Matthew Sumner

Matthew is a record-breaking real estate agent and self-sponsored athlete, who tells his story of how a boy from Plymouth, who at one point had wanted to be a plumber, but instead entered into the world of athletics and now combines his training with his full-time job, which he had never really thought of doing.

How did you find yourself in athletics?

For the last 10 years I have been pursuing my career in athletics. I got into it
accidentally during my school years when a teacher from my physical education class recognised that I had a natural ability and technique over the hurdles. This is how my journey into athletics began.

I started training properly at 16 even though I had been entering local school
competitions prior. Not long after that I ran in my first 80-meter spring hurdles and I succeeded in winning at a county level. This meant a lot to me, because I realised that I was good at something without relying on anyone else, and so I have pursued athletics ever since.

At the time I broke the Devon record for sprint hurdles, and for the 400-metre hurdles as well. I also competed in races at a Southwest schools’ level and I was the best at the 400 metre hurdles in 2008. In the same year I went on to a national level, coming 6th, which I was unbelievable to me, achieving this level in competition so quickly

After that I became addicted to running and racing. The next couple of years were very successful: I came 3rd at the English Schools Final, then 2nd in 2010, even after months of a reoccurring hamstring injury.

In 2010 I had partly recovered before the English schools Championships but still had some remaining pain in my hamstring. I remember vividly being in tears a week before the competition as I still in pain and was worried I would miss out on my last year of racing at the school level competition. I decided to compete in the finals regardless, as I did not want to look back and think ‘What if’. I did not do any training prior to the competition, however with this said I still made it to the final and came 2nd. I was proud of myself and happy as it was the last year that I could represent my county at a national level for that competition. Who knows, if I was fitter, I like to think I would have won that race.

What kept you so motivated to compete after being injured and hardly training?

I would hate to look back and know that I had not tried, I would always be thinking what if? It sounds silly, but when it comes to big races, I have the mindset that I am prepared to die out there. I am prepared to push my body to the limit and if something unfortunate happens to me, then so be it.

You mentioned you wanted to become a plumber but eventually went into athletics. How did it come about?

After finishing school, I was considering becoming a plumber. As majority of my friends went from school into a trade or work, I thought I would go in to the plumbing profession. I liked the idea of this line of work because in school I had been intrigued by engineering, so I thought once I learnt this trade there will always be demand for that job. After all everybody needs a plumber.

At the time I was on a very traditional trajectory of life, where I thought you have to go school, get your grades and then go to work. But when athletics came into my life and it completely changed my outlook. I also knew I would not be following my dream; although there is nothing wrong with going straight into a career after school. It just did not sit well with me.

As I sat through my plumbing induction, I realised then that it was not for me and that I really wanted to pursuit my career in athletics. This is when I looked into university courses and ended up going to Bath university. I did a sports performance course which allowed me not only train but learn about all aspects of sports, from management to nutrition to physical health. The environment was very competitive, and I could not enjoy student life as much I would have liked to, but that said, I definitely do not regret my decisions.

During my time at university I also raced in the London Olympic stadium in 2012, which held the British University Games as a test run leading up to the Olympics. We were fortunate enough to be the first people allowed to run on the track, I won both of my qualifiers and achieved what was a personal best time, winning a bronze medal.

My fastest race to date came in 2017. After the retirement of one of my coaches halfway through my winter training I joined one of Baths high performance groups coached by James Hillier. As the training was different to what my body was used to, I unfortunately tore my calf muscle during a cold day practicing over the hurdles. After a few months of rehab and the opportunity to train just outside of Barcelona for a month, I found I was once again finding my stride. However, the turbulence which I had experienced earlier in the year was not over. A couple of days after arriving back from Barcelona I had a call from my coach to say that I would no longer be able to train with the high performance group, as I had not represented my country and to top things off, I was coming out of a 4 year relationship with my ex-girlfriend. With all this coming at me at once I found myself having train on an empty track in the dark with only the wind and rain as my training partners at 6am in the morning. Although everything around me seemed to be crumbling, the goal still had not changed. After a mediocre season I was entered into the England Championships. I automatically made it through to the final after a season’s best performance, which was surprising as my preparation had not been the best.

The day of the final I was calm and collected. In the call up room I was reminiscing on the struggles I had been through that year; I knew it was time to step up and make the hard times worth it. After an incredibly competitive race I crossed the line gaining a silver medal and a new personal best of 51.21. To say I felt emotional was an understatement. A week later I got a call up to represent England, which is one of the proudest moments of my life. It was a great way to end the season and a true testament that hard work pays off, no matter what your situation is.

Athletics has taken me around the world. I have had the chance to race in Florida (USA), Italy, Spain, and Turkey as well as many other places around Europe. Throughout my career I have known I am young and if I take a risk and it does not pay off, I have not got any major things to lose. I would hate seeing myself at 90 years old and thinking ‘oh… I wish I tried’. I know now that I can live with no regrets because I followed my passion.

How do you deal with pressure and manage to relax?

Knowing your capabilities gives you confidence, thus the best way to manage pressure and relax when it comes to competition is knowing that you are prepared.

For me, it is training to my absolute best ability and recording my times, so I can see improvements from day to day and focusing on minor improvements every day. If you know that you put in all the work, and done everything that you possibly can, and perform your best on the day, but still do not win, at least you know you know that there was not much more you could do.

Preparation for a race is like the preparation for life, when you are at your best and you look back and you know you did everything that you wanted to do, you can die happy.

I also like my favourite athlete’s Steve Prefontaine quote: “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.” I take the athlete mindset into my work, which helps me to focus on results and gives me a chance to look at how to improve. It helps to see where else I could improve and become better.

“Preparation for a race is like the preparation for life, when you are at your best and you look back and you know you did everything that you wanted to do, you can die happy.”

How did you get in working as a real estate agent?

Being a full-time athlete is very difficult financially to maintain, so after graduating from the university, I did many part-time jobs, from cold sales to receptionist work etc. It so happened that my life journey took me back to Plymouth where I currently live and work as a real estate agent. Within one year of getting the job I had broken several company/branch records and within one year I became the manager of a sought-after area in Plymouth. After two enjoyable years I joined a brand-new company called Pilkington Estates where I work ever since.

Like in sports I use the same motivation and determination in my job, so perhaps this explains how I managed to get that far within two and a half years. A job in sales is all about hitting targets, meeting numbers and staying motivated and being positive during the hard times. And regardless of current times [COVID-19], we managed to achieve quite a lot from making video tours of properties and selling houses during lockdown in different creative ways.

Combining full time work and training is not easy but I still try my best. I aim to train 6 times a week and preparing for the Olympics next year in 2021 but at the same time I need to be realistic so I am in the process of transitioning from an athletic dream into a career role. I have achieved what I wanted in athletics and represented my country as I always wanted to do that. So, for now I am a self-funded athlete, supported and sponsored by local businesses, which I am very thankful. I hope one day I will pass my knowledge onto others and teach them about sports and personal growth.

What have you learnt from athletics that you could apply to your job?

One thing you learn in athletics is doing a little bit more than the person next to you, which helps to produce good results. The same logic applies in sales. You try to do a bit more than what your competitors do. This allowed me to break the company records within the first year. When I became a manager, I helped a loss-making branch transform into a profit making one.

What are your future plans?

In the long term I like to run for my country again, and possibly qualify for Olympics next year. In terms of my career I would like to be the best estate agent in Plymouth, look to settle down, maybe have little “Matthews” 🙂 and enjoy the finer things in life.

What do you value most in your life?

Simply put – personal success, love and personal growth. Success is important because it is personal and gives focus to reach goals and achieve recognition. It comes down to my career and all my dreams: my athletics and my career to be the best. The reason it comes first is because if you have no one around you, at least you know you have done your best.

Love to me is about the people who surround you, support you and make you happy whether it is family, friends or girlfriend.

Last but not least, personal growth is very important, especially when you are young which I always strive for. Helping and inspiring others is very important to me, so if you could help others to be better, and when they get better, eventually you make the world better place to live.

What has been your biggest struggle?

With anything I do, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I always give 100% of myself whether it is sports, relationships or my job. I mentally and emotionally invest in myself with what I do and in people around me, thus if the situation turns out differently than you expect, then it can really break me emotionally. In racing it is also the same. It hurts when you see what you cannot achieve. The struggle is learning how to give 100 percent of yourself when things are not going right.

“With anything I do, I wear my heart on my sleeve and the struggle is learning how to give 100 percent of yourself when things are not going right.”

Another struggle is when you believe in a goal, target or a dream and yet people around you tell you that you cannot do it. This would be the easy option; the easy pass and it is almost doing what society wants of you. But by taking that risk and believing in yourself, doing what you actually want, this was the biggest struggle for me.

I always believed I had better take that risk and if it did not work out, at least I can I say I tried. I know when things do not go your way, you get to learn a lot from it. Next time when you start a new business or go into a new sport or activity, you remember the lesson from the time you did not succeed. For me going into athletics and doing what I did, proved my many “none” believers wrong.

Currently I am focusing on my career, which is very goal orientated and where you have to hit targets, I can use setbacks and struggles that I have had in athletics to help stay resilient and withstand the negative times I encounter. It is always about seeing the positive, and the light in the end of the tunnel.

“Become comfortable with uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable allows you to grow and gives you confidence. It has never been easy because if it was, everybody would do it.”

What one bit of advice would you give to others?

Go and do something you love, and do not be afraid of taking risks because we only have one life and it is your time to use wisely. If you are successful or not with the risk you took, you always learn a lot. Become comfortable with uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable allows you to grow and gives you confidence. It has never been easy because if it was, everybody would do it. Do not forget to live your life and do what you love, live a life worth remembering, and living without regrets. Do not forget to take risks especially when you are young, you have nothing to lose. By taking risks you learn a lot and gain a lot of knowledge. Set small goals and make small improvements every day to achieve them. Set your goals high and as Norman Vincent Peale said: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

“Set small goals and make small improvements every day to achieve them. Set your goals high and as Norman Vincent Peale said: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”