Matt Spear as he crosses the finish line during Sunday’s Portland Marathon.

SEASIDE — Matt Spear claimed his third consecutive title in the Portland Marathon on Sunday with a winning time of 2:27:51, or a 5:38 average mile pace.

Spear, who lives in Seaside, grew up running and decided in 2013 to try competing in marathons.

“My first marathon I was a bit naive,” he said. “I didn’t have the best training program, my diet wasn’t the greatest. But the more I run them, the more comfortable I get and the better I get at pacing, nutrition and all the important things.”

Spear runs to keep himself active after a long day at work. He works as an application developer, so he spends hours a day sitting at a desk.

“Since I spend most of my day at a desk I like to go for a run before or after work as a way to loosen my body up after the hard day’s work,” he said.

Spear said representing Seaside is something he cherishes.

“I love this community,” he said. “My grandma lives here and whenever I cross the finish line and they announce me as from Seaside, it always puts a smile on my face because I know I’m representing the community well and making them proud.”

Spear runs on the beach and on the trails around Seaside.

He trains for marathons year-round, and runs two to four races a year depending on the timing. Spear finished 13th in the Eugene Marathon back in April and has another race planned at the end of the year.

Running is something he enjoys and wants to continue as long as he’s improving and not slowing down.

“I still have goals I want to hit,” Spear said. “I see 2:20 as a goal to shoot for. It’s lofty, but it’s motivation. I tried an ultramarathon a couple years ago and would like to give those another shot. I plan on running marathons until I start to show signs of slowing down.”

Marathons might seem like a daunting task for some, but Spear said it shouldn’t be intimidating and should be seen as a challenge.

“I’ve had friends who hadn’t run in a while or stopped running get back out there and give them a go,” Spear said. “Consistency is the key. Those who are consistent in their training can outperform those who have fancy workouts. Anyone can do it if they want to.”