Máté Vásárhelyi

Hi, I'm Máté Vásárhelyi! 👋

Many of you may know me from running races, but in my everyday life, alongside training, there is room for university and teaching too. I'm training to become a geography and PE teacher at ELTE, and at Castor SE I work with others as a coach and swimming instructor. I love this work, and I'm glad that through sport I can connect with so many people.

My bond with nature began long before racing. I grew up in Újbuda, the seventh of the ten children in our family. We also spent a lot of time in Kisoroszi, and hiking was part of our life all year round. In summer we travelled around the country for weeks, so I got to know a large part of the Hungarian mountains as a child.

On our family hikes it was natural to be on the move for hours. Today I can see how much that meant later: I got used to long efforts and felt at home in the forest. On school hikes, too, I liked to walk at the front, close to the guide. I spent twelve years at the Fazekas school, and although I was less enthusiastic about school itself, I often thought about how it could be made better. That thought may also have played a part in my choosing a teaching career.

I came to organised training as a secondary school student, through swimming. Attila Fecskovics invited me over from swimming lessons, and I quickly found my feet in running. I liked that I could test myself over so many distances and in so many places. Futapest events became especially close to my heart, and I lined up at the start more and more often.

Where I started from shows how far I've come.

In 2017 I finished only 117th at the national final of the school cross-country championship. The following year I ran a 1:38 half marathon in Szigetmonostor, finishing nineteenth. A year later, at the same race, I crossed the line in 1:27. Around that time longer distances started to interest me as well, and in 2019 I was already completing runs of more than fifty kilometres.

Since then almost three hundred races have added up. I can still recall moments from many of them, and my training logs help me look back on how my career has developed. Attila and I have worked together as coach and athlete since 2019. We have gradually shaped my training system; during the pandemic, for example, the big change was higher running volume and two sessions a day.

In 2020 I won the Hungarian U20 mountain running title on Kékes, finishing fifth overall. A year later I was already gaining experience in international fields, at the senior and youth Skyrunning World Championships and at the Nations Cup. The trips and the people I met have stayed with me as vividly as the races themselves.

Along the way I also experienced setbacks caused by injuries. In 2022 I was already running half marathons in under seventy minutes, but in that period and the following year I had difficulties too. My own mistakes taught me how important it is to be patient. Several times I got injured just when I wanted to increase pace and volume too quickly.

The next years brought a lot of joy. In 2024 I won the Vivicitta, and I finished second at the 50 km national championship and the SPAR Budapest Marathon. In 2025 I won Hungarian national titles in both the marathon and the 50 km, and then won the Budapest Marathon.

I'm especially proud of this year's marathon in Split. I got lost during the race, yet I managed to pull myself together, fight through the distance and run a personal best. It means a lot to me that despite the difficulty I could get out of myself everything I had in me that day.

The 2026 Mátrabérc opened a new chapter for me.

Last year I was three minutes off the course record, so this year I prepared with breaking it in mind. Alongside my running sessions, I studied the route and the split times in detail. I achieved my goal, but I was left with lessons about my fueling. After the race my collaboration with Hammer Nutrition began, which I experienced as an important step forward.

The off-road triathlon in Domonyvölgy was also memorable. Although I had done triathlon before, I had never raced on a bike off-road. With no mountain bike of my own, I prepared on a road bike, so I was especially curious about that leg. In the end, after a close battle with Bálint Mester, I became national champion at my very first off-road triathlon.

At the beginning of September two especially memorable races followed one after the other.

At the Wizz Air Budapest Half Marathon I took second place in the national championship and finished third overall. A week later I was already on the start line of a fifty-kilometre race: on 12 September I completed the PEZOWOOD Szőlőskör Hammer 50K in 2:55:25, winning the race and setting a new Hungarian national record.

It was an amazing experience to race successfully over two different distances within such a short time. After the half-marathon podium, the fifty-kilometre record made this period especially memorable.

In the races after Mátrabérc I was already running with Hammer Nutrition fueling. At the Hammer 50K in Balatonszőlős this came with personal support as well: the team followed my whole race and continuously kept an eye on and helped with my fueling. It's a special joy that this teamwork took us all the way to a national record. It felt great to share the joy of finishing with the people who were beside me on the course. Thank you for the support!

Between races I often head out for a run straight after a morning swim, then go on to university. I try to fit my tasks together and make time for recovery as well. My favourite sessions are still the easier long runs: that's when I have the chance to look around and enjoy being outdoors. It's important to me to find what I love about sport in my everyday training too.

My faith accompanies me on this journey. I was raised in a Reformed family, and as a secondary school student my personal relationship with God deepened. I see my abilities as a gift and want to use them responsibly. This helps me keep races in perspective: to be happy about successes, and to find value in the experience even after a weaker result.

My next goal is a sub-2:20 marathon on a certified course. I also have plans in the mountains: the course record of another big Hungarian trail race is on my mind. I'm keeping the location to myself for now, but it gives me plenty of motivation for my preparation. 🙂