9 Ways to Manage Pre-Race Nerves for More Fun and Faster Times

Pre-race nerves can be a common experience for runners of all levels, from beginners to elite athletes. Nervousness before a race can affect performance and negatively impact overall enjoyment of the event.

Which means, it’s our job to spend some time thinking about the whole mental side of our training if we want to perform our best.

What are you training for?

It’s an innocent question posed to those of us who run all the time, I mean who runs because it’s fun?! Ha!

I used to feel  compelled to have a race on the calendar. The problem was those races often interrupted my love of running because I got so nervous on race day that I usually under performed and felt frustrated for weeks afterwards.

Over the years, I’ve found that I can race for fun, for a PR or to test myself without letting those nerves dictate my day or how I feel about the results. Learning to harness those nerves is a key skill of long time runners.

It is important to understand the causes of pre-race nerves and learn strategies to effectively manage them. This article is going to give you some concrete steps for marathon anxiety, as well as a better understanding of what’s happening.

Why We Get Pre-Race Nerves

The first step in managing pre-race nerves is understanding why they occur.

Pre-race nerves can stem from various factors, including fear of failure, pressure to perform, and uncertainty about the course or conditions.

And all of that makes sense, when you consider the time, effort and sacrifices you’ve made to reach this day.

Additionally, a study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that anxiety can also be related to physical sensations such as increased heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension (APA, 2020).

Our goal now is to find ways to utilize those nerves at time and release them at others.

As stated by one of the greatest raceers, “Some sessions are stars and some sessions are stones, but in the end they are all rocks and we build upon them.” — Chrissie Wellington

Issues Caused by Pre-Race Nerves

Most of you probably know that your half marathon nerves are causing issues, but just to reiterate here’s why we care. Your body is your tool today and we want it to be working an peak levels.

• Elevated HR (means using carbs sooner in race)
• Wasted energy at start line means possibly hitting the wall sooner
• Disrupted sleep for multiple nights
• Mental fatigue before race begins means you’ve already tapped in to your grit
• Alters our belief in what we can achieve which means holding yourself back
• GI distress causing runners diarrhea

How Can Nerves Benefit Your Performance?

Before we dive in to getting around your nerves, it’s important to understand they aren’t a bad thing. Nerves are actually a great tool for helping you to perform, once you learn how to use them.

A study by the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology found that athletes who experienced pre-race nerves performed better compared to those who did not experience pre-race nerves (Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2018). This can be interpreted as an indication that the athlete is invested in their performance and motivated to do well.

Harnessing the power of stress is one of the best TedTalks I have seen in awhile, it shines a light on the fact that nerves don’t have to be a bad thing. Once we can embrace them a little, it allows us to let go of the fear and many of the bad results disappear.

Here are a few of the upsides to your nerves:

• Harness the energy to drive you towards a great performance. You feel like you could jump out of your skin, but let’s just use that extra boost to propel you.
• Recognize it as adrenaline and know it’s a good thing. That adrenaline is part of how you run faster on race day, it blocks out pain signals.
• Trust that once the race starts you’ll be glad for that extra energy boost of adrenaline.

So how can you get the most out of your race day nerves…calm, but focused…

9 Tips to Reduce Pre-Race Nerves

Ready to calm nerves before a race? Then read on! These tips have worked for many athletes, including me.

1. Be in Control

One famous lesson from those under heavy pressure {i.e. Navy Seals and astronauts} is to control what you can in a stressful situation.

This isn’t “forget the rest”, it’s truly a mental feeling of taking control which shifts your attitude and allows you to focus. A few things you can control race day: breathing, pace, thoughts and fueling.

2. Perspective

Get a grip about what this race really means! Would a PR be great, of course!! Am I still just as valuable as a person if I have an off day or don’t run a certain time?! {rhetorical I hope}.

This one tip alone makes such a difference for so many people {finger point at myself} as it releases unnecessary pressure and often leads to  better performance.

3. Strategy

Have a planned strategy for the race. I will go out at X pace in mile one keeps you from over shooting which we all know leads to major burn out later in the race.

Or I will get to the half way point and if I am still feeling strong, then start to push the pace more…if I still feel great at mile 10 then I’ll pick it up again.

Rather than just running with the pack or following a pacer who may be starting too fast, this goes back to point one…be in control.

Checkout this half marathon race strategy for a good guide!

4. Early Arrival

Don’t add to the craziness of race day by worrying that you might miss the start. Get there with enough time to hit the porta potty line, do your dynamic warm up and then relax. <<Seriously, relax.

Stop bouncing around and running a ton, get relaxed and save your energy. Wear throw away clothes if it’s cool, again conserving energy and reducing any mental strain, a tired brain needs more carbs.

5. Routine

Have a routine that you do before every single run (a quick dynamic warm up + same meal). This sets your body and brain up to be ready to run. It instantly provides a feeling of calm because you have performed this little ritual before hundreds of runs.

6. Big Picture Goals

A lot of folks have A, B, C goals…the idea is solid, but I tend to find it backfires for a lot of people because they stop shooting for A, knowing that B is also “good enough”.

Instead I like to have a Big Picture goal as in what really matters to me most…for me that’s always loving the run and not getting injured. With that in mind, I’m going to push for that A goal unless it jeopardizes my long term goals.

7. Performance Focus

Stop focusing on your watch or hitting a specific goal and instead focus on “how am I performing?”

This means checking in on your form, your breathing, your fueling. It allows you to assess if this is not your day without all of the emotion around a time goal. Either allowing you to pull back or to know that you can push harder without the mental fear holding you back.

8. Visualization

Wonder why this tip comes up over and over again in every article you read? Probably because it works!!

Start visualizing during training by generating emotion around approaching the finish line and seeing your time, imaging how strong you feel crossing with your new PR and celebrating. Use it daily the week of the event.

9. Review Your Training

Mentally review all the workouts you’ve put in and especially the one’s that were rough, but you did them anyways. Remember that those hard days were followed by some great runs and that some days everything seemed like it should have been perfect, but was just off.

Alternatively  if you’ve had a less than stellar round of training, be honest enough in your review to say “ok today is about having fun and not my initial PR goal”.

Incorporating positive self-talk and focusing on the process rather than the outcome can also help reduce pre-race nerves.

A study by the Journal of Sport Psychology found that athletes who focus on the process and their own effort rather than the outcome tend to experience less anxiety and perform better (Journal of Sport Psychology, 2019). This can include reminding yourself of your training and preparation, and focusing on the present moment rather than worrying about the future.

Understanding the causes of pre-race nerves and incorporating effective strategies to manage them, such as visualization techniques, physical preparation, positive self-talk, and seeking support, can help reduce pre-race nerves and improve performance. Remember, pre-race nerves are normal and can even be a sign of being well-prepared and motivated for the race.

Looking for more training tips?

• Marathon Fueling Tips
• Marathon Pace Chart
• Training Pace Calculator – What paces you need to hit
• Best Long Distance Running Shoes

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Facebook Community Chatter: RunToTheFinish

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