Happy August! I hope you (like me) are enjoying many remarkable performances in the 2024 Paris Olympics. As I watch the Olympics, I am struck by how many sport psychology lessons we can learn as runners from the highs and lows of this showcase of elite sport. Here are just a few:
Prioritize mental health in order to prioritize performance and enjoyment.
Throughout the 2024 Olympics, there has been a noticeable focus on athletes prioritizing mental health along with their physical health and performance. Simone Biles is a wonderful example. After withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics to prioritize her mental health, she came into this Olympics strong, prepared, and looking like she was having fun. She has been incredibly successful with three golds and one silver medal. As part of her preparations for the Games, she indicated she was going to therapy regularly and even shared she went to therapy during the Olympics.
As runners, we often use running as a way to manage stress and anxiety and add meaning to our lives. However, it is important that we reflect on how running is serving us in the way we want. If running is causing more stress and anxiety than it is relieving, it might be a good time to address our relationship with running. Consider working with a Sport Psychologist or Mental Performance Consultant to better prioritize mental health along with enjoyment and performance as a runner.
Let go of the things you cannot control.
As a Canadian, I was gripped by the controversy surrounding the Canadian women’s soccer team (they were penalized six points after team staff were caught spying on other countries’ practices using a drone). For these athletes, who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to be at this Olympics, this was a devastating blow. What impressed me, however, was how they were able to continue to focus on what they could control – their game plan, their relationship with their teammates, and their own effort – in order to win three must-win games in the opening round and advance to the quarter finals.
As runners, there are many things we cannot control (e.g., weather, life, etc.) and it’s important that during both our training and our races we focus on controlling what is within our control and letting go of what is outside our control. When you’re stressed or worried about something before training or a race, ask yourself: “Is this something I can control or something I cannot control?” Weather is a great example. Rather than checking the forecast over and over again before a race hoping it will change, use the information about the weather as a way to make choices about clothes, race plan, etc. and let go of trying to control something you can’t control!
If you run, you’re a runner!
There are very few things that irk me more than the statement: "You don’t look like a runner.” You are a runner if you run and see running as part of your identity. In these Olympics, there have been numerous examples of spectators commenting on the appearance of athletes' bodies and questioning whether or not they “look like an Olympian.” The Olympics are a wonderful showcase of how the most elite athletes in the world have an incredible range of body types.
You can also see this at road races! This is a good reminder that we should refrain from commenting on others’ bodies and focus on the function of our own bodies over appearance. Runners can look all kinds of different ways, run well, and most importantly, enjoy running!
This article originally appeared in the The Connection, TCM's weekly e-newsletter. Subscribe here.
Photo by Katrina Gaisford.
Hayley Russell, PhD, is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, runner, and professor of health and exercise psychology at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is one of the team of Motion Experts TCM has gathered to help its subscribers and participants get the most out of their running. Have a question for Hayley: [email protected] or visit psychologyofrunning.com.