Spencer Matthews on endurance pursuits: I'm running away from my former self

Yahoo

27-01-2025

Spencer Matthews has said he is 'running away from my former self' by taking on endurance pursuits after struggling with alcohol issues.
The former reality star-turned-endurance athlete, 36, recently set a world record by running 30 marathons in 30 days across the Jordanian desert.
Matthews will next embark on completing 'full distance triathlons' in all seven continents which will consist of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run in each country.
Reflecting on why he was driven to take on these pursuits, he told ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday: 'I love adventure. I love exploring. I think being in that desert, everyone focuses on the pain. It was a beautiful thing…
'But honestly, it will be with me forever. That experience is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It's beautiful. And I love that.
'I like trying to push myself as far as I can go really. I'm also running away from my former self, because I lived with a fair amount of shame.
'It's all on me, I'm not pretending to be some kind of victim. But I was an alcoholic, I didn't do much with my life.
'So for me to change and evolve and grow into somebody that's able to do things that I found very inspiring when other people did it, for me, is a massive win.
'It makes me proud of myself. My family are proud of me now. It's all good, positive stuff. It's growth, for me, feels like progress.'
Matthews has previously spoken about his decision to go sober, saying drinking too much was taking a toll on his health.
He is planning to start his new challenge in October with the journey including stops in Rio de Janeiro in South America, Miami in the US, London for Europe, Dubai for Asia, Perth for Australia and Cape Town for Africa before he finishes off in Antarctica.
Matthews said he is hoping to do them each in 12 hours back to back, only stopping for travel time between countries.
He noted that one man named Connor Emeny has previously completed distance triathlons on all seven continents, but he completed it over four years and Matthews was planning to do it in four weeks.
In August, the former Made In Chelsea star ran 786 miles through the Jordanian desert, in temperatures reaching 45C, to raise funds for Global's Make Some Noise, beginning in Wadi Rum on the edge of the Arabian desert and finishing near the Dead Sea.
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Matthews said raising more than £500,000 for charity during the event made it feel 'very worthwhile' as he reflected on how he powered through the challenge.
'That pain was temporary, it was a 30-day pain window, I suppose, whereas some of the people we were helping live in more permanent pain,' he said.
'I've met some of the charities that we were raising money for, and we really wanted to make a difference with that one.
'It was quite a transformative experience. In that desert, I realised that I want to change the nature of some of my work as well.'
Matthews launched a new podcast series titled Untapped on Monday, a weekly hour-long recording that will see him 'explore human potential with extraordinary guests'.
He said: 'I became quite interested in human potential during that because obviously I was surprising myself.
'I didn't know how that would be possible even within me. And I started thinking that we must all be sat on mounds of untapped potential.
'So I came up with this idea for a show called Untapped … And I talked to incredible athletes, scientists, doctors, just about how far can we go and how can we live fuller lives.'