Article written by Coach Brant Stachel
At some point in every marathon, something will go wrong. Maybe it’s a missed water station. Maybe the wind picks up. Maybe your legs feel heavier than they should.
The runners who still run well on those days aren’t luckier. They’re better at staying present when things go sideways. They know how to get back on track in the middle of the race instead of letting a bad moment become a bad day.
This part of the marathon mindset series is about exactly that: How to hold your focus when the race doesn’t go to plan. Below, I’ll share advice from my IGNITE Method, which guides how I coach my athletes.
Why Staying Present Wins
When something goes wrong, your brain wants to do one of three things:
- Spiral by replaying the mistake over and over.
- Future-proof by worrying about what’s still to come.
- Catastrophize by deciding the whole race is ruined.
None of these helps you run better. The only place you can actually influence your race is right where you are in this mile, this step, this moment. The skill is getting back there quickly.
From Unraveling to Resetting
A strong half-Ironman athlete I worked with, named Casey, would dominate workouts. But in races, one mistake would take her out mentally. A missed turn on the bike? She’d stew over it for miles. A botched transition? She’d give up on the run before it started.
I worked with her on building a reset routine. When something would go wrong during a race, instead of spiraling, she would focus on this routine:
- Her physical cue was to tap the handlebars or clench and release her fists.
- She would breathe a slow inhale for four counts and a slow exhale for four counts.
- She would come back to her mantra, which was, “Next stroke, next pedal, next step.”
The next time something went wrong, she used it immediately. Instead of spiraling, she centered and salvaged her race. Over time, that skill became one of her biggest advantages.
Build Your Own Reset Routine
Here’s a simple three-step framework you can test in your next workout:
- Pause: Acknowledge what happened without judgment. (e.g., “Missed that aid station.”)
- Breathe: Take one slow, deliberate breath, inhale for four counts, hold for four counts, exhale for four counts, hold for four counts.
- Refocus: Use a cue word or mantra to lock back into the task at hand. (e.g., “Smooth stride.” “Stay tall.” “Run my race.”)
Practice It Before Race Day
Like any skill, you need to do this in your training before you need it on race day. Try these three steps during:
- Tempo runs when you feel off your goal pace
- Long runs when you start to fatigue
- Speed sessions if you blow an interval
The goal isn’t to eliminate frustration. It’s to shorten the time you spend in it.
Why This Matters for Your Marathon Mindset
In 26.2 miles, the odds of everything going perfectly are close to zero. But if you can respond instead of react, you protect your energy, your focus, and your pace. One rough mile won’t tank your race if you can mentally reset and move on.
Next up in the Marathon Mindset series: It’s one thing to know how to reset when the race goes sideways, but it’s another to make that response automatic. Just like you log miles to build fitness, you need to log “mental reps” to make these tools second nature.
In Part 5, we’ll look at how to train your mindset daily, so that when the marathon throws you a curveball, your brain already knows exactly what to do.
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.