Hello, my name is Matthew Pierson, I am 39 soon to be 40 (during the 10in10 event). I have been married to my supportive wife Ellie for over 10 years, we have 3 children, Emily, Soren and Olivia. I work for one of the biggest Running/Outdoor online companies in the UK Sportsshoes.com as a buyer.

I have a few motivations for doing the Brathay 10in10. It is my 40th birthday the week of the event and I wanted a challenge to do in my 40th year. As an ex-professional runner, I have never really been in a position to raise money for charity. I felt people wouldn’t donate as they have always just seen me running, so the challenge had to be big enough to push me out of my comfort zone in order for me to ask for sponsorship.

My passion in life is running, I have run since I was 8 years old and have been lucky enough to be quite good at it!

It has given me the opportunity to see the world, including places such as Kenya, India and Barbados. Now that I am getting a little older, the passion is still there but the body isn’t, so I have to adjust my goals and take on different challenges: it’s not always about being the fastest.