Hey everyone, I’m @ellacumber (they/them) and one of the non-binary runners with the Mathieu Project. I’m going to be taking over the Instagram account for the next few days so you can follow me while I do my first ever race! I’m based in Wiltshire, UK, but grew up all over the world — the UAE, Philippines, Hawaii and Thailand to name a few places! You can often find me out in the fields with my dogs or in London for work. It’s hard to keep me in one place for a long time 😅 I started running in my 30’s after a period of very bad mental health and struggles with alcoholism and addiction. At first, it was about getting outside. Then it was about how far I could walk. And then in classic ADHD fashion, I would get bored and it was about getting there a little faster, until it eventually evolved into running (slowly) for even longer distances. Now, running for me is very much about solitude and being in nature. I can work through all my racing thoughts and practise a moving meditation (which sometimes involves a lot of cursing and heavy breathing up hills), but there’s a real sense of freedom and connection to the world around me. I’m not a fast runner, but I’m a happy one! Outside of running, I’m an actor and a dog walker — all the hours of walking is good time on feet training! I have a huge love for nature, conservation and representation, and I recently did my mountain leader training with the aim of eventually being able to lead groups in outdoor spaces 🏔️ Running has been a fun portal into wonderful opportunities that I never could’ve imagined or had access to— from running for a Hoka campaign in South Africa, to restoring trails in Sweden! — and the friends I’ve made along the way have been truly inspiring. The communities I’ve been welcomed into through running have all been about lifting one another up and making running more accessible so I hope that I can do the same and show you that anyone can be a runner 🙏❤️ 📸: @emmiecoll @1_in_the_gutter

<Ioana 3/3> So, by now we know that for me it will be a hard one doing a 50Km with 3000 D+. And you might wonder what gives me the confidence to go forward? Well .. The Mathieu Community - the amazing humans that I get to be inspired by, educated by and with whom I share this experience with. 🙌 I have to admit I got super lucky to be part of it. I got training plans, nutrition advice, prompts to help me process it all. And the cherry on top, I met gorgeous souls with amazing stories. ✨ From looping around my neighborhood in the winter on a half meter large clean trail beside ice (100+ times) to hills and elevation chasing in Berlin's parks or forests. From a pyramid pace training to mindful runs! 🏃‍♀️ So stay tuned for other Mathieu runners' takeover and join us in our journey to the peaks of these @swissalps100 ! TOGETHER! 🌸💜 PS: Thanks so much for having me! 👋 PS2: 8th photo credit - @sujinleeme #ultramarathon #mathieuprogram #swissalps100

<Ioana 2/3> Ok Ioana, you are running, but how come you decided to run @swissalps100 ?😳 TL;DR aka „Too long; didn't read", While in Cape Town, South Africa, again for work, I got to run a 10K at the Cape Town Marathon, a candidate for a major marathon title. I regretted that I was not in good shape to run a full marathon and made a promise I will be more serious with training. And less than a year later - I got to run @berlinmarathon in 27 C, and survived but that's a different story. 😅 Now for the long version, there was a trail halfmarathon race in that small town I was born in and I thought it would be nice that my first race to be there. So I registered and ran.. Midway I called my parents and friends telling them it will take longer as I did not take into account the elevation! And there I met, at the uphill part an old man doing better than me! That made me think about my health, and that I want to be doing this even for as long as I can. And it is up to me to improve myself. After that one - and you can see my face at the end - i got to run another trail half marathon in Apuseni Mountains ( @marathonapuseni ). Still hard, but the smile on my face said i enjoyed it more. And the scenery took my breath away! Beside these two, i did several times the Cluj Half Marathon (@cluj.napoca.marathon ) but without much care nor preparation. I took a break from races for a while, but life has its own way to remember your stuff. As mentioned, that race in Cape Town made me apply for the Berlin Marathon and take running a bit more seriously. Just a bit. And after my first marathon ( and half with @berlinerhalbmarathon ) I decided I would do a big race per year. And then the Swiss Alps 50K race appeared and I thought what can be better than running in the mountains. It will be hard but I will work towards it! So, Let's get ready for it! What's your favorite race? #swissalps #running #ultrarunningtraining #ultrarunning

<Ioana 1/3> Hey, I’m Ioana (@ioana_cis ) and I’ll be around here for a couple of days 👋 I’m originally from a small town in Transylvania called Aiud, Romania, but these days I call Berlin, Germany home. How did you start running? I've been a runner for about 15 years. A slow one. Used to be an overweight one, now probably a midsized one. I never ran to chase fast times or look like the “typical runner.” I ran for my personal motivation - to move my body, improve my health and prove a quieter point: anyone can do it. My work started taking me to different cities around the world. Conferences in new cities. So I made myself a promise: in every new city, I lace up and go for a run before the workday begins. Running became the fastest way to meet a place before the workday stole me: sunrises in unfamiliar streets, alleys I'd never have walked into, skylines I earned one kilometer at a time. That’s how #cisrunstheworld was born: a collection of kilometers, memories, and awkward poses instead of passport stamps ✈️🏃‍♀️ While the pandemic happened, I moved to Berlin. Running changed again. It stopped being only about discovering new cities but more about exploring my new home. It became part of how I live, travel, slow down, reconnect, and feel at home. It is a lifestyle. A practice. A small, stubborn act of showing up, for myself, and for the version of me that once thought she didn't belong out there.And honestly, that’s the power of a promise to yourself. How many places can you recognize from my series? #mathieuproject #running #rum #gooutandrun

One of the most beautiful parts of Mathieu so far has been the sense of community growing between us. Over the last weeks, I’ve had the chance to meet some of the other women and non-binary runners in the programme, and every conversation has stayed with me in some way. A few days ago I went for a run with Fati, who is 20 and about to finish school in Berlin after coming from Afghanistan. We are generations apart, but we felt so close. We ran, talked, laughed, shared pieces of our lives. Afterwards I kept thinking about how powerful running can be in bringing people together across completely different worlds and experiences. That’s what this programme has started to feel like to me. A group of people with very different stories, bodies, identities, fears and ambitions, all preparing to take on something challenging together. There’s been so much sharing already: encouragement, knowledge, honesty, vulnerability, practical advice, experiences from life and from running. Sometimes you realise you are giving something to someone else without even noticing it, and other times you suddenly find yourself deeply supported by people you only recently met. The workshops, conversations and training have reminded me that endurance is not only individual. Even though we each stand on the start line alone, none of us really gets there alone; we learn together, we are a community. I keep ruminating about our conversations, and especially the idea of the “ripple effect”. We have had pioneering women on the start line, fighting to be there, they have paved the way for us to continue this, and as Mathieu does, enabling us to show up makes space for someone else to imagine themselves there too. This is what is happening here. We are learning from each other. Growing stronger together. And making space for more people to belong in these mountains after us 🖤

12 days ago I ran 26 loops at a Backyard Ultra. 174km. I was the last person standing.
One small loop, again and again and again. I hadn’t set out to win, but to take each yard at a time. People often think ultra running is about suffering. But honestly, what I remember most is the community. Such a camaraderie and care and support of each other. I have a full heart - I had someone staying behind to crew and support me after their runner stopped and he did this for many hours through the night. 
…Having a serious low at the 9th loop and reciting my mantra to myself “Gal, move your a§§, you can do this”. Getting a high at 3am after falling spectacularly and joking about me kissing my ancestors, but that they would not be too enthused with my face full of dirt. …Moments of encouragement as the day dawned, and I saw one volunteer who had been there the whole day and night, and she still had the energy to cheer us on. Also watching how runners become softer and more honest as the night went on. …Dancing before my 26th loop. At some point, the performance aspect disappears and something much more raw and human takes over. You stop running to prove something and just run because you’re still there, and because your body can, and you know deep within that limits are few. And, because the people around you are carrying you and each other forward. A constant reminder that endurance is not hardness. I think real endurance is being open to embrace emotions as they come and to dip into those reserves that you know are there, though they may be hiding behind a wall that might actually be paper thin. Road to @mathieuproject Clad and shoed by @on Fuelled by @precisionfandh Would you stay up all night to run?

Hi, I’m Florah 👋🏾 I’m originally from Kenya, currently based in Berlin, and I’ll be lining up for Swiss Alps 100 as part of the #mathieuproject. Running became something much bigger for me than sport. It became a way to explore resilience, freedom, identity, grief, joy, limits, and sometimes the complete absence of limits. Outside running, I work in fundraising and partnerships around sustainability, climate and social impact. A lot of my life revolves around building bridges between people, ideas and communities. Running really feels similar. Over the last years, running has taken me through deserts, sleepless nights, tiny villages, long lonely roads, and into rooms and friendships I never expected. It has also brought me back to myself, again and again. One thing I keep thinking about lately, and also after Rachel Entrekin’s Cocodona win: Women are more likely to finish an ultra than men (and win!), but only if they are on the startline. The goal of Mathieu is to support more of us to get there. Because women belong in these spaces too: In endurance, In discomfort, In ambition, In wildness, In mountains, On the road. In taking up space. I’m really grateful to be here with this community and excited to share this takeover with you over the next two days 🖤

Beautiful things don’t need attention 🩷 Test run, post marathons, 10km- nearly there 🫢 #running #uphilldownhill #postmarathon fun! #beautifulday☀️ #runningcommunity @mathieuproject

Get ready for challenge #2 on your next easy run - spot a bird, a flower, and capture the moments. Give a shout-out to a fellow runner! I've recently discovered mindful running, focusing on my body, breath, and surroundings, and I'm loving it. Want to give it a try? I give a shout out to @ioana_cis for Tell me about your easy run and post these pics!! @himani_runs 📷

Chasing sunsets, burning lungs, and stronger versions of ourselves. Every step up the hill felt like a battle between giving up and pushing harder- and today, hard work won. The view at the top is beautiful, but the climb changes you more than the destination ever could 🩷🌸 #Fitness #Workout #Motivation #Nature #Running

Get ready for Challenge #1 - Hill reps!!!! Are you in?!?!? I love (and also hate) hill reps!!!! Who else is with me? ;) What 2 words do you want to say to your coach during those tough hill reps? 😱😛😎😁😃🙄 No judgments here lol. Your secret is safe with me 🥸 sorry @_kelseykaye 🤩 I'll kick it off….WTF…I mean 'What Fun' 🤫 Now it's your turn….comment below 👇 with the 2 words you're thinking during those grueling uphill sessions 👇

Hi, Himani here! Taking over Mathieu Project's IG ..woohoo !!! Who am I? I am an ultra trail runner, been running on trails for 6 years. I am happy being outdoors, running for hours; through the night and enjoying the sunrise. Is it even an ultra if you don't get to watch the sunset and sunrise on your run 🤣🤣 More on that later....😊Over next few days; I'll talk about what I am training for next (hint is in the photo 😍), and what I do to train. Can you guess which race I am going to do??? 🗻Tell me what do you want to hear about ultra training👇