Meet local Olympic hopeful Matt Elliott
The Charlotte Country Day high school cross country team enjoyed a special evening on Sunday when Runner’s World cover star and Olympic hopeful Matt Elliott delivered an uplifting and heartfelt motivational speech at their team dinner. Despite a list of running accomplishments including nine sub-four minute mile finishes, a 13:44 5K PR and placing fourth in the 2013 U.S. National Championships in the 1500 meter event, Matt Elliott is relatively unknown in the Charlotte running scene.
This is in large part due to his humble, hardworking attitude, his commitment to his job as a teacher at The Palmetto School and his dedication to training. The Palmetto School is a 501(c)(3) school located in Rock Hill that serves children in grades K-8 who have been removed from their home by DSS for reasons of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. The children live in an on campus shelter, The Children’s Attention Home. When he’s not at school with his students, Matt is focused on his running.
Over the last year an average week for Matt has included included 90 miles of running, 50 hours at work, 3 pool sessions and 3 strength training workouts. He credits his successes in both life and running to his investment in his path and his self-motivation to reach his goals. At 28, Matt admits he is considered by many to be “too old” to be making a bid for the 2016 Rio Olympics but he’s taking a two-year leave of absence from his teaching position to train in Knoxville, Tennessee for the 1500 meter event. He’s leaving his students, his family and his friends behind to follow this ultimate running dream.
Matt shared his three keys to success with the cross country team, many who were undeniably star struck by his presence at their team dinner and eager to hear what he had to share.
(1) Attention to diet.
Diet was something that was on Matt’s back burner for for years until his strength and conditioning coach explained to him the importance of good nutrition when it comes to athletic performance. His coach took him food shopping and filled his cart with all of the ideal foods for him to eat. He explained that the body can digest clean meals such as chicken and sweet potatoes in 3-4 hours where it takes upwards of 12 to digest a meal like pizza. (Sorry carb loaders!)
Matt now adheres to eating meals and snacks that line up with the ideal protein/carb/fat ratios for his body and training volume. He shared that it’s surprisingly simple to cook and eat this way on his own at home and that he feels better and more energetic than ever.
(2) Injury prevention.
Matt is very fortunate to have experienced few running injuries over the course of his career. Coming in at 165 pounds, he has a solid 15 pounds over most of his lighter weight competitors. Matt must pay close attention to keep his body healthy, strong and flexible to support his running. He strength trains three times each week with a focus on Olympic lifting movements such as squats, deadlifts, cleans and snatches and also regularly foam rolls and stretches. He joked that he’s spent more time with his foam roller and stretching band over the last year than he has with his girlfriend.
Many athletes at Matt’s level have paid professionals who travel with them to perform stretching and massage work. Matt was the only guy who finished in the top 5 of the 2014 U.S. National Championships that did not have a private massage therapist. Instead, Matt adheres to regular stretching and foam rolling on his own, ice baths and plenty of sleep to fuel his performance.
(3) Passion.
Matt concluded his talk by emphasizing the importance of having a passion for running. He shared candidly that you’re going to lose a lot more than you win in this sport but it’s the losing that teaches you the most important life lessons that make you a stronger runner and person overall. Matt started running back in 1999 under the coaching of his parents and maintains to this day that running makes his life a whole lot richer.
Want to learn more and support Matt?
– Visit his website.
– Follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
– Join Run Charlotte Run and the Charlotte Country Day School cross country team and sign up for The Run for Attention 5K on October 11 in Rock Hill. Matt organizes this race that benefits The Palmetto School.
– Read his feature in Running Times.
Photo: Todd Sumlin / Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published September 14, 2014 at 4:08 AM with the headline "Meet local Olympic hopeful Matt Elliott."