Mental Aspects of Running
Despite running being a physical sport, it’s just as much a mental. The articles below dive into the many mental aspects of running and provide you with ways to improve the mental side of your running.
To see how you own brain limits your performance, check out Peak Performance and the Selfish Brain: The Central Governor and Its Role in 100-Mile Performance for a deep dive and Train the Brain for a shorter piece on the subject.
Our various coaching columns have produced some great articles from coaches Alex Nichols and Ian Torrence on the subject over the years:
- Patience: Developing This Tool for Race-Day Success,
- Breaking the Cycle of Failure Avoidance,
- Race Day Strategy: Run Your Own Race,
- Getting out the Door When You Lack Motivation,
- Mental Resilience,
- Patience and the Ultrarunner, and
- Head Games.
Adjacent to those coaching column articles are some winners from Corrine Malcolm’s science articles, including Self-Efficacy: The Science of Your New Running Superpower, Drained: Don’t Let Mental Fatigue Hold You Back, and Mind Game: What Can Runners Learn from Mindfulness.
Andy Jones-Wilkins is our resident expert on the various mental aspects that lead to outstanding performances. At the core of his many articles on the subject is his five-part series on ultramarathon skills (that easily translate to other endurance running) focuses on Persistence, Resilience, Patience, Courage, and Grit. And, since AJW’s big on Grit, you might want to also check out Grit: Have You Got It?
