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Namib Race Blogs 2026
4
PostsNamib Race (2026) blog posts from Mathew Reynolds
21 August 2026 10:58 pm (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
Glad I got that over and done with, but it wasn’t pretty at all. Was the first time being out in the worst of the heat and then having to continue after, and i really felt it towards the end. I thought I would keep to my own pace, try stick to a 10 min/km that would get me in around 12-13 hours, but that kinda went out the window when at around the 20km mark my ankle / heel started really hurting. Trying to walk uphill was very painful, and even walking generally was not great, but i realised that if I very slowly ran the flats / inclines and then went a bit quicker on the downhills that worked well. I had to leave Ally at she was a very quick walker but didn’t want to subject her to my stupid strategy.
That worked well until we got to the mountain climb at the 29km mark - you could see the checkpoint for about 5km but it was brutal getting up that hill and it was the hottest part of the day so when we got the hot coke at the top, it was honestly glorious. I ran most of the stage myself (from about checkpoint 2-6) so spent most of the time just pushing through the pain. Once I got past checkpoint 6, ended up walking for most of the rest of the stage with Mike which was great - am not really competing for anything at this point so was nice to just take my time while riding the pain killer high.
Looking forward to getting in tomorrow, having a very long bath / shower, taking all this strapping off, and devouring a very large pizza! Thanks all for the messages, has been great hearing from you, and hope you are recovered from the red wine DG!
19 August 2026 10:58 pm (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
Thanks everyone for all the emails / blog comments, I’ve read all the ones on the Day 1/2 blog but haven’t gotten any from the day 3 one. For the record Garth, when I say slow and steady I mean still being able to just about talk when I get into the finish line - did not achieve that today, it was hotter than yesterday for the last section and dragged my feet in. I’m coming in ~30th pretty consistently, I’m trying to pace for a total stage pace of 10mins/km but its much harder than it sounds - today the terrain was pretty hard to run and there was quite a bit of elevation. The last 15km was on a sandy / hard packed road in moon valley which was so hot, I don’t know how they could do this in April because it is so hot.
Got my first blister, which I took care of - my one nail I know is going to tear off once I take this tape off so I am delaying until the end. Got some pretty bad heat rash on both my quads, then also have a rash on my shoulder so strapped over that. Just the last day, going to try pace myself but this heat in the middle of the day is going to be brutal.
Comments: Total (4) comments
Andrew Reynolds
Posted On: 21 Aug 2026 11:44 am
Hey Matt. Hope you are recovering well. Just a short sprint left now.
Well done Matt, good result. Thanks for keeping our flag flying 🤣
Andrew Reynolds
Posted On: 20 Aug 2026 08:09 pm
Hey Matt. You made it. Great effort my boy. We might see you at the finish.
You deserve a good rest day. Make the most of it. See you Saturday. Dad
Nadine Rolland
Posted On: 20 Aug 2026 07:44 pm
Well done Matthew - I see you are done with the long run. Hope you manage to have a good long test tomorrow.
Ronan Reynolds
Posted On: 20 Aug 2026 10:01 am
Hey Matt, congrats on making it through so far, the heat seems like it’s made the run fairly brutal even for the rear end of winter. Hopefully the mental component isn’t as challenging coming up to the long day. You’re killing it so far mate, keep it up 👍
18 August 2026 10:58 pm (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
Hardly felt human coming into camp this afternoon - probably one of the hottest days I've had on one of these races. First two checkpoints were fine, we ran through mist for the first bit and then the second bit was pretty consistent. Third leg was on the road and the heat plus a pretty gentle undulating terain tempted me into running almost half the stage, which in hindsight may have been a mistake. After we hit the third checkpoint it was more of the same, but then with 5km to go we hit the moon valley.
Liam was on that mini-checkpoint, was in some nice shade so was very jealous - looked like an easy job. When we got into the valley, it got sooooo much hotter but the views were awesome. I heard after I finished that it was between 40-45 degrees in that valley, which honestly is very believable. I had to drag my feet through it, but luckily it was mostly downhill until we got to the last km which was in the bushes with sandy terain which was tough. Anyway, done with it and looking forward to tomorrow - got a full change of clothes as a reward.
Comments: Total (6) comments
Peter Mackenzie
Posted On: 21 Aug 2026 06:39 am
Well done Matthew. I lived in Walvis Bay for 8 years and did my basic training there, when I did my two years national service in the Army. The place can have 3/4 seasons on the same day. Started following Racing the Planet , when my niece, Angela Alchin started participating. I know she did two stints as a volunteer, then did Mongolia, Jordan, Antarctica, I think a light ultra in Greece and now Namibia. I saw that there where South Africans taking part in the races, but there is never anything mentioned in the local newspaper's, which I cannot understand. I mean these are Ultra races, stretching over 6 days and those that take part , should at least get some exposure in their home country. I live in Port Elizabeth and when I tell people about these races, none of them have ever heard of them. Good luck with the last stretch, which is just a 10km, I can still imagine after a grueling five days of racing, the body is hurting , which doesn't make it easier.
David Grosse
Posted On: 20 Aug 2026 01:32 pm
Great work Matt. You’ll be half way through the long day as i write this. I’m sure you’ll smash it. I’ve been on a brutal parallel in Ireland drinking red wine and Murphy’s , so I feel your pain. Enjoy a rest day and short hop to the finish. Cheers
Nadine Rolland
Posted On: 19 Aug 2026 05:39 pm
Good luck for tomorrow Matthew - will be monitoring your progress. Hope the legs, hammies and glutes lasts the pace 👍
Andrew Reynolds
Posted On: 19 Aug 2026 04:19 pm
Matt, that sounds brutal. Hopefully you can get some rest tonight. Good luck for tomorrow I’m sure you know what to do. Slow and steady is fast. We will be following your progress. Hope you don’t need your headlamp 🤣🤣
Dad
Yolande Hansen
Posted On: 19 Aug 2026 04:18 pm
Hi Matt well done for getting so far in the race !! One more brutal day tomorrow 🤪 take care stay hydrated and pace yourself I am sure you will be great tomorrow. We are here with all our friends and your parents routing for you. Looking forward to our dinner at swakopmund ❤️
Lara Reynolds
Posted On: 19 Aug 2026 04:03 pm
That sounds brutal Matt. 40 degrees is not a joke!
Glad you finished strong today!
Good luck for the long March. We are all rooting for you and will keep track.
Hope you can run at least half of it!
18 August 2026 09:00 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi
Day 1 & 2
What a past couple days - felt great going into camp, the KFC really hit the spot at camp one. Thats honestly where the good news ended - day 1 felt great for the first 20kms, got into checkpoint 2 in 2.5 hours, then saw my ass after that. Everything started cramping after we hit the soft sand, my quads were the worst and then my hammies followed. That last 10km I took it step by step, only interrupted when I jumped a meter in the air after a snake passed a meter in front of me. Got into camp and heard that dad dropped out, then my mum decided to as well this morning.
Day 2 I committed early to go much slower, walked / ran until the second checkpoint at 25km, felt pretty good so decided to keep to that strategy. They talked up the first dune of the next stage as the largest dune in Namibia and possibly the world, but honestly it was fine. The second dune wasn’t as high but much steeper and the sand was much finer which was not great for my recovering quads and hammies. Then the third dune was even steeper… Honestly the stage was fine though, think my feet are still ok and going good on all food / energy supplies. Just need to get through the next two days then the long day will be a breeze psychologically.
Comments: Total (9) comments
Garth Reynolds
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 05:43 pm
Hey Matt - I don’t know about all this slow and steady crap, moderation is for cowards. I say red line your engine and deal with the consequences after the fact. Maybe save some in the tank for the long day though 👍. Bonne chance.
Garth
Nadine Rolland
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 05:22 pm
Well done Matthew - keep some juice in reserve for the long run. You are half way there. ( your snake story made me smile - I can just imagine your reaction 🤭 )
Ronan Reynolds
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 04:52 pm
Hey Matt, congrats so far on honouring the Reynolds name, goodness knows what damage a triple forfeit would do to it O_o
Keep taking it easy mate, you’ve done great so far.
On the bright side of all this you must have more room to sprawl out in the tent ;)
Lara Reynolds
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 04:46 pm
Way to go Matt! You did great today. Now just the Moon Vally tomorrow and I think that’s a bit more solid, so more runnable.
Hope the hammy’s and calves are holding up. Sorry I am not there to get into your shoulders - put Liam to work🤭
Good luck, we are there in spirit!
Andrew Reynolds
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 04:43 pm
Matt, looks like today was good for you, keep it up. I hope everything is still working, feet are good, spirits are high?
At least you still have Liam giving you honest feedback 🤣🤣
I’m sure tomorrow will be a steady day, keep some juice in the tank for Thursday. You’re doing great!!
David Grosse
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 03:09 pm
Matt - excellent work, and I can see from the website you finished day 3 in a great time. Enjoy the sand - keep the ball towards the back of your stance and open the club face. Once you get to the top of a dune , slide down the back on your butt. You’ve won the reynolds triple crown, and next stop an official RTP gong. Keep going…. Cheers DG
Lourens Roets
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 01:22 pm
Howzit Matt,
Very good start and looks like the Landy is already in the third gear after day-2. Your dad and I usually get stuck in 1st or second gear until mid-race, when Andy’s handbrake fail and goes faster; whereas my gearbox usually blows up completely. Just keep going and hopefully you have enough Worsman peptides and superdrugs to see you through the rest of the days! Glad your dad is good and al least you have the best and most extensive family spectator bench in RTP history! Enjoy the rest of this spectacular race, amazing part of the word, and count down to that cold beer in a few days time! Well done and keep going strong!
Lara Reynolds
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 05:57 am
Well done for finishing day 2 Matt!
It looked long and brutal, but stick to your strategy - this is not your first rodeo so slow and steady finishes the race.
Glad your food supplies is still good. I hope you got a chance to fix your bag with your larger safety pins?
After today you are halfway there - You can do this💪🏼
Hope you are looking after Liam.
All good here.
We are staying in Swakopmund tonight and then driving to Sossusvlei tomorrow and will meet Hansen party there.
Good luck - and keep us posted
Andy Reynolds
Posted On: 18 Aug 2026 05:44 am
Hey Matt, that’s a great strategy. It sounds like you’re in good shape. 2 more days of training before the race starts 😂
Good luck for day 3, we will be following you. Dad
Comments: Total (1) comments
David Grossr
Posted On: 22 Aug 2026 09:24 am