The brain is an incredibly powerful feature of the human body. I often find myself stopped in my tracks when I realize the way of fixing a problem is “changing my mind” or changing how I think about something. This feels impossible a lot of the time. Yet, when something physical is to blame, I can gather all the gumption and zeal and shift my energy into fixing that problem. Why is it not the same when it comes to harnessing the power of how our thought processes form? Fortunately for many of us, this is something we can improve upon and we can train our brains to more naturally be a positive force toward reaching our goals.
Before we dive into applications to running, let’s review a few neuroscience learning points to create a greater understanding of how this cognitive process truly works so we can all “rewire” our brains for more positive outcomes.
The first topic is comparing a “Growth Mindset” versus a “Fixed Mindset.” These concepts first came from the psychologist Carol Dweck and were introduced in her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” (2006). A growth mindset is when a person believes they can change their realities through their own actions. This is contrary to a fixed mindset, where one believes their abilities and context is innate and firm. If we apply these concepts to running, a growth mindset would allow an athlete to see their potential, know they can work hard to improve their skills and that they can keep learning and growing through any challenges. This mindset is what allows an average athlete to progress over time and reach new heights and new levels of fitness or goal achievement. A fixed mindset would deter an athlete from trying anything new or seeing anything beyond what they are currently doing in terms of performance or outcome. The fixed mindset turns into a belief that the level they are currently at is all they would ever be capable of achieving. We can see how a fixed mindset is very limiting and would be very demotivating which in and of itself is going to limit any growth or change, while a growth mindset is intrinsically motivating and promotes improvements through belief, actionable progression and determination to excel.
Next we add the term “Neuroplasticity” to our vocabulary. Neuroplasticity is the ability of your brain to grow and adapt when given new experiences or stimuli. Essentially, repetition and practice over time creates new neural pathways and can cause actual changes in brain functioning which can result in tangible changes, whether that is in physical functions and skills or in thought processes and beliefs. In healthcare we always say:
“Neurons that Fire Together, Wire Together” (deriving from Hebbian Theory from neuropsychologist Donald Hebb, 1949).
If we combine neuroplasticity with the Hebbian Theory, we are reinforcing that our brain can actually change if we practice new things (which can result in a multitude of possible outcomes). There are a few key ways this can be critical to athletes and many ways it can be life changing for humans in all areas of life. A new mindset equals new growth.
Now let’s give some practical applications into training and performance.
Pain Acknowledgment & Resulting Grit
My background in Occupational Therapy taught me the power of perception and the mind-body connection. I went to a conference on chronic pain and non pharmacological interventions available and an important takeaway was a client’s experience of pain could be limited if they had advanced education on what to expect in terms of pain. Providing a client information and logical context could help them prepare and then better manage pain when they were actually experiencing it. The same can be said for runners, whether it is anticipating “pain” in a workout or challenges in a race context, we can still use our thought processes to manage the experience and have some influence over our mind-body connection.
I started practicing this when I would transition from my in-season training routines to my off-season rebuilding training routines. I would often find myself back on a track or on a treadmill doing speed sessions that are very atypical for me when I’m in-season. It would be very easy for me to allow my headspace to wander and to interfere with the productivity of my speed session because I was not setting parameters on pain, expectation or purpose. I worked on my narratives and fostered the growth mindset by giving myself permission to push hard, context to gauge improvement and narratives that framed the expectation of pain. During intervals I would engage my brain on thoughts such as “this pain is temporary” and “I can deal with discomfort” or even mantras that welcomed the discomfort knowing the hard work and discomfort was leading to gains in fitness, speed and resilience as well as mental tenacity that can lead to further jumps in performance gains.
These mental practices reframe pain perception while also rewiring your brain to default to a more positive thought process versus a defeating thought process (“I can do this” versus “I’ll never get through this”). You can see how repeated practice of this during your regular training cycle can stimulate effects of neuroplasticity and make these thoughts easier to sustain on race day. Elite athletes are being heard more often discussing mantras utilized during an exceptional performance. For example, Tara Dower (professional ultrarunner for Altra) was 2nd place in the 2025 Black Canyon 100k, where she was chasing for the win, while also knowing there was a very stout field of competitors chasing after her for the coveted “Golden Ticket” into the Western States Endurance Run. Tara held on for second place, beat the previous course record by nearly 20 minutes and secured a spot to compete in the 2025 Western States Endurance Run with this epic performance. One of her pacers commented about Tara’s headspace during this grueling race and it was noted Tara was reframing her experience with positive narratives. She was telling herself “This feels easy,” “I’m not tired.” She made sure pain and discomfort wasn’t going to rob her of self belief and full utilization of her fitness and abilities. And she did this by controlling her mindset. Which I’m willing to bet, she has significant practice with, as her prior big running accomplishment was setting the OVERALL Fastest Known Time or “FKT” on the Appalachian Trail - 2,189 miles with 465,000 feet of vertical gain.
Another way this can be implemented is to exaggerate your expectations. This can be done in terms of mentally preparing for conditions to be hotter than predicted or the crux climb in the race to be incredibly steep and long in duration. If you over-exaggerate how difficult something will feel, often times you are surprised how it actually feels when you truly experience it. Maybe 100 degree temperatures on race day don't feel quite as hot as you had imagined and prepared for, or your legs were stronger and that long climb went by faster than you thought it would. If you rise to the greatest challenge, while keeping your headspace dialed into positive mantras and intrinsically motivating thoughts, you can convince yourself that you are stronger than the obstacle ahead of you. And it turns out, you actually can be when you put your mind to it!
Individual Journey and Stop Comparisons
We can see the evidence positive thinking and reframing experiences makes a huge difference, but let’s take this a step further. What do you think negative thinking or self-defeating thoughts do to you?
“I can’t do this.”
“I’m so slow.”
“I’ll never be able to keep up.”
“The other athletes are so fast, I’ll never get top 10.”
If our thoughts can make actual changes in our brain in terms of reducing anxiety or reframing experiences in a strategic way, we can imagine what the detriment of uncontrolled thoughts can lead to. My recent context is healing and regaining fitness following two years of surgery and injury recovery. This phase of my journey as an athlete has been particularly insightful in terms of needing to be very mindful of my thoughts. It is so easy to fall into comparison, of prior self and to others. Many of us can relate to these thoughts -
“I’ll never be fast again.”
“I’m slow now because I’m older.”
“I am so far behind and can’t catch up.”
This brings us to the next topic of being aware of the tendency to make comparisons. When we think of comparison in terms of allowing our brain to default to negatives, it is perhaps easier to see how we are allowing our brain to make changes in a negative way, as the statements above point out. If we go back to the “mind-body connection” we can view it almost as if our brain can be linked to a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it kind of is. At one point in my career, I remember perseverating so much on if I’d feel bad on a run that once this thought entered my mind, the run almost always felt bad. Because my mind made it to be so. I hyperfocused on the negative, I got caught up focusing on what I wasn’t doing (by comparing to what others were doing) and I fell into a downward physical and mental spiral. The running world we are in today is almost designed in a way to foster comparison - social media, Strava, public running stats, data being skewed toward the positive, etc. It is very easy to find oneself “doom scrolling” their way into a negative funk.
Coach Manu Vilaseca shared her experience with this as she went into Cocodona 250 in 2024. Manu was injured and not able to run at high volume in the months leading into Cocodona. However, Manu has a strong background with cross training and is very aware of the importance of mindset when it comes to preparing for a new race (she had never run greater than 100 miles at that time). Manu did everything she could to protect her mindset as she tailored her training to fit her recovery and foster specific skills required for success in a 250 mile ultramarathon race. She ran what she could and stayed true to the recommendations from her physio, cross trained through biking and hiking and poured herself into mental race preparations by getting as familiar with the race, race execution, sleep strategies and others’ experiences in order to be fully prepared in the most well-rounded of manners. But an important thing Manu did in conjunction to all of this was she got off of Strava. She limited social media use and exposure. She blocked the channels for comparison. This allowed her to stay true to her process, stay focused on what she knew was best for her and to keep her headspace focused on preparing for the start line in Arizona. And this allowed Manu to be healthy, strong and fit, which allowed her to cross the finish line as the second place female finisher, resulting in beating a former overall winner, someone who had been logging 100+ mile training weeks, all on foot. Had Manu allowed her headspace to think running was the only way to train or the only way to be successful, she likely wouldn’t have even made it to the start line, as her injury would have never subsided enough to allow her to attempt a 250 mile race. This experience will always remain with me in terms of protecting your headspace, finding your own mantras and self-affirmations and not allowing someone else to write your story.
These are just two highlighted areas demonstrating how the mind is something we should be training in conjunction to our legs. Perhaps the stats we should start paying more attention to is how quickly we default to positive thinking or consecutive positive mantra days vs splits on the track and consecutive day running stats.
Think of mantras that can work for you.
What gets you going on a day you don’t feel like running?
When you’re in a low in a race, what are little tricks you can use to get you back to the high?
Feel free to share with us and let’s all stay strong, stay positive and change our brains for the better together!
Brittany Peterson is a Running Coach at Peak Run Performance and a professional trail and ultra runner. She has had several wins in key races throughout the world and has been a 3-time finisher at the Western States Endurance Run, with 2 of her 3 results being in the top 5. She comes from a background of track and field and road marathon running as well and loves coaching athletes of all ages, abilities, in all terrains and with any goal in mind.
For more information and resources, check out our website at: https://www.peakrunperformance.com/
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