Benny Matthews

Benny Matthews Strength - Skill - Performance - Mastery

06/09/2026

Just some food for thought.

This isn’t even exclusive to ultras. It could be any pursuit. Checking your attachment to the things we love is important. It’s how we keep ourself grounded & avoid self sabotage.

What are you doing next? 😅

03/09/2026

Improving your ability to run uphill is important even if your someone who will hike the majority of their climbs during a race.

One of the tools I mentioned that has worked really well for me this year is incline treadmill. It is by no means necessary — I was also somebody who hated treadmills for the longest time. I found them boring as s**t (hence trail running).

But it’s really cool to cram vert into a compressed distance without the recovery deficit of running downhill outdoors.

Then there’s more traditional strategies like hill strides & interval sessions.

An example session that I’ve found effective for both climbing & descending is:

2min hard climb
Walk/jog recovery depending on ability
Power Hike the same climb
Run descent
60-90s recovery
4-6 rounds

*thats no including adequate warm up/cool down.

If your trainings stagnated & you’re not sure why, take my 5min bottleneck quiz. It’ll identify areas of your training & mindset that are holding you back & what your best next step are.

Head to my bio to start now.

03/09/2026

I recently shared an article looking at Strength Trainings effects on Running Economy & Biomechanics.

It revealed a few things too me:
Strengths influence on running can’t be isolated to a single running attribute.

Biomechanical changes to running gait aren’t going to be achieved with strength training.

Reading study designs before taking results from the abstract are always critical to how seriously you take a study.

3 exercises is a not a strength session imo.
Having more single joint exercises than multi joint exercises isn’t a strength session.

Strength training will improve your physical capacity as a runner. But when you view running through the lense of a skill, it makes sense that running itself will be your best bet on economy & mechanics. The law of specificity applies perfectly.

To hear more about the study or how I look to program uphill running, listen to the full episode of the “Dose of Benny” podcast.

Available now on Spotify & YouTube or simply head to the link in my bio.

02/09/2026

A major hurdle that trail ultras reach when it comes to its inclusion in the Olympic Games is that courses aren’t standardised. Meaning, how can you compare an alpine course to a flatter desert course? Then how would that influence the winners.

Plus casual fans want to know the question: What’s a fast time?

Backyards solve for this because you can:
Make flat courses across the world.

It’s a centralised location rather than a giant course (even a fraction of the footprint a marathon takes up).

It brings entertainment value because despite the event taking days to complete there’s interest every hour, on the hour.

We just witnessed Phil Gore’s attempt at Project 168 & that received more than 500k views across a 7 day livestream. That was one person running laps of a lake for a week!

What would the world’s best backyarders with an Olympic coverage achieve??

Would you watch a Backyard Ultra in the Olympics??

31/08/2026

New research titled “The Effect of Resistance Training on Uphill Running Economy and Biomechanics.”

So much potential to see the interplay of strength training alongside specific running workouts alone but unfortunately the study design fell a little flat.

Whilst all participants in the strength training group got stronger, it didn’t elicit any meaningful change to running economy (oxygen or energy consumption) or joint stiffness measured by joint markers in a biomechanics at flat, 5% or 10% grade.

This isn’t saying strength trainings useless in a trail running setting by any stretch but that perhaps that the intuition of stronger hip & ankle musculature doesn’t correlate as directly as we’d think.

I go into a bunch more depth about the study design, where I think its flaws are with respect to study design & how I’d program to improve uphill running efficiency.

Watch or listen to the latest episode of the “Dose of Benny” podcast.

Available now on Spotify & YouTube or head to the links in my bio 🙌🏻

Paper referenced:
Robinson RM, Hahn ME. (2026).
The Effect of Resistance Training on Uphill Running Economy and Biomechanics.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Published online ahead of print, 7 July 2026.

For context I had to dive into the dissertation to see the study design ahead of print.

27/08/2026

One of the biggest intrigues in backyard ultras is the headspace & level of discomfort you must feel when running for this long.

Hearing Dan say he felt like crap for 10hrs after already running for 30hrs…then running for a total of 93hrs.

They’re just numbers sitting in front of you. Most people can’t fathom running for 10hrs let alone that being a low that is a part of almost 4 days.

What I love most about Dan is his passion to run. He’s proof you don’t need to specialise in anyone one format to be successful. And perhaps his greatest strength is his versatility!

Watch or listen to our full conversion on Spotify or YouTube.

Follow the links in my bio to listen to the “Dose of Benny” podcasts 🔥

26/08/2026

I’m not a coach who’s overly fearful of AI replacing me. The biggest point being the human that’s sits behind the programs that are delivered offer more than just programs.

Coaching someone means developing a relationship. Any strong relationships should have an element of conflict. But when you work through it, trust is forged.

I’ve had tough conversations with clients over the years but it’s always with the aim of seeking understanding.

What are the behaviours driving their decisions?

Are they even aware of them?

Is this what they actually want to achieve or has it become a misalignment of values?

AI can only guide you with the information you feed it.

To do anything as a human is to gain experience. Experience & information are not the same thing.

If you’re stuck with the best next steps in training, take my 5min quiz. It’ll give custom responses, with actions to take. Curated by what I’ve learnt in the field. Not searched with AI 😅

Head to my bio for access.

24/08/2026

If you’re hooked on Phil’s Project 168 like I am, you’re going to want to hear from a guy who’s run alongside him for the Aussie Sat Champs team.

Dan Camac is an outstanding performer on the backyard stage, running an insane 93 loops (623km). But what’s scary is he’s got so much to improve.

We discuss crewing, sleep strategy & why he also loves to run fast (he recently ran a 2:33 marathon 🤯).

Dan is a champion bloke, who embodies everything you want in a top performer. Humility, passion & a drive to push himself for the love of the game.

Whilst Mark Dowdle is blowing up after taking out Last Soul Ultra. It’s nice to remind ourselves of the weapons we’ve got lurking all across Australia too.

Watch or listen to the entire episode of “Dose of Benny” on Spotify or YouTube by heading to the links in my bio.

Enjoy!

23/08/2026

Backyards are so multifaceted. From the physical to the mental. There are new problems to be solved every hour.

Getting sleep between loops has become a superpower of Phil’s. Yet it’s still the biggest concern as you heard him mention the effects of sleep deprivation at Bigs.

Find out how Phil has developed his sleep strategy in the full episode of “Dose of Benny”.

Available now to watch or listen on Spotify & YouTube.

Links can be found in my bio.

Project 168 is now underway! You can watch the 24/7 livestream on the Backyard Ultra Podcast YouTube channel & make donations to Telethon through Phil’s website

philgore.com.au

22/08/2026

Although we can’t all be in person for Phil Gore “Project 168”, we can show our support by running virtual laps.

Join me next Sunday to celebrate what I hope will be a new standard in endurance running.

📍 Strength Sanctuary - 3/39 Hayward St, Stafford, Brisbane,

⏰ 9AM Sunday August 30th

Distance: 6.7km

We have an hour to complete the 6.7km (roughly 9min/km) so it’s accessible for everyone, even if running isn’t your thing.

Head to philgore.com.au to donate to Telethon.

Any amount is accepted, however registering officially will get your name aired on the livestream. (You also don’t have to donate if that’s not an option for you. Come join the community!)

This is a great opportunity to meet some new people & if you’re not from the backyard/ultra space, experience how accessible this crazy formate is for people of all ability!

Let’s cheer Phil home, even if it’s from the other side of the country 🥳

Address

3/39 Hayward St, Stafford
Brisbane, QLD
4051

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