Running a marathon is a challenge that many look to undertake. 26.2 miles (42.2km) of running is a daunting distance and a challenge many see as bucket list worthy. Every year thousands of people worldwide set their sights on entering their first marathon, but many struggle to finish. So, it raises the question of how you can successfully get through the challenge. In this article, I outline a few simple psychological strategies you can implement to help you reach that finishing line and complete your first race over the mammoth distance.
Start of slow
Many people get caught up in the race day atmosphere. Hundreds (or even thousands) of runners around you are itching to start a race. The gun goes, and the huge crowd starts running. It is easy to get overly excited and set off on your first couple of kilometres too fast. While this move has obvious physical ramifications of fatigue setting in earlier, it also may do psychological damage.
When completing a race of such distance, tiredness inevitably sets in. Unless you are extremely well conditioned at long-distance running, you will start to drop off your pace as you tire. If your kilometre/mile time drops significantly, it can easily affect your mindset. The sense of impossibility around the task will arrive, and you may hit a mental wall. You may start to feel like you don’t have enough energy to get to the end, the drop-off is unavoidable, and you may as well stop early.
However, if you start slowly and leave some energy in reserve, you can use that reserve to take advantage of a kilometre/mile, which is flat or even downhill. Once you see a quick time appear on your watch, it can act as a psychological support notification. It will demonstrate that you still have energy, have more in the tank, and are still running well.
Break the race down
Starting running and imagining 26.2 miles between you and the finishing line is daunting. It is a distance which can feel impossibly far away. It is important to scale this number back. Treat the race as 26 individual miles or 42 kilometres. Focusing on one mile/kilometre at a time makes the event a string of bitesize runs. Before you know it, you can tick off multiple miles and feel like you are making progress.
A secondary benefit of this strategy is a mental distraction. A marathon is painful, and you will have to deal with immense feelings of fatigue. Finding ways to distract yourself from focusing on that feeling is a huge benefit. Counting individual miles allows for a natural focus on the maths of the challenge ahead. Before you know it, you start to calculate you are 1/5 of the way through, or you are only x metres away from the 1/3 way point. While the distance covered is irrelevant, this focus of attention can be hugely beneficial when distracted from your internal sensations.
Accept the incoming pain
Pain and exhaustion are, unfortunately, a prerequisite for marathons. Whether you are an elite athlete or a first-time runner, it is a distance that the human body struggles to run. With this certainty, you must accept it is coming before you start the race. Once pain hits, your brain will jump into action and try to protect you. It will tell you to stop, as the risk of pain is not worth it, as you are not in a life-or-death situation. It is important to embrace that you will feel these sensations during the race and remind yourself why you are feeling them. This strategy will give you a far better chance of defeating the urge to stop running and continue to the finish line.
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