Article written by Coach Brant Stachel
You can follow your plan perfectly, hit every long run, nail your fueling, and even have your shoes broken in just right. But if your mind isn’t in the right spot on race day, all that training can unravel fast.
That’s because your performance is not just about fitness.
It’s about what shows up between your ears.
Based on more than 15 years of coaching endurance athletes, from first-time marathoners to Olympians, and my work as a registered psychotherapist, I’ve seen firsthand how the mental side of racing can make or break a performance. The runners who train their minds the same way they train their bodies are the ones who consistently show up when it counts.
So, let’s start this marathon mindset series by discussing why it’s important to get real with yourself before the race starting line gun even goes off. Because before you can run your best race, you’ve got to figure out what’s getting in your way.
5 Common Marathon Mindset Barriers
Most runners don’t lose races because they blow up physically. They lose them in their minds before the first step. The most common culprits? Doubt, nerves, perfectionism, fear of failure — or that voice in your head saying, “What if I blow this?”
None of this makes you weak. It makes you normal.
But if you don’t understand the thoughts you’re having, it’s hard to change them.
Here are the patterns I see over and over in athletes I work with, whether they’re at the Olympic Trials level or trying to finish their first race:
Performance Anxiety: You’ve trained well, but nerves hit hard. You overthink everything. You feel wired before you even warm up.
Self-Doubt: You’re wondering if you belong. Maybe one bad workout shook your confidence, or you’re caught comparing yourself to others.
Fear of Failure: You’ve told people your goal. You’ve put in the work. Now it feels as if you’ll let everyone down if you fall short.
Negative Self-Talk: You hit a rough patch and immediately spiral. “I knew I’d blow it,” or “I always fall apart.”
Perfectionism: You want every split dialed. One missed water station or slow mile, and you’re thrown off.
Ask Yourself These 4 Mindset Questions
It’s important to take the time to identify your mindset barrier. Sit in a quiet space and reflect on your past training and racing experiences. Consider the following questions:
- What’s the thought that shows up when things get hard in training?
- What’s the fear that creeps in the week before the race?
- What do you replay from past races that still messes with your head?
- If your biggest mental block had a name, what would it be?
You don’t need to solve your mental block yet, just name it. That’s your first job.
Notice Where Your Mindset Barrier Shows Up
Once you’ve named your barrier, the next step isn’t to fix it overnight. It’s to start noticing when and where it shows up.
For example, if your barrier is self-doubt, start tracking when it hits hardest. Is it during long runs, race week, taper time? If it’s perfectionism, watch how you respond when a session doesn’t go exactly as planned. This awareness is the first layer of change. Because once you can see the pattern, you can start to interrupt it.
Your key move is to shift from judgment to curiosity. Instead of thinking, “Why do I always choke?” try asking, “What am I actually afraid of here?” That small change in language opens the door to a totally different mindset. You stop reacting, and you start learning.
This is all part of my IGNITE Method for how I coach my athletes, and I go way deeper into how to build that shift in my upcoming book, Fast & Free. But for now, don’t worry about solving everything. Just get honest, stay curious, and keep showing up. That’s how you can start to shift your mindset.
Why Understanding Your Mindset Barrier Matters
You can’t outrun what you haven’t dealt with. If you’ve got a loud inner critic, a fear of failure, or nerves that spike the week before your race, that stuff’s going to show up on race day.
But when you know what you’re up against, you’ve got a shot at doing something about it. This isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about knowing what’s likely to show up and having a plan to handle it when it does.
Mental performance coaching isn’t just for the professionals trying to squeeze out that last 2-3 seconds per mile. It’s for everyone, and the benefits extend far beyond your road, trail, or track endeavors.
Next up in the Marathon Mindset article series: Your Competitive Identity.
We’ll build your competitive identity, which is the mindset you choose to race with. Why? Because if you don’t decide who’s showing up on race day, the nerves and pressure will decide for you.
Brant Stachel is a mental performance coach, registered psychotherapist, and former professional triathlete. He has coached more than 25 athletes to international teams, including six with Olympic Trials-qualifying times. He works with endurance athletes, from high schoolers to Olympians, helping them train the mental side of performance through his IGNITE Method. Brant is the author of Fast & Free. He coaches runners through TeamRunRun.com and is a mental performance coach through CEPmindset.com.