My mind felt empty as I climbed the steep hill around 2 am. It was a warm night; the bright moon and star-filled sky provided enough light to see without a headlamp. A sense of calm and peace washed over me as I moved my exhausted body around another loop on the motocross track, accompanied by the songs of grasshoppers.
After running for almost 12 hours, I felt a sense of effortless focus and connection with my body and the trail. I was finally “in the zone.”
And I believe this experience of being “in the flow” for most of the 24-hour Mad Chicken Run ultramarathon ultimately allowed me to secure the win.
But I didn’t get in the zone by accident.
Instead, I applied the principles of mindfulness. I practiced present-moment awareness and non-judgemental acceptance to quiet the self-doubts and stay connected to my body, even in the most challenging moments.
But what exactly is mindfulness, and how can we, as runners, harness it to unlock our breakthrough performances?
What Is Mindfulness, and How Can It Improve Your Running?
At its core, mindfulness is a transformative practice that revolves around present-moment awareness and non-judgmental acceptance. It’s about observing our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations without getting caught up in them or letting them dictate our actions. The term mindfulness is derived from Eastern Zen (source), which is defined as non-judgmental, conscious, purposeful focus, understanding, and acceptance of the things around one in the present moment (source). Practicing mindfulness means you can self-regulate your attention in the here and now and are open and willing to experience the current moment as it unfolds.
Where more traditional mental skills training approaches in sports psychology focus on trying to control our experience through techniques like goal-setting, visualization, and positive self-talk, mindfulness encourages us to simply be with whatever is arising, moment-to-moment. It’s a powerful shift in perspective that can profoundly impact our performance.
For example, when I first started training for ultramarathons, I was afraid of the pain I would feel. Running is hard on the body, and you will feel aches and pains, especially as a beginner and when you quickly ramp up your mileage, as I did.
I spent many training runs making an already hard experience worse by telling myself how I wished my legs wouldn’t hurt so much and how my shoulders wouldn’t ache from the weight of my backpack.
I had tried various mental training techniques to cope with challenging workouts or lonely long runs, such as positive self-talk and segmenting the run into manageable chunks.
I successfully employed those techniques during my first 100-mile ultramarathon. I also used those techniques during the Mad Chicken 24-hour run, telling myself I’d just need to go one more lap during the most challenging hours in the morning of the second day.
However, the mindfulness practice I had started a few months before the race made this my most successful.
Instead of getting upset when the inevitable exhaustion and discomfort set in when attempting to run for 24 hours in a loop with plenty of hills, I welcomed the sensations like I would welcome an old friend.
Instead of wishing I wouldn’t feel my hips hurting, trying to convince myself that it wasn’t so bad, or trying to distract myself by trying to force myself to think of other things, I silently said, “My hips are hurting.”
I accepted that this was what I was feeling.
My mind remained calm; I continued to move and stayed in tune with my body and its needs throughout the race.
Interestingly, this was also the first race where I ate and drank continuously – a big contributor to my success on that day. I had been struggling with fueling during training and in previous races.
I believe staying mindful during the 24-hour Mad Chicken run was why I didn’t “forget” this critical part of ultramarathon running.
Cultivating Mindfulness for Everyday Life
While the mental state of flow and effortless focus I experienced during the Mad Chicken 24-hour ultramarathon seemed to have come naturally at that moment, it was built upon a foundation of mindfulness practices I had cultivated daily.
Just as you can’t expect to successfully finish a 100-mile ultramarathon without physical training, you can’t expect to tap into a profound state of presence and awareness during your runs without regularly exercising those mental muscles off the trail.
And just like there is no one training plan that is the perfect fit for every runner, there is no one mindfulness practice that is the right fit for every person. If you don’t know where to start, pick one of the practices below and begin. These are what I do.
I also encourage you to experiment to find what works best for you.
Journaling
Journaling has been the cornerstone of my mindfulness practice for almost 20 years. I started a daily journaling practice as an exchange student in South Africa in 2005/2006, and it has stuck with me.
It has been a game-changer for deepening my self-awareness and personal growth. My practice has changed over the years, and in some phases, I journaled more, and in others, I journaled less.
However, beginning each entry by giving thanks for the many blessings and good things I experienced in my life has remained constant. I now use my journaling sessions as reflections post-run.
Besides evaluating the statistics of pace, distance, and feeling, I also reflect on my mental and emotional state: What thought patterns emerged? What physical sensations did I notice, and how did I respond to them?
Awareness of my thoughts and reactions in training directly affects how I approach the challenges during a race.
Meditation
I have been trying various meditation techniques on and off for a couple of years now, but the one I regularly come back to and can stick to is a 15-minute morning meditation.
I use the “3-2-1-Method” after Jose Silva, where you count from 3 to 1, and relax first your physical body (3), then your mental state (2), and then enter what Silva calls “your center” (1).
This meditation is part of an overall system that develops your intuition and reprograms your mind. It’s too complex to describe for the purpose of this article, but I highly recommend it if you are looking for a more “active” approach to meditation rather than the more “passive” versions of meditation, where you simply sit and observe your breath or your thoughts.
Weekly Chores Mindfulness Practice
A practice that has been a powerful addition to my mindfulness practice is choosing one household chore each week that I will do mindfully. It’s easy for me to be constantly busy and put on a podcast or audiobook to learn something while I do tasks that my brain can execute on autopilot.
If you, too, have a habit of entertaining yourself while doing the dishes, laundry, or cleaning your bathroom, I encourage you to pick at least one task where you refrain from listening to anything other than your breath.
Give the task your full attention, no matter how boring.
My favorite task is doing the dishes because I do it more frequently than laundry or cleaning my flat, and I get to practice every other day. The first times I practiced this technique, I noticed how I wanted to rush through the process, my breath shallow and my body tense.
Doing the dishes is not my favorite activity, after all 😂.
I learned to slow myself down, to consciously feel the warmth of the water on my skin, to be fully present, and to clean my kitchenware with great care. I try to pay attention to the detergent’s smell, the sounds when I staple the plates on top of each other, and how the water changes over time.
When I do this, I try to observe my thoughts as they come and go, and when my attention turns away, I go back to the task at hand. This practice helped me become aware of my thoughts, stay focused on the task at hand, and not act on every thought that enters my mind.
How To Practice Mindfulness During Your Runs
Cultivating mindfulness practices in your everyday life will significantly improve your ability to stay mindful during your runs. As a result, you will be able to enjoy the blissful flow state and mystical runner’s high much more often.
For example, the awareness you’re developing by deliberately doing a random household task with full attention can now be applied to your running. Here are a few techniques to help anchor you in the present moment when you get anxious, find yourself caught up in a negative thought spiral, or want to get over a low point.
Body Scan
The body scan is a powerful way to bring mindfulness to your run. During a body scan, you consciously direct your attention to different parts of your body, observing any sensations without judgment.
Here’s how to do it: On your next easy run, leave your headphones at home and find a quiet route, preferably in nature. Turn off all notifications from your phone and running watch, and cover your watch with clothing or put on a watch face that doesn’t display any statistics.
As you run, begin by bringing your attention to your feet. Notice how they contact the ground – are you landing on your midfoot, forefoot, or heel? Observe the sensations as each foot lifts and falls. Then, shift your focus upwards, scanning through your ankles, calves, knees, and thighs. How do these larger muscle groups feel? Is there any tension or discomfort?
Simply notice it without judgment. Continue the body scan through your core, back, shoulders, arms, and hands. Observe without judgment. Accept every sensation you feel.
Breath Focus
Another effective mindfulness technique you can weave into your running is breath awareness. By anchoring your attention in the sensations of the inhalation and exhalation, you can stay grounded in the present moment.
As you run, begin to notice the flow of air moving in through your nose and out through your mouth. Tune into the rhythm and observe if your breath is deep and steady or shallow and rapid.
Breath awareness can be invaluable when you find yourself getting caught up in a negative thought spiral. For me, running often serves as a way of clearing my head and working through problems. And when work stress is high, or I have some relationship issues, I think about these a lot on my runs.
While moving my body often helps me find creative solutions, being occupied with thoughts about what’s seemingly going wrong in certain areas of my life makes me tense while running. Redirecting my attention back to my breath and returning to my reliable anchor of breathing often helps me regain a sense of calm and clarity during these runs.
Sensory Awareness
In addition to the internal focus of the body and breath, you can cultivate mindfulness by directing your attention outwards, tuning into your surroundings’ sights, sounds, and smells.
If you implement the “weekly chores mindfulness practice” described above, you will find this technique more easy. As you run, direct your attention outwards, tuning into your surroundings’ sights, sounds, and smells. Notice the colors of the trees, the songs of birds, and the laughter of children playing on a nearby playground.
This technique can be beneficial when you are in a long run or race and want to distract yourself from aching muscles and joints.
I used this technique during the Kullamannen by UTMB 105KM Ultramarathon – a race along the Swedish coast during the dark and cold November month starting at 10:00 pm.
In my severely sleep-deprived state, I struggled to move forward over rugged terrain in the late morning hours. My body was hurting, my stomach felt queasy, and my tiredness felt overwhelming.
What helped me most during these hours was trying to consciously take in the landscape around me – it was breathtakingly beautiful. And when I became acutely aware of the beauty that surrounded me, I felt immense gratitude that I could experience this. And with this attitude, my aches and pains seemed less severe.
Practicing the Techniques With a Spirit of Non-Judgement
When you first start a mindfulness practice, you may struggle to stay focused and present. That’s perfectly normal. Your mind will inevitably wander at times. That’s simply what minds do.
Approach your practice with a spirit of non-judgment. Simply acknowledge that your mind is wandering and bring your attention back to the present moment.
Avoid criticizing yourself when you notice this happening and redirect your attention to the sensations of your body, the rhythm of your breath, or the sights and sounds around you. Maintaining this accepting, curious attitude is essential for these techniques to effectively cultivate present-moment awareness.
Remember that what is true for physical training is also true for mental training.
The more you practice, the better you become at it. And deliberately exercising your mental muscles off the trails lays the groundwork for what’s possible on them.
Applying mindfulness techniques during your runs allows you to remain grounded in the here and now, even when facing the toughest physical or mental challenges. This will enable you to move through those difficult moments with equanimity, responding skillfully rather than getting swept away by negative thoughts and emotions.
Embracing mindfulness as a way of being rather than just a collection of isolated techniques truly unlocks its power for runners. With practice, you’ll find yourself more readily able to tap into that blissful state—the mystical “runners high”—that elevates your performance and fills you with a profound sense of joy and connection.
Eventually, the journey itself becomes the destination, each step infused with a sense of presence and wonder. So keep exploring, keep learning, and allow the lessons of mindfulness to transform not just your running but your entire life.