Interview - Cecilia Mattas (FIN)
Read time 5 minutes
Introduction
Cecilia Mattas is a Finland born elite trail runner and coach living in Australia. She has taken out one of Australia’s most competitive races, the UltraTrail by UTMB 100KM (2021), and most recently won the SingleTrack Buffalo Stampede 100KM. She shares openly on her social media, about the highs and the lows of the sport, while her energy lifts everyone up. I first saw Cecilia when Majell Backhausen was out on course covering the Buffalo Stampede race. He was shooting her coming up the hill (for those who don’t know, Buffalo Stampede is one of the toughest races in the country, the elevation gains are certainly earned), and she was all smiles, and pure joy. Firstly, how anyone can string a sentence together during that kind of athletic performance is beyond me, but that she was so filled with joy is something we cover in the feature article below. Majell commented in the moment, “always so positive”. It spoke volumes. You can follow along with her on Instagram @ceciliamattas or find her on TikTok @cceciliaa44.
Cecilia is also a run coach. More info on her coaching here.
Taking the win for UltraTrail by UTMB 100KM (2021)
Interview
Let’s start at the beginning. How did you get into trail running?
I first got into trail running when I was studying in Sweden. I met a friend there who introduced me to the sport called SwimRun. SwimRun is an endurance sport in which you run and swim along a set course, and cross between country/trail runs and open water swims, without stopping. Then from Sweden, I moved to Australia, and due to not having a big friends group at that time I found myself having a lot of spare time. Since I’m a curious person and someone who likes to be very active, I found something to train for, a 30km trail race in the Glass House Mountains. From there, I never stopped looking for other events to sign up for.
How has trail running changed your life?
It has brought me a lot of amazing friends. I also met my amazing, now fiance, Tom, through our common running coach, shoutout to Jodie Oborne :D. It has also led me to see and explore beautiful places that I probably wouldn’t have seen if I wasn’t into trail running.
Cecilia and her partner Tom
What are the 3 things you would focus on as a new trail runner?
Get a coach, and trust your coach and the process.
Do runs you enjoy.
Be kind to yourself.
What is your proudest trail running achievement so far?
There are a couple.
My first 100km race. It was UTA100 2019 and I had the time of my life. Ran my own race and loved it.
My first 100 miles 2023, BTU100miler. Here I also had so much fun and navigated the challenges I faced with confidence.
GPT100miles was a race where I turned up a little unprepared, which affected my race. It was incredibly hard, but I hung in there and did not give up, and finished feeling strong and proud of myself.
CCC at UTMB was also incredibly hard for the last 20km, but I pushed on and managed to pass competitors until the end.
All in all, I’m proud of every race finish. I always give my best on the day, and for that I honor every single one of them.
How do you adjust your training for races when you might not live close to similar racing terrain than the event?
To be honest, I haven’t done this very well, YET. GPT100 that I ran last year is very technical, and did I train on technical terrain? No. I wanted to, but working full time and also commuting to work 2-3h per day made me not want to travel hours to get to technical terrain. In hindsight, I could have found a smaller stretch of technical terrain in my local area and done reps on that. So for the future, I will be creative to find ways to simulate race terrains. I have a race coming up in August that is very technical and has a lot of elevation, and for that I will find those technical terrains and do them back and forward, and I will also find a treadmill to do long uphill runs/hikes on.
What is your favourite trail you have ever run, and why?
Basically any trail with lots of rocks, like the Grampians Peak Trail in Victoria. Oh, and also roots, I love rooty trails. There are lots of them in Finland. A great rooty trail here in Australia is a loop in Binna Burra in the Gold Coast Hinterland. That loop also has lots of waterfalls, which is awesome for someone like me who loves jumping in to cool off mid run.
Cecilia during the GPT100 Miler
What is your biggest piece of advice when traveling somewhere for someone’s first trail race event?
Arrive a few days before to settle in, if you can. Meditate or do something relaxing to calm your mind if you feel overwhelmed due to travel and getting ready for a race that is out of your comfort zone.
Let’s chat nutrition, what is your go-to stack for, let’s say, a long training run?
At the moment, I go through a lot of Spring Energy gels. But I always add in something I can chew too, like a granola bar, banana, tomatoes etc. And hydration wise, I use Skratch Labs hydration mix and the mild flavoured ones. They are so good. A lot of hydration mixes have flavours too strong for my taste, and the mild Skratch ones are perfect.
Any gear, nutrition, or apparel you swear by?
Toe socks and Lululemon align shorts.
What is your preferred road training shoe and trail race shoe at the moment?
Road shoe: Asics Metaspeed Sky+ and Novablast 4
Trail shoe: Salomon Pulsar Trail Pro
Any advice for new trail runners on training the mind as well as the body?
Meditate to work on positive self talk and be kind to yourself. I use “Insight Timer" app. There are a lot of free meditations on it, but you can also pay a monthly fee and get access to more. There are some great courses on these topics in the app.
Strength train and just be consistent with your running. If you have a 45min run planned and you are stuck in the couch with your excuses (happens to me too) then tell yourself to put the running clothes on and get out the door and do at least a 10-15min run. Many times once you get out the door, you can continue for longer. And if you still after 15min feel like no, I don’t feel like running. Okay, then stop, at least you did 15min and then we try again the next time. Consistency is key.
Where can we follow along on social media?
@ceciliamattas on Instagram
@cceciliaa44 on Tiktok
Read the feature story inspired by Cecilia Mattas on Joy directly linked to strength and resilience
Thank you for your time and interest in this content
Our mission: We are creating this space to support new trail runners, with the sport exploding in popularity. We are also supporting the growth of the sport by connecting new trail runners to elite athletes. We are doing this to connect them to athletes to support and follow, as a source of inspiration and learning. Embedding them further into the sport. Promoting safety and care for the environment with the growth of the sport is vital. We are connecting new trail runners to their local trail running communities, as a way to foster the special culture that trail running enjoys. We believe that is best done through community and knowledge sharing on a local level.
It is not expected at all, your time is gift enough, but if you are in a position to do so, we would love the gift of a coffee to help fuel our work. Sharing our content with someone who might find it valuable is another way that you can support us if shouting a coffee is not viable. But as I said, your time is gift enough. Thank YOU.
Happy, safe trails everyone.