Tribute to Matthew Capsey, 1975 - 2025

A dear colleague and friend, you will be sadly missed by all in our team. Our thoughts are with your family at this time.

We had the fortune of having Matt as a colleague and member of our peer community at the NIHR Newcastle Patient Safety Research Collaboration. As one of the small number of postdoctoral peers, Matt brought wisdom, experience, reflection and thoughtful role modelling to the collaboration. He was an absolute star leading and developing important work. We will miss him, and cherish the time we had with him.

I first met Matt to attempt the Lyke Wake eleven years ago through a mutual friend. A year later, in 2015, a friend and I then crewed Matt across the Lyke Wake, bump staring his car in the process to get it to Clay Bank as he had parked it with the lights on! Later that day we were soaking towels in water for Matt to drape over his shoulders, when I got my words all muddled while preparing a towel and asked Matt if he wanted it "From behind?"! Oh how I died inside as Matt and everyone laughed! Over the years I ran various sections of ultras and final 10 mile sections with Matt, I keep remembering more as time goes on, so many memories. Matt and I also shared two running clubs over time, and we always seemed to be in the same team for the one mile relays at Stewart Park. Though I was faster than Matt over a mile, I don't think I ever got near him over cross country. Matt was always a great sounding board and support for me with various athletics ventures. He was "COVID officer" when we put on a strictly controlled track and field meeting in Darlington during the COVID times, and always listened to my plans regarding my officiating journey - I wish he could have been there to talk about my time at the Diamond League in July, having listened to my planning to reach national level over the last few years. As I branched out again into marathon running, Matt was always my go to conversation partner regarding headaches and not being able to eat after runs and the possible solutions. There are so many things I used to talk to Matt about, and a million things to remember on top of everything that I've written here, I'm going to miss him.