Mental Strategies For Running To Use When A Race Gets Tough

When running a race, we are usually pushing ourselves to new limits. This takes not only physical strength but also mental strength. When our mind gives up it is hard to keep pushing. There have been many times when the last part of my race suffered because I gave up mentally. It’s important to understand mental strategies to use for running and to also practice them before your race. This makes it easier to use when you are struggling during the hard parts of race day. Here are some mental strategies for running to use when a race gets tough.

Mental Strategies For Running To Use When A Race Gets Tough

Prepare for and Expect the Negative Thoughts

Knowing that negative thoughts will happen at some point during a race allows us to prepare for them. Negative thoughts will likely happen in training too, so use those moments to practice what you will do in a race when you experience negative thoughts. Have a plan in place for how you will overcome them during your race.

Expect it to feel hard

If you are running a race in order to achieve a challenging goal, at some point it will feel hard. What will make or break the race is how you respond to those moments when you want to give up. Just because it feels hard doesn’t mean you can’t keep going. Practice what you will do when it feels hard. During your race think back to moments when training felt hard and you overcame challenges. Know that it will feel hard at some point, but remind yourself that you can do hard things.

Replace your negative thoughts with positive ones

This is an important, practical skill that you can practice during running and in other areas of life. Start by noticing your thoughts. When you notice you are having a negative thought, practice replacing it with a positive thought. Spend some time writing down negative thoughts you have had and work on changing them to something positive. This will feel harder to do when you are racing, so practice is really important.

Accept the pain

Of course this is easier said than done, but if you can mentally accept the pain, then you can take the next steps to manage it. Identify what you are experiencing and decide what you will do about it. Lean into the discomfort and work through it in small intervals. Know that it will eventually pass.

Focus on something besides the thoughts

If you are feeling like you are stuck thinking about how hard a race is or how uncomfortable you are feeling, try focusing on something else. One strategy is to count in your head. You can match this up to your footsteps and go to whatever number you want. It’s something simple that doesn’t take alot of thinking but may help you to shift your focus. You can also focus on what is going on around you, such as other runners in a race. Try focusing on sticking with or catching up to other runners.

Use Mindfulness Techniques

An alternative strategy is to shift your focus to what is going on internally. How is your body feeling? What is your breathing like? Focus on relaxing your body starting up top and working your way down. Try to take some longer breaths to steady your breathing. You can read about more mindfulness techniques for running here.

Practice Gratitude

It may feel awkward to be practicing gratitude during a tough part of a race, but it may help to shift your experience to become more positive. This is something you can practice throughout your training and early in your race before it gets too hard. During your training cycle, try implementing a daily gratitude practice where each day you identify or write down something you are grateful for.

Use your mantras

During training, come up with some mantras you can use when a run or a race gets hard. You can even write these on your hand or somewhere that you can look at during a race. Again, practicing using these during training runs is very helpful!

Know your “why” and think about it during your race

Why do you run? Why are you training for a race? Why are you working towards a challenging goal? Sometimes we don’t really know our “why” and need to think it through. Come up with a clear definition of your “why” before your race so you can remember it when the race gets hard.

Even when a race doesn’t go as planned, remember that it is a learning experience. Take what didn’t go well and work on improving that for your next race.

You may also like:
How To Stay Motivated When You Just Don’t Want To Run
Helpful Race Mantras For Running and How To Use Them
How To Conquer Your Negative Thoughts On the Run with Positive Thinking

How do you push through mentally when a race gets tough?

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