RYDE HARRIER MATT SHARP TAKES ON GRUELLING DAVOS X MOUNTAIN MARATHON IN SWITZERLAND

After his excellent 3rd place at the London 10km, Ryde Harrier Matt Sharp took on a very different challenge when competing in the Davos X Mountain Marathon in Switzerland. The race is over a 42.7 km distance (just over a marathon) and consists of a long climb finishing at 2,738 metres of altitude for the first 24 kilometres on trails before a severe downhill of 19 kilometres to the finish. The uphill gradient is so tough in parts that the athletes have to walk, and the downhill section so long and steep it shatters the legs. Matt was his usual competitive self and was not far from the leaders at the summit but found the downhill very demanding and technical in comparison to the French and Swiss specialised mountain racers. Despite a number of falls and not being able to feel his legs, Matt pushed on to finish in an outstanding 5th place, covering the distance in 3hours 44min 50sec. His best time for the traditional marathon is 2hours 16min, showing the severity of this event. Matt will take time to recover from this effort before resume to training and taking on conventional road racing.