little, the trail was mostly sugar sand. I hear voices and start to get a glimpse of an aid station, the thought of reaching the final aid station brought a joy to my heart, all I could think about was some cold Coca-Cola, but wait something is wrong. These people look familiar. I have been here before. The next thing I know that kind gentleman who tried to warn me was in front of me with a sadistic grin on his face. "You know what you did wrong?" There is a long list of obscenities that ran through my head at that point. I will never forget the stream of emotions that ran through my body at that very instant. I read somewhere that you will cry during your first ultra. I was sure that that was going to be the moment, but the tears never came. I was pissed. I was hot, exhausted, and pretty close to seeing double, but this anger took me over in a way where I totally understood Bruce Banner. My pace picked up and I started plowing forward. I saw someone who had passed by about an hour earlier and I realized that she made the same mistake that I had made, but she was sobbing. Well at least I wasn't the only one who made this mistake. In the distance I could see the finish line and I found gas in an empty tank and pushed through and crossed that bright green inflatable finish line. I will truly never forget those last miles.
Do you have a running mantra?
One foot in front of the other until you die.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Early mornings. I love seeing the sun rise as I plan out the new day.
Any big races coming up?
Eagle Up Ultra. Registered for 50 miles, going to try and push 80.
What are your short-term running goals?
To walk away from Eagle Up with a buckle.
What are your long-term running goals?
To keep running for as many years as possible.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Start with a plan. Just because you can run, doesn't mean you know how to run.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
Diet, diet, diet, and probably diet. I love my beer dark and thick, I love my food fried, and every meal should have a desert.
What is your current shoe choice?
I am a Brooks runner through and through. Current rotation includes Launch 3, Ghost 8, and Ghost 9. I really love the Ghost 9.
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
Close tie between road and trail.
What is your ideal running weather?
50 degrees with a couple of clouds in the sky.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share?
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
I would have to go with the two-toed sloth. I'm not really sure what they do, but I am pretty sure people wonder what the hell I do. And my running pace is on par with a sloth.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
I love woodworking, travel, food, craft beer, museums, and music.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I am one hell of a baker. But since I started dieting, I don't bake very much any more.
Biggest pet peeve?
Politics on social media. Enough said.
Dream job! What would it be?
Salesman for a Good brewery.
Favorite Quote or Poem?
There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest.
If they just went straight they might go far;
They are strong and brave and true;
But they're always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
They say: "Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!"
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.
And each forgets, as he strips and runs
With a brilliant, fitful pace,
It's the steady, quiet, plodding ones
Who win in the lifelong race.
And each forgets that his youth has fled,
Forgets that his prime is past,
Till he stands one day, with a hope that's dead,
In the glare of the truth at last.
He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
He has just done things by half.
Life's been a jolly good joke on him,
And now is the time to laugh. Ha, ha!
He is one of the Legion Lost;
He was never meant to win;
He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone;
He's a man who won't fit in.
-Robert William Service - The Men That Don't Fit In
What is your favorite movie?
The Legend of 1900. If you have never seen it, give it a chance. It is a truly beautiful story and very well done.
What is your biggest character flaw?
Anxiety. I am awesome at overthinking everything, losing sleep over the littlest thing, and sabotaging myself. But I sure am cheerful.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
My playlist is extensive, but these days there is always some "Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds" mixed in.
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
/r/politics. It's like a train wreck.
###One Last Question:
What is the origin of your username?
Many years ago, I had been let go from a job and was desperately looking for something to pay the bills. I saw an ad for a dj position at a club and thought this was the job for me. So I spent the night brainstorming on an awesome DJ name and came up with DJ Mattack. I was all set for the audition, except for the fact that this was still in the days of Vinyl and I had never touched a turntable in my life. A couple years later I was setting up my first email address on aol and ended up picking Mattack73, because even way back then mattack was taken.
That's it folks! Have a great weekend and enjoy the miles.
####Thanks for reading everyone!
#Please tag u/Mattack73 when asking a question in this thread.
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
ATTENTION READERS!
I've been getting some more messages recently from a lot of people asking to be featured in the Friday Spotlight Thread. My response to them is the same every time. I do not get to personally choose who is chosen for each thread. With exception to Palindrome27 (which I randomly chose to get this started), every runner thus far has been selected by the person before them. It's one of the perks of getting nominated. There is no list of names. No spreadsheet with columns of people. Nothing. So for those confused, users like Philpips was chosen by Despoena. Despoena was chosen by Craigster38. So on and so on. You get the idea. Doing it this way eliminates the hassle of having to personally pick someone every week. This keeps me neutral. Some of you have expressed your opinion (via PM) on who's been featured this far claiming that I have only chosen runners who are fast, have been running for a while, or compete in longer distance races. Quite frankly, you're wrong. Just browse the table of previous athletes above and you'll see that a wide variety of runners have been on display. Being chosen is simply luck of the draw. There is zero favoritism here. Each featured runner gets to personally pick someone they find interesting. I apply no pressure to the runners to pick a particular skill level of runner. This is the beauty of the process. If you want to be featured, you can up your chances of being chosen by being an active member of the subreddit. Comment as much as possible. Submit quality content. Provide as much as you can as a runner to help keep this community growing and I'm certain your efforts will not go unnoticed. Just keep tuning in and making friends and eventually it'll pay off if you want to be featured. Thank you.
Posted Jun 2, 2017, 11:48 AM UTC · edited