Mental Health Tips for Runners
Check out these mental health tips for runners to maintain your mental health as you train. Photo by Marques Jackson Photography.
By Marnie Kunz
Running is one of the best ways to improve mental health but sometimes running can also be a source of stress. These mental health tips for runners will help you put a positive perspective on your running and ensure you don’t sacrifice your mental health along your running journey. Whether you’re training for your first 5K, getting back into running after injury or you want to qualify for the Boston Marathon, these strategies will help you keep your stay mentally balanced as you train.
Runners and Mental Health
With more and more famous athletes stepping forward to discuss their mental health struggles, the need for better mental health practices for athletes is clear. Issues such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders plague runners of all levels.
Among professional athletes, up to 35% of elite athletes suffer from a mental health crisis that may manifest as stress, eating disorders, burnout, or depression and anxiety, according to Athletes for Hope.
College athletes face mental health challenges as well, with the pressure of balancing school and work lives and competitive training schedules while still trying to maintain social lives. Amateur athletes often have self-imposed high goals and rigorous training schedules as well as deal with body image issues, work and family demands, and the challenges of injuries and weight fluctuations.
My Experience with Athletes and Mental Health
When I was growing up running cross country and track, I had several friends on my team who developed eating disorders, which sometimes manifested as an unhealthy habit of using running to “run off” calories. Practices such as weekly weigh-ins and coaches who encouraged women to be extra thin made the situation worse.
I also had my own struggles with anxiety, and although running helped alleviate my anxiety in general, sometimes big events such as cross country championships or track meets triggered my anxiety. I spent many a sleepless night before big races spiraling in worry about everything from race day conditions to any aches or pains I’d felt recently.
A low point of my anxiety was when my coach put me in a varsity track race as a high school freshman. I did not have the confidence that I could compete with the fastest, most experienced athletes and my anxiety became so strong that I literally ran right off the track once the race started.
In college, I discovered the book Magical Running and learned how to practice meditation and visualization to ease my pre-race anxiety. As I implemented my new relaxation tools, I saw a world of difference in my mental health and I found myself more relaxed and enjoying races instead of dreading them. The icing on the cake was I was able to dramatically lower my race times as well.
Through my years of running and coaching, I’ve tried many techniques to improve the mental health of my athletes, often trying techniques out on myself first. These are the top mental health tips for runners that I’ve learned in my 10+ years of coaching and lifetime of running.
Do Regular Mental Health Check-Ins
Schedule regular mental health check-ins with yourself. I encourage athletes to do this once a week. Sunday is usually a good day for a wellness check as most people have more time to unwind and take stock. For your mental health check-in, download our Mental Health Check-In Worksheet or use your own tools to write your answer to the following questions:
How are you feeling this week? (Physically and mentally)
How do you feel about your training currently?
Is there anything that would make you feel better about your training? If so list and schedule these things on your calendar.
Have you been sleeping enough?
Have you been drinking enough water?
Have you been eating enough to power your workouts and feel energized?
What are you grateful for in your training this week?
Do you need help with your current mental state? If so, list what you need and schedule it on your calendar. This may include rest days, a fun run, a therapy session, or a running coaching session.
Do this mental health check-in regularly and this will help you to realize when you need help or some self-care like rest days. If you’re struggling with your mental health, reach out to a trained therapist for help. If you are experiencing intense anxiety or depression, scale back your training goals and focus on relaxed, fun runs with your dog or a friend, and forget about race or time goals until you feel better.
Evaluate Your Goals & Expectations
Runners tend to be perfectionists and high achievers, which can be a recipe for anxiety or depression when expectations aren’t met. Evaluate your goals and scale back if your goals are unrealistic or too demanding. Learn to set S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely).
If you are overwhelmed with your goals, you may have set too many goals or have unrealistic ones. I recommend that runners pick one main goal to work on at a time and then set smaller milestone goals to help achieve the larger one.
If you are struggling with your mental health, you may want to ease off your running goals while you focus on getting better. You may want to reach out to a therapist, and for your training, ease off the intense stuff and do some regular base runs to boost your mental health and maintain fitness.
Focus on the Process
It is easy for runners to get caught up in their performance goals — such as achieving a certain race time or place. But we can only control so much when it comes to performance goals, and numbers and ranks should not be the only measure of your running fulfillment. Don’t let a whole season of great training and beautiful runs be canceled out by one bad race performance or a slower time than you wanted.
Focus on the process of your running and you will feel more joy and fulfillment in training. Find one thing you are grateful for during each run and this will help you enjoy your runs more. Also, make your running more fun by mixing up your routine. Explore new trails or running routes, find some street art (or join an Art Run:) and take in the beauty around you on your runs.
Not every run will be great but there will be something you can enjoy on each run. Even if you feel slow or are having an “off” day, you may appreciate the feeling of accomplishment when you finish your run.
Meditate
Give your mind a break with meditation. If you are just getting started, I recommend using the Calm app for short, daily meditations that can help you feel grounded and more in touch with your mental state. A short morning meditation is a great way to start the day on a peaceful note and reduce anxiety or racing thoughts about anything from your next race to work problems.
Meditation offers many long-term benefits for mental health, from reduced stress and anxiety to boosting mood, improving self-awareness, and increasing attention span.
Rest
A lot of runners have the misguided notion that taking a rest day is a sign of weakness or not being disciplined enough. On the contrary, rest days help your body recover and rebuild and are an essential part of training. If you do not rest, you will not enjoy the full physical benefits of your training program.
Rest days are an integral part of my mental health tips for runners because rest days are good for the mind and body. Take at least one rest day a week from your running.
You can take things a step further and make your rest day a self-care day. For your self-care day, do something you enjoy that’s low-key like read a book, paint, take a bath, go for a walk, cook, or play with a pet. Check out How to Make a Self-Care Plan for more self-care tips.
Reach Out
If you are in a difficult place mentally and feeling stuck, find a professional therapist for help. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to those in your close circle for support. The more we talk with others, the more we can reduce the stigma of mental health issues. And your trusted people can offer your emotional support and may be able to help with things you feel overwhelmed by.
As with running, mental health is a journey and there will be ups and downs for all of us. When you are down, you do not have to suffer in silence. Reaching out for help is the best thing you can do to get on track to feeling better.
If you need a boost of encouragement at any time in your mental health and running journey, tag @Runstreet IG for some love. Happy running to you, and may you feel good! 😊
Related Posts: 5 Mental Health Benefits of Exercise, How to Make a Self-Care Plan, 10 Self-Care Tips for Runners, 6 Tips to Visualize Running Success, How to Beat the Winter Blues and Understand SAD, Learning to Check-In with Emotions
Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified Brooklyn trainer, USATF, and RRCA-certified running coach, and the creator of Body by Runstreet training and Runstreet Art Runs, which bring together communities through running and street art. She is a Brooklyn resident, trainer, Akita mom, and writer. She enjoys running coaching, traveling, art, and eating messily. You can follow her running and events at @Runstreet Instagram and Runstreet Facebook and follow her on Twitter for more on her running adventures.
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