Having run 786 miles on sand and raised more than £500,000 for Global’s Make Some Noise, I caught up with Spencer Matthews to find out more about his incredible record-breaking feat.
30 marathons in 30 days, and setting a new Guinness World Record in the process, how do you feel?
I feel very humbled and proud of what we have just achieved. This was and always will be one of the most interesting and best memories of my life.
I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my incredible team; my emergency doctor, physio…running coach and being surrounded by people who know their craft far better than me.
And of course, hats off to Vogue for looking after our three kids (Theodore, Gigi and Otto) while I was away. The whole experience has been quite overwhelming. There has been so much interest in it, more than I ever would have imagined. It’s been more than I ever could have hoped for.
Have you always been into fitness and kept yourself in good shape?
No, not always. I had a turbulent relationship with alcohol for quite a lot of my adult life. Aged16-30 I ran the occasional marathon but that was more about telling myself I was able to do that. In reality, I had a fairly substantial sized demon sat on my back. Towards the end it was problematic. I had lost control of my drinking, I was drinking early in the day, I was hiding it from people that I loved. It was beginning to have a detrimental effect on people in my life and it was becoming impossible for me to fulfil any kind of potential. I was really quite ashamed about who I was becoming.
How did you get yourself out of that space?
A long period of abstinence. I was teetotal for four years and I have a very different relationship with alcohol now. I was told it wasn’t possible for me to drink anymore, but I think that made me all the more determined to make it possible.
During that time, I built CleanCo and discovered that living without alcohol made running, training and being healthy so much easier. I signed up for the Marathon Des Sables in 2021, I didn’t fully prepare for it properly but came 69th in what was the hottest year on record. Then I signed up for the Amazon Ultra and came third. So, I began to feel like, oh god, I could belong in this challenging space, I get quite a kick out of it.
How did you come up with this incredibly ambitious challenge?
Towards the end of last year I was trying to figure out a new challenge. I was greatly inspired by Russ Cook @harestgeezer who rang the length of Africa. I didn’t know that many marathon distances where possible. I hadn’t thought about a marathon every day for a period of time, but I thought it was really interesting. So, I took the marathon dessert set up and thought what would be an interesting number? A marathon a month had an interesting ring to it. So that’s how it started.
I surrounded myself with a good team. It was probably the first time in my life that there was a lot riding on something.
How did it feel going into the challenge?
There was a lot of pressure going into this. Breaking an ankle in Marathon 1 and going home was simply not an option. I went into doubt for the first time. A lot of people I spoke to where quite taken aback by the idea of it. I started to think maybe this hasn’t been done for a reason.
How did you come to work with Global’s Make Some Noise?
Global supports a number of small charities that don’t have access to regular funding.
These charities work with young people suffering with bereavement who don’t have the comfort of a loving family to provide them with the emotional support system they need. They also work with young kids fighting cancer, kids who are homeless, young people who are struggling with mental health issues…the stuff that just feels drastically unfair. No child is deserving of any of this hardship.
Could your old self have ever foreseen you doing this?
My former self wouldn’t believe it, I feel like I’ve personally come a long way.
From reality TV star to World Record Holder, on a personal level how has this changed you?
Before the challenge Vogue joked on the podcast that if I pulled this off, I would be unbearable. But actually, it’s gone a little bit the other way. It’s just been really humbling.
For me it’s the start of a fresh chapter of my life. This feels incredibly different to me. Everything about it, returning to London…the way I’ve been received. On a personal level I have proven to my former self that things that would have seemed out of reach are possible if you work and turn your attention to them. Aside from becoming an astronaut (which I suspect takes rather a lot of specialist training) I feel like anything is possible.
What next?
I still haven’t found that physical boundary that has broken me. I am not going to dive immediately into new challenges. I’d like to raise more money for more fantastic causes and help more children with hardship in their life.
What surprised you most, what was the hardest part?Camp. It was a part of the challenge that I didn’t really think about. I’d prepared myself physically but not mentally. We slept rough every night until the end. For the penultimate marathon we had a bed and air conditioning as Vogue and the kids came to see me. But camp was incredibly rough at times. 45 degrees during the day, no shade, shower, toilet or even access to cold water most of the time. That’s a challenge itself. On the final day Chris Tailor (my running coach and friend ) and I joked that if we had the choice of running the entire marathon again living in comfort - or doing 30 days of camp again, with no marathons, we would both choose to run the marathon. Camp was arguably the most difficult.
Would you describe yourself as a competitive person?Yes, I am. But I also like to think I am humble in defeat. I like winning but have learned that there are lot of lessons to be learned from failure.
What do you think it is, deep down inside you, that allowed you to succeed in this challenge?Well, I guess the fact that we always managed to find lots of pleasure in the pain. I think it’s a skill of mine, to be able to find good in bad situations. To be able to make fun of horrific situations, brush things off and make fun of them because ultimately there is nothing you can do to change them. If you are whinging and complaining and dreaming of cheeseburgers and pizzas…it’s not going to get you anywhere.
Lowest point on the challenge?
One night we were served a sheep’s head on a bed of rice for dinner. I thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t. It was also the worst camp. But we played The Red Hot Chili Peppers and did everything in our power to avoid thinking about that fact we wear in a sh@t hole.
What impact has this had on you on a personal level?
It's been the coolest thing that I could imagine. I am so proud of it. Going from feeling ashamed of myself not too long ago, to feeling proud of myself today is a feeling I hope everybody feels at some stage of their lives. You win Bake off and you feel proud of yourself, but it’s not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. This feels like I have done something really special, and no one can ever take it away.
Spencer is continuing to raise money - those wishing to donate are able to do so by using the link in his Instagram bio below.
