World XC Championships: Matt Ramsden

On Saturday, Matt Ramsden will make his senior Great Britain debut when he competes at the World Cross Country Championships. It quickly follows a maiden Great Britain outing, in the U23 race at last month’s European Cross Country Championships. Matt spoke to James Rhodes about both races, one in between, and much more.

Not many athletes get to make their age-group debut and senior debut within the space of one month. Yet that is exactly what Matt Ramsden will do when he puts on his Great Britain vest on Saturday.

An impressive sixth place in the U23 men’s race at December’s European Cross Country Championships helped secure what lies ahead. Five laps of two kilometres in Tallahassee against some of the best runners in the world. It is an experience Matt is relishing.

“I’m looking forward to it. It should be good fun. It’s what every runner dreams of, running against the best. The bigger the competition, the more exciting it is.

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster to say the least, but like I said every runner wants to run against the best runners. That’s how you get better yourself. I’m excited for it. Hopefully I can challenge and have a good run, see how we get on”.

As it’s my first experience, I’ve tried to not put any pressure on. There’s always going to be added pressure and pre-race nerves, probably more than I’ve ever had before. I just want to make the most of it and try and have a strong run as I can. I want to make the most of the opportunity that British Athletics have given me”.

Pre-Season Goals

In the run up to winter, Matt had clear goals for the season. However, a trip to the United States was not initially on the radar.

“It’s gone from 0 to 100 really quickly from November to now. It’s not what I anticipated would be happening at the start of the cross country season. I’ll be forever grateful to British Athletics for trusting me to represent on a senior stage so early on after making my debut. Whilst I’ve got the opportunity I want to try and make the most of it.

The aim was to get my first GB vest. I knew there was a really good chance to gain some experience and hopefully challenge at the top end of the U23s. Then I got selected to run at the Worlds off the back of it!”.

A Visit to Portugal

In November, Matt won the U23 trials race in a muddy Sefton Park to guarantee selection for the Europeans. The two courses could not be much more different to each other, both in terms of technicality and ground conditions. Matt ran well to finish sixth and top Brit. It was an experience, and course, he enjoyed.

“I enjoyed it in terms of it being an interesting course. It was very tactical, and I like the tactical side of running. That’s why I like track racing, because it’s all about where you position yourself, following moves, that sort of thing.

It was almost like a track race, obviously minus the hills and the sharp turns. The technical side of it and how you had to stay switched on all the time, I really enjoyed.  I was happy to come away with a with a good run”.

Representing your country for the first time, combined with the energy that a major championship brings, can be daunting. There are plenty of learning experiences from Portugal that will join Matt on the journey to Tallahassee.

“Everyone talks about the team environment of the Euro Cross and I really did experience that whilst we’re out there.

I suppose World Cross will be the same, obviously it’s a stronger field and a higher level, but it’s still the same preparation for us all, the same pre-race nerves. It’s just a slightly higher level than what I have done before. Getting that first experience out of the way, I’ve learned how it works on the cross scene in terms of pre-race routine. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m glad I’ve got that first experience out of the way to be honest”.

Stepping Stone

Many athletes can experience challenges when making the step-up from age group competition to senior level. Having the opportunity to experience both in quick succession is not something Matt takes lightly.

“I think a lot of athletes will agree probably the hardest thing is making the step up to the seniors. I think the U23 category is a second stepping stone, because the gap from U20s to seniors is massive. Even from the U23s, the gap is still huge.

I want to go out there and enjoy it. For myself, I want to showcase what I’ve got. Hopefully it’ll give me the vital experience that I need to make it a repeated thing, making championships and getting senior vests.

I know I’ve only just got my debut last month, but it’s what every runner dreams of.

The hardest thing to do is to make that jump into the seniors. I want to do it properly and try and become a mainstay in teams. Try and gain as many vests as I can, push up the ranks, finish higher and higher and see where I can get”.

A Special Win & Looking Ahead

Another milestone success came in between the two championships. In his fourth appearance in as many years, Matt recorded his debut win at the Ribble Valley 10k. The fact that the race is organised by his home club Blackburn Harriers made it all the more special.

“I love the Ribble Valley course. It’s a tough one, but it attracts really good runners; Emile Cairess and Marc Scott did it a couple years ago. Every year I seem to gradually climb up there and my times have slowly come down. As I do every year, and the conditions are usually the same – a bit of wind, but nothing too bad –I can see my progression year on year. I was happy with that”.

No specific races are yet pencilled in Matt’s calendar after Tallahassee, but the road, track and cross all await. The latter may include the inter-county championships (Nottingham, 7 March) and national championships (Durham, 21 February). After that, continuing the PB revisions that came last year is on the agenda. They currently sit at 13:44 (5k), 29:05 (10k), 13:48.12 (5000m) and 29:16.07 (10000m). Three of those four were set in 2025.

“I want to try and get my 5k and 10k PBs down if I can, prior to track season starting. Plus, whilst I’m fit! I do get bad luck now and again with injuries and illnesses, so I want to try and make the most of running quick whilst I can.

That will set me in a good way for the track season and hopefully I get those times down too”.

Saturday’s Race

Matt is joined by Rory Leonard, David Mullarkey and Jacob Cann in the senior men’s race. It takes place at 12:20 local time (17:20 UK time) on Saturday 10 January. It will be streamed live by the BBC.

The full Great Britain team can be seen here.