Mind over Miles

Ultra running isn’t just about physical endurance; it’s a mental battleground. While physical preparation is crucial, your mental fortitude can often be the deciding factor between finishing and fading. This blog post will explore key mental strategies to help you conquer the ultra distance.

Understanding the Mental Game

Ultra running pushes athletes to their limits, both physically and mentally. You'll encounter challenges, pain, and moments of doubt. To overcome these hurdles, you need a strong mental game.

Mental Training Techniques

• Visualization: Imagine yourself successfully completing the race. Visualize overcoming challenges, managing difficult terrain, and crossing the finish line. This mental rehearsal can boost confidence and prepare you for race day realities.
• Positive Affirmations: Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations. Remind yourself of your capabilities, your training, and your goals. Positive affirmations can shift your mindset and boost motivation. Use the third person form: ‘You can do this!’ instead of ‘I can do this!’.
• Mindfulness and Meditation: Cultivating mindfulness helps you stay present and focused. Meditation can reduce stress, improve concentration, and enhance overall mental well-being.
• Goal Setting: Clearly defined goals provide direction and motivation. Break down your ultra into smaller, achievable targets. Celebrate each milestone to maintain momentum.
• Building Resilience: Ultra running is full of unexpected challenges. Develop resilience by embracing setbacks as learning opportunities. Focus on what you can control and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Nutrition and Hydration: Proper nutrition and hydration are essential for physical performance, but they also impact your mental state. Avoid energy crashes by fueling your body consistently.
• Sleep and Recovery: Adequate sleep is crucial for mental recovery and performance. Prioritize rest and relaxation to optimize your mental capacity

Overcoming Mental Challenges

• Accept the pain: Ken Chlouber once said: ‘Become friends with pain and you will never be alone!’. Everything in life comes with a price, in ultra running that price is pain. It’s an inevitable part of running for 50, 100 or even more miles. Accepting that something is going to hurt, but at the the same time is going to reward you beyond measure, is a critical part of your success in ultra running. Expect discomfort during an ultra. Learn to differentiate between pain and injury. Pain is often manageable, while an injury requires attention.
• Managing loneliness: Ultras can be isolating experiences. Prepare mentally for extended periods alone. Bring music, audiobooks, or podcasts to keep your mind engaged. Break the race into segments, find distractions, and focus on enjoying the experience.
• Maintain perspective: Finishing an ultra is often just a matter of maintaining perspective. You need to be able to step back, take stock of where you are and what you have already accomplished, and realise that that very thing that excited you about all of this ultra business is actually happening right now.
• Overcoming doubt: Negative thoughts are common. Often we approach a race with the assumption that there is going to be a serious low point. Some awful moment which will test everything of what you are capable off, but this isn’t always true. When you are fit and prepared there is a good chance that this whole ultra thing will be just an enjoyable wild adventure. Prepare for low points but don’t count on them! Anticipating on them is already ‘feeding your demon’! The moment that you begin to think “the low” is fast approaching and that the hotspot on your foot, the nausea that has just crept up on you, or the feeling of loneliness that is beginning to grow is, in fact, the beginning of an inevitable turning point in which your great adventure becomes a nightmare, you’ve already fed the demon. Keep on feeding it and I guarantee the beast will eat you alive. Learn to kill it immediately! Challenge these thoughts with positive affirmations and remind yourself of your training and preparation.
• Stay in the moment: We all know the quote: ‘You run the mile you’re in’, don’t worry about how you will feel in 10 miles, when it gets hot or cold or how you will feel when the dark kicks in. Don’t dwell on negative feelings that aren’t going to help. With some practice and dedication, you can turn ordinary objects, places, or experiences into a reminder to be mindful and stay in the moment. One of the best ways to stay in the present moment is to simply remember to focus. If we designate certain things to call us back into the present moment, we can outsource some of the burden to remember to the power of habit. In my last race I used ‘flash cards’ to bring me back to the reality when I started to struggle.
• Don’t let someone’s reality become your reality: What do I mean by this? We all know the well-intentioned advices: “I hope that we feel good after 16hr, as that is where a 24hr race really starts”, “In a marathon you will meet the man with the hammer at 35km” or “Spartathlon in so hot, the heat will take it’s toll”! You should always remember that those are other runners experiences and realities! You can not look at what someone else has experienced and apply that to yourself. You have to do it yourself to apply a certain opinion.

Remember, mental training is an ongoing process. Incorporate these techniques into your daily life and observe how they enhance your overall well-being and running performance. With dedication and practice, you can develop a mental toughness that will carry you through any ultra race.