Mental Toughness For Runners: Mind Games to Keep Pushing

What percentage of running is mental? We often see memes that say it’s 90% mental, 10% physical. While I think that’s a bit high (ya gotta do the work!), it’s making an incredible point about mental toughness for runners being an important piece of training.

• What do you need to change to run that mile without walking?
• What needs to shift to believe you an Boston Qualify? Dealing with self doubt
• How to control your mind during a race?
• Mental toughness vs mental health, knowing the difference.

It’s about more than the miles.

Though running itself builds mental toughness, our focus is on how to improve your mental skills on the run to have a better training cycle and race day.

Improve Your Mental Toughness for Running

As a running coach, I would love to tell you that I have fully mastered this piece of the puzzle. But I actually think it’s a moving spectrum over the years. At times, I’m able to really lean in to the discomfort of going longer and farther, but shy away from that lung burning feeling of an all out mile.

The key is to find the place where you can learn how to embrace the difference in each based upon your current goals.

#1 Embrace the Suck

Something truly strange and powerful happens when you lean in to your discomfort. Instead of being something that you’re struggling against and fighting to avoid, it just is.

You release all that wasted energy and the body actually relaxes knowing that you understand it’s hard and are ok with it.

This is also what Matt Fitzgerald refers to in his running books as practicing suffering so that on race day you know just how much farther you can go.

It’s a matter of habituation or becoming used to a stimulus. So the first time you hear a loud bang it makes you jump, but when it happens consistently you being to tune it out…embrace the suck.

If you haven’t read his book, “How Bad Do You Want It” and mental training is on your list, it’s a must.

#2 Variety in Your Training

Pet the above we need to expose ourselves to a variety of different workouts in training. If you’re marathon training and never do any short, sharp speed at 5K pace then it begins to feel kind of terrifying to push in that way.

Meanwhile if you are doing 5K training and never bother to do long runs over 5 miles, you start to fear spending extra time out there.

By adding in variety, you not only will improve speed and endurance, but allow your brain a chance to learn what those different efforts feel like and realize you survived it!

#3 Remember Every Run Holds a Lesson

After 22 years of running, I’ve learned that not every run will feel wonderful and leave me smiling ear to ear. But, every run can teach us something.

When a run doesn’t go as hoped, you bomb the speed session, you had to cut a day short, instead of spiraling look for the lesson.

Did I fuel properly? Did I go out too quickly? Did I get enough sleep? Is my body tired? Taking these things into account helps make every run, even the worst ones, productive.

Get more tips on handling a bad race >>

#4 Be Kind to Yourself

This one comes from Tina Muir of Tina Muir, who many of you know from her podcast and former life as an elite. I LOVE It because many of you tend to go the negative route and this little shift, could help you slow down your HR and change the whole day.

We’re so nice and supportive to other people, but are just nasty to ourselves. Rather than beating yourself up for slowing down or getting angry at yourself for not being able to stay focused, instead talk to yourself like you would talk to your best friend or sister.

Reassure yourself that you’re fine, that you’re out there doing your best, so just keep moving forward and trying as hard as you can, that’s all you can ask for.

Encouragement and support to yourself is going to build your confidence, whereas being nasty and mean is going to tear your confidence down (meaning that more of those negative thoughts come in).

#5 Learn to  Use Mantras

When all else fails there’s nothing like a good mantra. I’ve shared 45 great mantras from elite runners, so I won’t rehash them here!

The goal of your mantra or mind game is largely to redirect your focus. Suddenly your knee doesn’t really hurt anymore or your side stitch has vanished because you moved your thoughts elsewhere and the body realized it didn’t actually need to tell you to stop.

That’s right, your brain can be your biggest hurdle. When you’re trying to run farther or hit a new speed, it chimes in with “this is too hard, I need to slow you down so you don’t burst in to flames“. Maybe not that exact phrase, I can’t read your  mind…but close, trust me.

#6 Listen to something motivating

Charlie Watson of The Runner Beans comes in hot with a tip that works every time…distraction!!!

Whether it’s the running audiobook story that you’re loving to listen to or an inspiring autobiography, a podcast that you look forward to every week, or a playlist you created for an event (or better yet, made for you by a loved one).

Having something rather than just ‘running music’ or the labored sound of your breath should keep you going, even it’s just a mile further.

Distraction is absolutely a tool of mental toughness! You don’t have to just sit in your misery, you want to find ways to pull yourself out of it. That could allow you to keep going, instead of giving in to the desire to stop.

#7 Relax

Don’t confuse mental toughness for runners with meaning that you need to be gritting it out all the time.

It sounds like a ridiculous recommendation to relax when you’re ready to throw in the towel and cry like a baby because your run is so sucktastic. But maybe what you need is to release the pressure!

Stop focusing on pace.
Stop focusing on distance.
Stop focusing a specific workout.

Relax and think about simply allowing all of your energy to be focused in a forward motion.

Sometimes after getting out of our own heads and the stress of hitting a certain goal everything will start to fall back in to place. Maybe you aren’t recovered from a previous run or maybe you’ll turn it on and hit your paces once you release the stress. Told ya it’s mental!

Running Mind Games

Let’s talk about actual mental gymnastics you can do while running to help you get just a little bit more out of your workout.

And of course let’s remember that sometimes a run just sucks and there’s nothing wrong with that, learn to embrace the no good very bad runs.

One of the fastest ways to forget how tired your legs are is to refocus your brain:

Gratitude Mile

One of my favorite tricks is to spend the first mile of my run mentally going through all the things I’m grateful for from my right knee feeling good to my parents being healthy.

I love this tip so much I wrote a LONG time about it in my book.

It works.

Play the Just The Next Game

Just to the next…tree, light post, corner. Pick something and decide you only have to run that far, when you get there pick something else, surprisingly with each finish you get a little kick of adrenaline which will push you to keep going.

This is absolutely what so many of us do to start running, why won’t it keep working as you increase your speed or distance!

The brain believes you and it gives you a countdown to the suffering ending. But of course as we near that ending, we often find we can indeed go just a little bit more.

Imagine Yourself on Race Day

This trick is a little cheesy, but it always helps me through those final miles of my long run: I envision myself on race day– either the upcoming rate or a past race when I felt really great! (Personally I envision myself on Comm Ave during the Boston Marathon!)

During the end of a race, I would never let myself stop and walk, especially with all of those spectators watching me.

So I pretend that I’m running in a race, feeling strong, powerful, and determined, which helps me toughen up and push myself through the hardest parts of my run.

Mental Tips for Treadmill Running

When you’re on the treadmill one of the easiest things to do is play a game of distraction. Some of us can do long runs, speed workouts or anything else needed on the treadmill, but it’s not for everyone.

Get the most out of your time by turning it in to an interval workout. You can do something like changing either the incline or speed every 2 minutes or follow a more structured workout like the one below. This is one of my favorites for kick starting a run, as I find after a few rounds I’m ready to just run straight through.

Are You Frustrated Trying To Go It Alone?

This is why I created Virtual Run Club in 2020 and have had thousands of runners join us since then to find help from our coaching team and from other runners just like you. We have all paces and a variety of goals, so you never get stuck again.

People hitting PR’s, feeling stronger, finding support and motivation in a time when we might be struggling.

What folks are saying about run club!

Hopefully this helped you find some mental toughness for runners ideas that you can use on your next workout. Remember like your mileage itself this is an ongoing process!!!

Read more Mental Running Tips!

• 91 Motivational Running Quotes
• How to Bounce Back from a Bad Race
• Works to Boost Your Confidence