My Story
I’m Matthew Lefthand—most people in the cycling world know me as “Lefty.” But before the races, records, and coaching, I was just a guy who had slowly let himself go. I wasn’t a standout athlete growing up—just an average kid with bad eating habits that stuck when my life turned sedentary.
In graduate school, I poured myself into my studies in marriage and family therapy—learning systems theory, how the mind works, and how changing your thoughts can change your life. But in the process, I stopped taking care of my own body. By the time I graduated, I was 270 pounds, exhausted, and buried in unhealthy patterns.
Then in 2020, my son was born—and something clicked. My wife and I had talked many times about getting healthy, but we never followed through. When she suggested we try Clean Simple Eats, I didn’t even take before photos. I told her, “I already have enough of those.” But she made us do it. She showed up differently—and this time, I did too.
I lost the first 30–40 pounds before I ever ran again. Then in spring 2021, I completed my first half marathon virtually. That fall, I ran my first full marathon. I went deep on endurance science, learned zone 2 training, and stuck with it even when it felt frustratingly slow. The payoff came. In May 2022, I ran a 2:57 at the Ogden Marathon and qualified for Boston. I thought I had found my path.
But old injuries caught up to me. A foot sprain from years earlier led to knee pain from poor compensation. I hadn’t addressed my high arches or strength training yet. That summer, grounded by pain, I looked out at Mount Ogden and thought, “I should be up there.” And that’s when I picked up a road bike.
Less than 60 days later, in fall 2022, I rode my first LoToJa Classic—208 miles from Logan to Jackson Hole. It was my first taste of real ultra-distance, and I was hooked. In fall 2023, I came back to race LoToJa again—and broke my collarbone in a crash. But I kept going. I chased back into the fastest group of the day and finished with them. That moment lit something in me. That winter, I trained harder than ever, broke two local course records in 2024, and in August, I won the Hoodoo 500, beating the course record by six hours.
That winter, my sights got bigger. I trained indoors, and alongside my friend Nick DeHaan, completed all the roads on Zwift in one 18-hour ride. Then, I kept going—riding another six hours to reach a full 24-hour effort. That ride gave me my first real glimpse of what world-record endurance might feel like.
In February 2025, I chased that vision and made it real—riding 576 miles in 24 hours at Bike Sebring and setting a new American outdoor 24-hour record. Then in April 2025, I took on a 24-hour indoor ride at ENVE HQ in Ogden, riding 650 miles on Zwift, which WUCA calculated as 658 miles outdoors based on my aerodynamic drag (CdA). I spent over 23 hours in the aero position, averaged 273 watts, and broke 14 Guinness World Records in a single ride.
In June 2025, I raced Race Across the West—an 862-mile nonstop ultra event through some of the most brutal terrain in the U.S. I broke the course record, averaging 19.2 mph including stops, sleeping just 50 minutes total, and pedaling for 43 of the nearly 45 hours on course.
Somewhere along the way, I also reimagined how I fueled. After transitioning from runner to cyclist, I started studying the world’s most elite athletes—Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Courtney Dauwalter, Rich Roll. Their success wasn’t accidental—it was fueled by purpose. I became plant-based and realized dairy was holding me back. I was shocked to learn how common dairy intolerance is: 75% of Native Americans, 80% of African Americans, and up to 80% of Hispanic/Latino individuals experience it. Cutting dairy and leaning into whole, plant-based foods unlocked a whole new level of performance and recovery for me.
During all this, I was also completing my licensure in mental health counseling. I had earned my graduate degree earlier and was working in the field, but becoming fully licensed after my physical and personal transformation deepened everything. Today, I’ve worked in mental health for over seven years, including four in private practice. I don’t just understand mental toughness—I’ve lived it. I’ve also helped others build it, whether they’re recovering from trauma or chasing a new version of themselves.
This site is where I share that journey—my story, my process, and the tools I offer through coaching and consulting. Whether you’re here to follow along, transform your body, or finally break through the wall you’ve been hitting, I’m here to help.
There are no limits. Only the ones we haven’t broken yet.
I know how to help people lose weight in a sustainable way. I know how to build fitness from scratch and reach elite performance. I know how to train, fuel, race—and endure. But most importantly, I know how to help people become mentally unshakeable. I’ve studied mindset, practiced it in clinical work, and lived it through world-class endurance racing.