It’s no secret that if you plan to run in the toughest endurance races, you need to physically prepare for the extreme demands you will be subjecting your body to. But successful runners will be quick to note that physical preparation is only part of the equation. You need to be mentally strong to withstand, and overcome, the challenges of this grueling sport. That’s where Mental Training for Ultrarunning comes in. Sport psychology consultant Addie Bracy has coached and provided mental performance consulting to elite athletes in many sports, and she herself has been a competitive distance runner for more than two decades. In Mental Training for Ultrarunning, she combines her firsthand coaching and running experience, along with profiles of ultrarunners who’ve experienced the highs and lows of the sport, to explain what you need to know and practice in order to cross that finish line. In this book, you will learn tools and techniques to help you prepare for and overcome some of the biggest mental and emotional challenges you may encounter in ultrarunning. You’ll find more than 35 practical activities that will guide you in taking an introspective look at your own potential roadblocks so you can develop and strengthen the skills you need to run with confidence. Whether you’re training for your first ultra or looking to compete at a higher level, Mental Training for Ultrarunning will prepare you for the good, the bad, and the worst experiences you might encounter on the trail, road, or track. With expert guidance from athletes who have seen it all, you’ll learn how to train your mind and anticipate all the variables that could keep you from achieving your ultimate running goals.

If you constantly wake up tired and stressed and you feel like life is very hard, this guide will change your mindset and apply it to modern life. This is about knowing what you want and going for it. It’s about being tough and it’s about not...

“I don't have time to run.” “The run will hurt or make me tired.” “I don't have my running shoes with me.” “I’ve got too much work to do.” If you're always looking for any excuse to not go running, this book is for you! Whether you’re an athlete or just want to stay fit and exercise, you need to train your mind just as much as you train your body! It’s easy to find excuses and stay at home, but with Jeff Galloway’s mental training strategies you will find yourself staying motivated and setting and reaching new goals in no time. Jeff will help you break down your challenges into smaller steps so your next goal seems more achievable. You will learn to overcome each challenge and problem and reduce stress. You will be able to go out for your run even on tough days, after an injury or illness, or when your running buddy isn’t around. In the end, you will break through barriers and stay in control and at the top. In this book, you will find many useful tips on how to deal with stress. Jeff describes typical everyday situations and how to go out and run even if your brain is making up excuses; he explains drills to help you rehearse a good response to those excuses so that over time you will change your habits; he presents training tools that will lower your stress and help you learn to set realistic goals. In addition, Jeff posits that in order to stay motivated, it is important to have good running technique. A section on better technique will help you run better and achieve your next goal. Finally, Jeff shows how using a journal can benefit your exercise regime and assist you in keeping track of your progress and the highs and lows of your training schedules. Mental Training for Runners will put you on the path to a positive mental environment and will turn your mind, body, and spirit into a powerful team and tool. After reading and learning from this book, there will only ever be one answer to any challenge: “I can do it!”

Mental Toughness for Runners gives you highly effective methods for successful mental training, including self-coaching, well-founded training psychology, and thought-provoking strategies for self-reflection. Michele Ufer's successful mental training has been used in numerous coaching sessions and by endurance athletes throughout the world who have achieved significant and often dramatic achievements by improving their motivation, performance, and well-being with Ufer's training. Ufer also provides exercises supplemented with case studies from various coaching sessions. Delving into the science of mental training, you will understand the reasons behind certain training concepts, but always the focus remains on practicing and directly applying the methods to your training. You will be guided through a personal assessment of your training so that you may develop an individually tailored mental training plan which can then be integrated into everyday sports life. In this book, sports psychology expert Ufer uniquely presents his experiences and know-how from having coached numerous runners and other endurance athletes, researched psychological aspects in running, and presented on his findings at lectures, scientific congresses, and in magazine articles. Other runners share their success stories after using Ufer's mental training methods in this book. Every runner who reads this book is guaranteed to improve mental toughness and running performance!

The 26.2 miles that compromise every marathon course is the ultimate test of physical and mental endurance. While runners spend countless hours training their bodies for the rigors of the marathon, they often unintentionally neglect the psychological aspect of their training. Conditioning the mind to think for success can ultimately decide a runner's fate on marathon day. Grateful Running provides unique and proven mental toughness training strategies designed to help runners realize their potential, overcome perceived limitations, handle adversity, and embrace the challenge of the marathon. [From back cover].

The Brave Athlete solves the 13 most common mental conundrums athletes face in their everyday training and in races. You don’t have one brainyou have three; your ancient Chimp brain that keeps you alive, your modern Professor brain that navigates the civilized world, and your Computer brain that accesses your memories and runs your habits (good and bad). They fight for control all the time and that’s when bad things happen; you get crazy nervous before a race, you choke under pressure, you quit when the going gets tough, you make dumb mistakes, you worry about how you look. What if you could stop the thoughts and feelings you don’t want? What if you could feel confident, suffer like a hero, and handle any stress? You can. The Brave Athlete from Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson will help you take control of your brain so you can train harder, race faster, and better enjoy your sport. Dr. Marshall is a sport psychology expert who trains the brains of elite professional athletes. Paterson is a three-time world champion triathlete and coach. Together, they offer this innovative, brain training guide that is the first to draw from both clinical science and real-world experience with athletes. That means you won’t find outdated “positive self-talk” or visualization gimmicks here. No, the set of cutting-edge mental skills revealed in The Brave Athlete actually work because they challenge the source of the thoughts and feelings you don’t want. The Brave Athlete is packed with practical, evidence-based solutions to the most common mental challenges athletes face. Which of these sound like you? Why do I have thoughts and feelings I don’t want? I wish I felt more like an athlete. I don’t think I can. I don’t achieve my goals. Other athletes seem tougher, happier, and more badass than me. I feel fat. I don’t cope well with injury. People are worried about how much I exercise. I don’t like leaving my comfort zone. When the going gets tough, the tough leave me behind. I need to harden the f*ck up. I keep screwing up. I don’t handle pressure well. With The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, you can solve these problems to become mentally strong and make your brain your most powerful asset.

Is your daily run starting to drag you down? Has running become a chore rather than the delight it once was? Then The Happy Runner is the answer for you. Authors David and Megan Roche believe that you can’t reach your running potential without consistency and joyful daily adventures that lead to long-term health and happiness. Guided by their personal experiences and coaching expertise, they point out the mental and emotional factors that will help you learn exactly how to become a happy runner and achieve your personal best.