Robbie Matthews

AuldManKing

http://meathathletics.ie/

Not sure if this is appropriate here, but heard about this yesterday.

never knew the chap, but always remember seeing his name appear near the top of every race he ran in.
Seems to have been a wonderfully talented runner.

RIP

RayCun

Spoke to him in the massage queue after Bohermeen last year, seemed a nice guy. Very sad news.

T runner

AuldManKing wrote: »

http://meathathletics.ie/

Not sure if this is appropriate here, but heard about this yesterday.

never knew the chap, but always remember seeing his name appear near the top of every race he ran in.
Seems to have been a wonderfully talented runner.

RIP

Very sad news. Condolences to his loved ones.

tang1

Terrible news, won the Irish Runner 5 mile last year. The loss of a great talent.

drquirky

Very very sad. RIP.

pistol_75

Shocking news. Another one gone too soon.

Krusty_Clown

Hard to believe he came 5th in Dunshaughlin, and then went on to win the Fore 5k just a few days later. What a talent. May we all chase in his shadows.

thewolf_ie

Really sad loss.

Tom Joad

Very sad news- RIP - lovely tributes to him on Dunshaughlin's Facebook page.

PaulieYifter

That's very sad news - RIP.

ecoli

Saw this last night and came as a bit of a shock. Sympathies go out to his family and friends

jahaco

So sad and tragic. Condolences to family and friends.

rom

Very sad and too young rip. What happened to him ?

walshb

Did this chap race in Santry last July, and run a sub 16 5 k? I am almost certain it was him. Very familiar face. He won the race. Very sad news. Young man in his prime.

RayCun

rom wrote: »

Very sad and too young rip. What happened to him ?

.

average_runner

So tragic, rest in peace and condolences to his family

rom

Very sad. 10s of millions are put into the RSA and so little in support services for mental health. RIP

pa4

Very sad to hear this.. so much talent gone like that gone in a blink of an eye. RIP.

dublin runner

This is not the place to speculate on such a tragic matter.

Our thoughts should be with his family and friends.

thirstywork2

R.I.P Robbie a very nice guy,had the pleasure to chat to him a few times.A very committed club man and a gentle guy who loved to run like man on here.

Chartsengrafs

I never met Robbie but I had been following his fantastic results for a few years as I'm from Dunshaughlin originally.
Such sad news, RIP.

thirstywork2

Robbie Mathews - A Tribute
By Paddy Mangan, Dunshaughlin Athletic Club
The very sad and untimely death has occurred of the quiet and popular Dunshaughlin athlete Robbie Mathews, at just 35 years of age.
Robbie began his running career in his early teenage years in Kells and joined the local club, where his highlight was in finishing third in the 1998 Leinster Intermediate Cross Country Championships in Wexford.
Robbie drifted out of the sport for a period of time but never lost his love of running and returned to the sport in his mid-20s and rapidly began making up for the lost years. Under the guidance of his coach Domo Moran, Robbie started to show the form that his early teenage years had suggested and the titles soon started to mount up.
He won his first Meath Senior Cross Country title in Dunboyne in 2008 and followed that with silver medals in the Leinster Novice Cross Country in Rathdrum in 2009 and the Leinster Intermediate in Tullamore in 2011, leading the Meath teams to victory on both occasions.
A cruciate ligament injury threatened to end his career but after almost two years without running and two major operations, Robbie summoned the will and courage to resume running and in 2013 won over 30 races on track, road and cross-country. He won two of the four events in the Dublin Marathon Race Series (Irish Runner 5 mile and Dublin Half Marathon) and set PBs in almost every race he ran, including 5K (14:57), 4 miles (19:36), 5 miles (24:46), 10K (30:57), 10 miles (50:57) and a half-marathon best of 68:08.
Robbie was also crowned Meath 3,000m track champion and 5-mile road champion and led the club Senior Men team to their first Meath cross country title in 10 years which meant a lot to him.
A quiet but focused lad, Robbie was a true and loyal club and county man and wore both singlets with pride and honour right up to the end. He was also very supportive of young club members and was always on hand to offer advice and encouragement.
He finished fifth in our club 10K last Saturday week, going on to take victory in his final race, the Fore 5K last Wednesday evening.
Robbie’s legacy will live on, as his organs were donated to many recipients - and how lucky are those who receive his heart and lungs.
Our sincere condolences go to his family and friends at this sad time.
Robbie’s Funeral Mass will take place in Kilskyre Church this Thursday July 3rd at 12pm.

RIP Robbie Mathews
4th November 1978 to 29th June 2014
The Gift- A Runner's Story
"Running isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair
and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the
nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead.
It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with.
It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on.
Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel.
And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the
best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for."
― Paul Maurer, The Gift - A Runner's Story

ArtieFufkin

dublin runner wrote: »

This is not the place to speculate on such a tragic matter.

Our thoughts should be with his family and friends.

Speculation, no. But it's better to talk about things like depression and suicide, and I wish more were reported without the shame and stigma often attributed by onlookers. Not that I'm having a go at you! It is too early to speculate but maybe Raycun knows more and didn't want to go into any more detail.

Last time I ran the DCM was for Turn The Tide of suicide (3Ts) and it is a subject close to my heart.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Ososlo

ArtieFufkin wrote: »

Speculation, no. But it's better to talk about things like depression and suicide, and I wish more were reported without the shame and stigma often attributed by onlookers. Not that I'm having a go at you! It is too early to speculate but maybe Raycun knows more and didn't want to go into any more detail.

Last time I ran the DCM was for Turn The Tide of suicide (3Ts) and it is a subject close to my heart.

My condolences to his family and friends.

It's close to my heart also but I do feel it's not the right time/place to talk about it. Nothing to do with stigma at all. Just not the right time.

dublin runner

ArtieFufkin wrote: »

Speculation, no. But it's better to talk about things like depression and suicide, and I wish more were reported without the shame and stigma often attributed by onlookers. Not that I'm having a go at you! It is too early to speculate but maybe Raycun knows more and didn't want to go into any more detail.

Last time I ran the DCM was for Turn The Tide of suicide (3Ts) and it is a subject close to my heart.

My condolences to his family and friends.

True but there is a time and a place. This forum is not the place and now is not the time. Let's remember him for the person and brilliant athlete he was, let us not get into ideal gossip and rumour.

liadan2014

Ososlo wrote: »

It's close to my heart also but I do feel it's not the right time/place to talk about it. Nothing to do with stigma at all. Just not the right time.

It is 100% to do with stigma. I suffer from depression from time to time. I have found that running does help. Many in our sport use the sport as a coping system and it does help some manage it.

If you suffer from depression in this country they can sack you under many contracts. Counseling is not covered under health insurance.

People with depression may also have addiction problems. A lot on this forum have some level of depression and you can read it in their logs and posts.

I know if I was not addicted to running it would be drink or drugs.

From all accounts he seems like he was a great guy and its a shame that the system failed him.
I propose renaming the boards beer mile in his honor.

Ososlo

liadan2014 wrote: »

It is 100% to do with stigma.

I think you misinterpreted what I was trying to say.
This thread is about Robbie Matthews and a dedication to him.

Krusty_Clown

liadan2014 wrote: »

I propose renaming the boards beer mile in his honor.

I think the race in Fore (his final win) would be a far more fitting tribute, but that too is a conversation for another day.

belcarra

I'd seen Mayo AC report news of his death on their Facebook page and even though I never met the guy or even knew what he looked like I certainly knew the name from him winning so many races.
Among those was my own local race, the Balla 10k in Mayo which he won in both 2008 & 2009. I will definitely have a thought or two for Robbie when toeing the line in Balla later this month.

tunguska

dublin runner wrote: »

True but there is a time and a place. This forum is not the place and now is not the time. Let's remember him for the person and brilliant athlete he was, let us not get into ideal gossip and rumour.

I was absolutley shocked to hear that news yesterday and even more shocked to learn how he died. But I disagree, theres no specific time or place to discuss suicide, it should be openly talked about whenever or wherever anybody feels like they need to talk about. There should be no taboos.

dublin runner

tunguska wrote: »

I was absolutley shocked to hear that news yesterday and even more shocked to learn how he died. But I disagree, theres no specific time or place to discuss suicide, it should be openly talked about whenever or wherever anybody feels like they need to talk about. There should be no taboos.

I really don't want to get drawn into a debate on this issue so this will be my last post on this matter.

Issues like suicide should of course be discussed in a open transparent manner. You are in right in saying there should be no taboos and I completely agree. My point has been somewhat skewed, not on purpose I know but I would like to clarify why I disagree with posting/speculating how someone died. I believe this forum should not be used in such a manner and was disappointed to read one comment in particular.

Issues like suicide, for example, shouldn't be discussed when talking about someones passing, especially on an open forum like this. It's a very personal matter, particularly to his family and close friends. Above all we must respect that. If people want to talk about their own personal experiences in relation to depression etc I would like to read and hear about that because as you said, it should be talked and discussed openly.

Simply put, I would not like a family member of mine talked about in such a matter.

I respect your opinion but in my opinion, there is a time and place.