58. 3 Things Holding You Back in Ultra Running
You want more from ultra running. You want to get faster, finish more reliably, and enjoy this sport at a higher level. But if you’re stuck getting the same results race after race, despite all your physical training, there may be bigger obstacles holding you back than your mileage, nutrition, or gear.
In this episode, I’m breaking down the three biggest things I see keeping runners from reaching their true potential. From dismissing ultra running as “just a hobby,” to waiting for the “right time,” to believing you should be able to master the mental side on your own, these patterns quietly keep runners trapped in the same frustrating cycle. And the longer you stay there, the more races, growth, and confidence you leave on the table.
You’ll discover how to identify what’s really holding you back, why mental mastery is essential to closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be, and what it takes to finally step into your next level as an ultra runner. If you know you’re capable of more, this episode will help you stop waiting and start moving toward it.
The Ultrarunner’s Mastery Debrief Template helps you evaluate your races like experienced ultrarunners do - identifying what worked, what didn’t work, and what to do differently next time. Download yours for free here.
What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
The three biggest reasons runners stay stuck at their current level.
Why calling ultra running “just a hobby” may be limiting your growth.
How waiting for the “right time” quietly delays your progress.
The hidden trap of staying in consumption mode.
Why building mental mastery now creates compounding results.
The myth that you should develop mindset strength entirely on your own.
What it takes to finally level up in ultra running.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
My 1:1 Mental Mastery Coaching for Ultrarunners is a six-month coaching program where we build the mental skills experienced ultrarunners use to handle difficult races well. Schedule a consult call to learn more here.
If you’re loving the show, please take a moment to follow, rate, and review wherever you listen to podcasts today!
Episodes Related to the 3 Things Holding You Back in Ultra Running:
Ep #20. The Simple Training Plan for the Mental Side of Ultra Running
Ep #40. Belonging in Ultra Running: Run Like You Deserve to Be There
Full Episode Transcript:
You want three things in ultra running: to get faster, to finish more reliably, and to enjoy it more. Right now, there's a gap between where you are and those things. You can see it, you can feel it, and every race that goes by without crossing that gap is costing you something you can't get back.
Welcome to Unstoppable Ultra Runner, the podcast for ultra runners who refuse to let anything hold them back. I’m your host, Susan Donnelly, veteran of over 150 100-mile races, and a coach who helps runners like you break through mental roadblocks, push past doubt, and run with confidence. Let’s go.
Welcome to episode 58. I coach a lot of runners. I talk to runners, I listen to runners, I look at what runners are posting on social media. And today, I'm sharing something that I see as a mental mastery coach that stops way too many runners from reaching their potential. It causes them to forgo their dreams and give up on themselves.
And I'm here to help as many runners as possible master the mental side of the sport so that they reach their goals and run the races they dream of in the way that they dream of. And you can only do that when you take action. So today, I'm sharing three reasons that runners stay stuck, even when they know help on the mental side of ultra running is available.
As an ultra runner, like I said, you want three things: to get faster, to reliably finish races, and to enjoy this fabulous sport more. So, you get to work figuring out the perfect training plan and logging the miles, figuring out your nutrition and your hydration, nailing down that unicorn perfect shoe, and learning all things ultra. But in the background while you're doing that, you know that you're avoiding the one thing that contributes 80% to your goal: the mental side of the sport.
And the more you train and the more races you run, the less you can ignore that 80% is holding you back. And you're stuck in this zone. You keep having the same issues and the same results no matter what you try, and it feels somewhere between dissatisfying and boring, and you wish somebody could just come in with a magic wand and help you change it and walk you through it.
And you know that there's help available to you. I'm here, but you don't take that step. And race after race, you stay in this dissatisfying place where you are. All the while, and this is the kicker, all the while, knowing you could do more. Like that's the worst feeling that you're where you are, you want to be somewhere else, and you're just not taking that action.
So here's what I see. If you're at all dissatisfied with your current results and you know deep inside that you're more capable than your races show, you're ready to level up. If you're listening to this podcast, that's you. You're ready to level up.
Here's the way I see it. You're standing on this precipice, ready to step across the gap to a new level of ultra running. And you probably didn't even realize you were at this point. You've been thinking about your ultra running for the same way for so long, you kind of forgot there's a new level out there for you that you could do more. So there you are, staying at this precipice at the edge of this gap, and you have two choices. You can either step across to a whole new level of ultra running, or you can stay where you are, battling the same problems, getting the same results, and all the while, knowing you could do better. You could have stepped across that gap.
I want you to step across. So, to help you do that, here are the top three reasons I see runners resist stepping across that gap, things that might be getting in your way.
The first reason I hear is, "It's just a hobby," followed by justification that you're not a pro and you're just a mid or back of the pack runner, and hey, therefore, you shouldn't spend money on it or take it seriously. And here's why that is backwards. It sounds so innocent, but this is why it's backwards: you're using your current results that you don't like as the reason that you shouldn't invest time or effort on the mental side in order to get better results. Like you're using your current results as the reason that you shouldn't work to get better results. Just sounds crazy, doesn't it?
As if you get better results somehow magically first and then you take it seriously and build your mindset up. It's completely backwards of what you need to do if you do want better results. And when you tell yourself you shouldn't spend money on it, you're cut corners, and how you do one thing is how you do everything. You get in a habit of cutting corners on your ultra running, doing less, spending less time on it, doing a few less miles, maybe not doing that tempo run, whatever, but how you do one thing is how you do everything. So if you start cutting corners on taking it seriously and investing time and effort into it, that's the kind of results you're going to get.
And you might be scared of what other runners or other people are going to think if you go out on a limb and admit that as this mid or back of the pack runner, you're serious about ultra running, serious enough to really want to get better at it and to get help on the mindset side of it. You might be scared of saying that because, hey, you're not fast and you have no business taking it seriously. That's only for good runners.
In this social media age, I understand it can feel unsafe to stand out, even a little bit. And if everybody else is saying, "I'm a just a mid or back of the pack runner and therefore I'm not going to get help on the mindset side," it's hard to stand out because you feel like you are risking getting laughed at or canceled or publicly ridiculed. Like you could show up to a race and people you don't even know would somehow know you're thinking too highly of yourself. So I get it. I get why you'd want to avoid any kind of embarrassment that as this not elite runner, you want serious results.
But think about this: calling it just a hobby means that you're dismissing or forgetting the value of your ultra running. This isn't just a hobby. This is you. You chose to do this because you aspired to it and you thought you could, and you wanted to reach your dreams and desires and grow as a human being in ways that many other people can't and never will. Why on earth would you decide that you and your dreams aren't worth investing in? That's exactly what is worth investing in. Like, what are you doing in this life? And why are you on this planet if you're just here to exist and survive and never go after a dream or just kind of halfway go after it? Like, what is the point of it all then?
I believe you're here alive today to live, to experience life and to expand and explore and see what's possible, not just to survive your way through it and only talk about your dreams and never actually do them, so that you do make it to the end of your life safely, but with nothing to remember or look back on or nothing to look back on and think that life was worth it and you lived it well. Ultra running, the things you're drawn to and curious about and want to do, these are the things that make life extra worth it. These are the things that make day-to-day living and the routine of it all worth it.
So if anything is worth investing in, this is. Yes, it is a hobby. Nobody is forcing you to do it, although sometimes we laugh about that. This is something you choose to do, something you want to do, something that pulls you even when it looks crazy. It's something you chose to spend time on and it's something big and daring that impacts the rest of your life and who you are and the quality of the life you live on this earth. You have big goals, and it's something that an infinitesimally small population of the world can do. And of that population, an even smaller population will ever actually do any of it.
That's all the more reason to take it seriously, because, and I want you to really hear this, it's time to take yourself seriously. And if you cringe when you hear me say that or when you imagine doing that, ask yourself why. It doesn't matter what your results are or where you are in the pack, whether you finish last every race or how fast you are. You're not going to get faster or finish more reliably or have more fun at it if you think you're not allowed to take it seriously. You're only going to do those things if you give yourself permission to take it seriously. So bottom line, you deserve to take this seriously for you. You are worth it, plain and simple.
The second reason I hear runners resist getting the mental mindset help that they need and instead stay stuck is, "It's just not the right time. Maybe when I'm in better shape, maybe when I'm more ready, maybe when I have more time." But here's the truth, and I see this all the time: now is the best time. In fact, there will never be a better time than now because you have a mound of resistance to overcome to build the momentum to change. Change is hard for humans. All of us have this resistance to change. So you have to build up momentum to change.
And the honest truth is it's way easier to just stay where you are and stay in consumption mode, what I call consumption mode, watching videos of races, scrolling social media, reading books, and yes, listening to podcasts without ever applying any of that stuff, taking things in, but immediately looking for the next inspirational thing to take in and the next without ever practicing the mental skills you're learning about, without ever practicing them and trying and failing and practicing them more until they come naturally to you and you don't have to think about them. It's just who you are.
Consuming seems important, and it can be. There's things to learn, but only to a point. It doesn't change anything unless you also take action and implement the skills that you're learning while you're consuming content, including this podcast. That's why having a mindset coach is so important, somebody that you're going to meet with regularly who is helping you build this strength, walking in the journey with you, showing you where you're missing something, helping you get better at it week by week until one day you've totally got it. It's effortless.
So if you're perpetually in consumption mode, you've got to get out of that comfortable place and start applying what you're learning. And the sooner you do that, the sooner you start getting better results, and the sooner those better results start compounding over time. I've said this before, but let's take two runners. They have four big races in a year, same four races. The one that starts building mental skills now gets to use them in her first race and learn what worked and what she needs to change and use those improvements in the next race. And she gets to continue that cycle race after race.
So by the time she's in that fourth race at the end of the year, those skills come naturally to her and she's confident in using them. She has 12 months and three other races worth of improvements on the mental side to give this last fourth race. She goes into races strong now on the physical side and strong on the mental side as well. She's primed to run the best race of her life.
But the runner who waits to build the mental mastery that she needs until she's in her best shape, until she thinks the time is right, until she no longer has to work on her body, right before the fourth race, she has no time to practice and she ends up learning maybe a few isolated tools and tips that she doesn't have the chance to practice or try or learn about. So she goes into races strong on the physical side but weak on the mental side. She is not primed to run the best race of her life.
So here's a question: how many races will go by before it's your right time? When you're building mental capability, it doesn't matter what shape you're in. In fact, it's better if you train your mind while you train your body and you do that together because they have to work together in a race. It's not a problem that your big race isn't right around the corner either. That gives you plenty of time to build the skills and develop your capacity and have that stuff feel natural by race day.
So I hear this all the time, and timing, the right time, feels like a reason to delay, but that delay is really just a decision. It's a decision not to build your mental capacity now to get by with it and maybe do that someday later.
And here's what I know from coaching runners through this time after time: your opportunity is now. It's never going to be perfect, but it's now. People who say later rarely if ever come back to it. Life changes, priorities change, you forget, you lose faith in yourself, and you just get more stuck in running okay. And you keep wishing it was different, envying others who are running better than you, but it feels like that's getting more and more out of your reach. Like, okay is just the best you can do. So if timing is the reason you're putting it off, honestly, you're going to be waiting forever. When will you know it's the right time to work on the mental side? How will you know? Honestly, the best time is now. So if you're feeling that right now, that pull towards something more, do not let it pass. There's a link to talk to me about coaching in the show notes.
All right, the third reason I see runners avoid the mindset side of ultra running is, "I should be able to do it myself. Everybody else is." The belief behind that is that somehow you're weak if you can't develop full mental mastery on your own. And that's the way it's supposed to be done, and that's the only way it's real. If you can't do it by yourself, you're just like this wanna-be tough runner, but that's not true. At least it wasn't for me, and I finished 153 hundred-mile races so far. I'm as stubbornly independent as anybody, and I've also been coached on my mindset for years, decades really. I found the coaching I needed and took full advantage of it. I learned everything I could. I value coaching, and I've gotten coaching on multiple things, actually not running, on other parts of my life, but it benefits my running, and I don't ever intend to stop getting coaching. It is life-changing in the best way to have a coach.
And I didn't need to prove I could do it on my own. When I started on this mental mastery journey, I desperately wanted help, but it just wasn't available decades ago. Like if there had been a coach, I would have raised my hand and said, "Yes, I want that." I had to figure it out myself, and it took forever. I looked everywhere I could for solutions, and I didn't care if it was crazy or if I was the only one doing it. I had to get help. And I didn't make it mean anything about me except that I needed to find a solution, whatever that looked like, wherever I needed to look, because I needed to finish races. I was not going to continue that DNF streak. I needed to finish races. That's what mattered. And I'd pay any amount of embarrassment to get help doing that.
Think about Olympians with mindset coaches or performance psychologists or whatever they're called, a bunch of different things. You don't think the Olympians are weak. They're not doing it by themselves. You think they're smart. They obviously want to give themselves the best shot they can at a gold medal. And it would be insane for them to recognize that they could do better with some mindset support and then just not get it because they feel like they have to develop that on their own. That's insane. And it's also not true for my clients either. They didn't let this myth stand in the way of reaching their goals. So don't let this "I should be able to do it by myself" get in your way.
And while we're at it, let's bust the myth that some people are just naturally good at the mindset side and some people just aren't and are doomed to struggle with it. The number one factor in a client's success is just their desire to make change. It's not what they come in the door with, it's their desire to make change from wherever they are, to step across that gap to their next level. So everyone else isn't doing it themselves or just innately strong out of the gate. It's a myth that you probably see on social media used to make somebody look stronger or more impressive or to build up an image. And believing that myth is definitely going to keep you stuck.
The truth is, it's stronger to be vulnerable enough to admit you can't or simply don't want to do this alone, to seek help in the name of going further with it, faster. Here's the real question: you can do this on your own. You can work on the mindset side on your own, absolutely. That's how I had to do it in the beginning. But why would you? It's harder, it takes way longer. I can attest to that, and you're not likely to get as far with it if you're spending all your time trying to figure out how to do it instead of applying it and learning from applying it. Getting help is just a smarter use of the time and energy that you do have for ultra running. So if you're not actively building mental mastery week upon week on your own, but you think you should be doing it on your own, it's worth asking yourself why you aren't.
I want you to succeed, and I want you to take these three things from this podcast. Whether you call it a hobby or something more, ultra running is about refusing to watch life from the sidelines. It's about you and your dreams, and that is worth investing in, plain and simple. Number two, the best time to start is right now, not when you're in better shape, not when the timing's right, not when the planets have aligned, now. The sooner you start, the sooner those benefits start compounding into mastery. And third, there's no good reason to build mental mastery on your own. You'll go further with it, way faster than I did, with support. That's just the smarter choice.
It's easier, I know, to stay in consumption mode and feel like you're doing something worthwhile. You're reading about ultra running, listening to others talk about it, watching other people do it. It's easier to do that than put it into action. So if you've been consuming content about mental mastery and you're ready to actually build it, come talk to me. The first step is a free consult, and the link is in the show notes. My goal here with this episode is to get you unstuck and into action, for you to start building mental mastery and up-leveling your results like I know you can.
So don't let the three reasons I've talked about here stand in the way of stepping into the new level of ultra running you want to experience. You're ready for that step today. And the sooner you start, the sooner you're running faster races, finishing more reliably, and loving every bit of this fabulous sport we're in. All right, you all, that's this week's episode. Thanks for listening. If you know someone who could use this, share it with them. It might be exactly what they need to hear. See you next week. Bye.
Thanks for listening to Unstoppable Ultra Runner. If you want more ultra talk, mindset tools, and strategies for running with confidence, visit www.susanidonnelly.com. This podcast receives production support from the team at Digital Freedom Productions. That’s it for today’s episode. See you next week.
Welcome to Unstoppable Ultra Runner, the podcast for ultra runners who refuse to let anything hold them back. I’m your host, Susan Donnelly, veteran of over 150 100-mile races, and a coach who helps runners like you break through mental roadblocks, push past doubt, and run with confidence. Let’s go.
Welcome to episode 58. I coach a lot of runners. I talk to runners, I listen to runners, I look at what runners are posting on social media. And today, I'm sharing something that I see as a mental mastery coach that stops way too many runners from reaching their potential. It causes them to forgo their dreams and give up on themselves.
And I'm here to help as many runners as possible master the mental side of the sport so that they reach their goals and run the races they dream of in the way that they dream of. And you can only do that when you take action. So today, I'm sharing three reasons that runners stay stuck, even when they know help on the mental side of ultra running is available.
As an ultra runner, like I said, you want three things: to get faster, to reliably finish races, and to enjoy this fabulous sport more. So, you get to work figuring out the perfect training plan and logging the miles, figuring out your nutrition and your hydration, nailing down that unicorn perfect shoe, and learning all things ultra. But in the background while you're doing that, you know that you're avoiding the one thing that contributes 80% to your goal: the mental side of the sport.
And the more you train and the more races you run, the less you can ignore that 80% is holding you back. And you're stuck in this zone. You keep having the same issues and the same results no matter what you try, and it feels somewhere between dissatisfying and boring, and you wish somebody could just come in with a magic wand and help you change it and walk you through it.
And you know that there's help available to you. I'm here, but you don't take that step. And race after race, you stay in this dissatisfying place where you are. All the while, and this is the kicker, all the while, knowing you could do more. Like that's the worst feeling that you're where you are, you want to be somewhere else, and you're just not taking that action.
So here's what I see. If you're at all dissatisfied with your current results and you know deep inside that you're more capable than your races show, you're ready to level up. If you're listening to this podcast, that's you. You're ready to level up.
Here's the way I see it. You're standing on this precipice, ready to step across the gap to a new level of ultra running. And you probably didn't even realize you were at this point. You've been thinking about your ultra running for the same way for so long, you kind of forgot there's a new level out there for you that you could do more. So there you are, staying at this precipice at the edge of this gap, and you have two choices. You can either step across to a whole new level of ultra running, or you can stay where you are, battling the same problems, getting the same results, and all the while, knowing you could do better. You could have stepped across that gap.
I want you to step across. So, to help you do that, here are the top three reasons I see runners resist stepping across that gap, things that might be getting in your way.
The first reason I hear is, "It's just a hobby," followed by justification that you're not a pro and you're just a mid or back of the pack runner, and hey, therefore, you shouldn't spend money on it or take it seriously. And here's why that is backwards. It sounds so innocent, but this is why it's backwards: you're using your current results that you don't like as the reason that you shouldn't invest time or effort on the mental side in order to get better results. Like you're using your current results as the reason that you shouldn't work to get better results. Just sounds crazy, doesn't it?
As if you get better results somehow magically first and then you take it seriously and build your mindset up. It's completely backwards of what you need to do if you do want better results. And when you tell yourself you shouldn't spend money on it, you're cut corners, and how you do one thing is how you do everything. You get in a habit of cutting corners on your ultra running, doing less, spending less time on it, doing a few less miles, maybe not doing that tempo run, whatever, but how you do one thing is how you do everything. So if you start cutting corners on taking it seriously and investing time and effort into it, that's the kind of results you're going to get.
And you might be scared of what other runners or other people are going to think if you go out on a limb and admit that as this mid or back of the pack runner, you're serious about ultra running, serious enough to really want to get better at it and to get help on the mindset side of it. You might be scared of saying that because, hey, you're not fast and you have no business taking it seriously. That's only for good runners.
In this social media age, I understand it can feel unsafe to stand out, even a little bit. And if everybody else is saying, "I'm a just a mid or back of the pack runner and therefore I'm not going to get help on the mindset side," it's hard to stand out because you feel like you are risking getting laughed at or canceled or publicly ridiculed. Like you could show up to a race and people you don't even know would somehow know you're thinking too highly of yourself. So I get it. I get why you'd want to avoid any kind of embarrassment that as this not elite runner, you want serious results.
But think about this: calling it just a hobby means that you're dismissing or forgetting the value of your ultra running. This isn't just a hobby. This is you. You chose to do this because you aspired to it and you thought you could, and you wanted to reach your dreams and desires and grow as a human being in ways that many other people can't and never will. Why on earth would you decide that you and your dreams aren't worth investing in? That's exactly what is worth investing in. Like, what are you doing in this life? And why are you on this planet if you're just here to exist and survive and never go after a dream or just kind of halfway go after it? Like, what is the point of it all then?
I believe you're here alive today to live, to experience life and to expand and explore and see what's possible, not just to survive your way through it and only talk about your dreams and never actually do them, so that you do make it to the end of your life safely, but with nothing to remember or look back on or nothing to look back on and think that life was worth it and you lived it well. Ultra running, the things you're drawn to and curious about and want to do, these are the things that make life extra worth it. These are the things that make day-to-day living and the routine of it all worth it.
So if anything is worth investing in, this is. Yes, it is a hobby. Nobody is forcing you to do it, although sometimes we laugh about that. This is something you choose to do, something you want to do, something that pulls you even when it looks crazy. It's something you chose to spend time on and it's something big and daring that impacts the rest of your life and who you are and the quality of the life you live on this earth. You have big goals, and it's something that an infinitesimally small population of the world can do. And of that population, an even smaller population will ever actually do any of it.
That's all the more reason to take it seriously, because, and I want you to really hear this, it's time to take yourself seriously. And if you cringe when you hear me say that or when you imagine doing that, ask yourself why. It doesn't matter what your results are or where you are in the pack, whether you finish last every race or how fast you are. You're not going to get faster or finish more reliably or have more fun at it if you think you're not allowed to take it seriously. You're only going to do those things if you give yourself permission to take it seriously. So bottom line, you deserve to take this seriously for you. You are worth it, plain and simple.
The second reason I hear runners resist getting the mental mindset help that they need and instead stay stuck is, "It's just not the right time. Maybe when I'm in better shape, maybe when I'm more ready, maybe when I have more time." But here's the truth, and I see this all the time: now is the best time. In fact, there will never be a better time than now because you have a mound of resistance to overcome to build the momentum to change. Change is hard for humans. All of us have this resistance to change. So you have to build up momentum to change.
And the honest truth is it's way easier to just stay where you are and stay in consumption mode, what I call consumption mode, watching videos of races, scrolling social media, reading books, and yes, listening to podcasts without ever applying any of that stuff, taking things in, but immediately looking for the next inspirational thing to take in and the next without ever practicing the mental skills you're learning about, without ever practicing them and trying and failing and practicing them more until they come naturally to you and you don't have to think about them. It's just who you are.
Consuming seems important, and it can be. There's things to learn, but only to a point. It doesn't change anything unless you also take action and implement the skills that you're learning while you're consuming content, including this podcast. That's why having a mindset coach is so important, somebody that you're going to meet with regularly who is helping you build this strength, walking in the journey with you, showing you where you're missing something, helping you get better at it week by week until one day you've totally got it. It's effortless.
So if you're perpetually in consumption mode, you've got to get out of that comfortable place and start applying what you're learning. And the sooner you do that, the sooner you start getting better results, and the sooner those better results start compounding over time. I've said this before, but let's take two runners. They have four big races in a year, same four races. The one that starts building mental skills now gets to use them in her first race and learn what worked and what she needs to change and use those improvements in the next race. And she gets to continue that cycle race after race.
So by the time she's in that fourth race at the end of the year, those skills come naturally to her and she's confident in using them. She has 12 months and three other races worth of improvements on the mental side to give this last fourth race. She goes into races strong now on the physical side and strong on the mental side as well. She's primed to run the best race of her life.
But the runner who waits to build the mental mastery that she needs until she's in her best shape, until she thinks the time is right, until she no longer has to work on her body, right before the fourth race, she has no time to practice and she ends up learning maybe a few isolated tools and tips that she doesn't have the chance to practice or try or learn about. So she goes into races strong on the physical side but weak on the mental side. She is not primed to run the best race of her life.
So here's a question: how many races will go by before it's your right time? When you're building mental capability, it doesn't matter what shape you're in. In fact, it's better if you train your mind while you train your body and you do that together because they have to work together in a race. It's not a problem that your big race isn't right around the corner either. That gives you plenty of time to build the skills and develop your capacity and have that stuff feel natural by race day.
So I hear this all the time, and timing, the right time, feels like a reason to delay, but that delay is really just a decision. It's a decision not to build your mental capacity now to get by with it and maybe do that someday later.
And here's what I know from coaching runners through this time after time: your opportunity is now. It's never going to be perfect, but it's now. People who say later rarely if ever come back to it. Life changes, priorities change, you forget, you lose faith in yourself, and you just get more stuck in running okay. And you keep wishing it was different, envying others who are running better than you, but it feels like that's getting more and more out of your reach. Like, okay is just the best you can do. So if timing is the reason you're putting it off, honestly, you're going to be waiting forever. When will you know it's the right time to work on the mental side? How will you know? Honestly, the best time is now. So if you're feeling that right now, that pull towards something more, do not let it pass. There's a link to talk to me about coaching in the show notes.
All right, the third reason I see runners avoid the mindset side of ultra running is, "I should be able to do it myself. Everybody else is." The belief behind that is that somehow you're weak if you can't develop full mental mastery on your own. And that's the way it's supposed to be done, and that's the only way it's real. If you can't do it by yourself, you're just like this wanna-be tough runner, but that's not true. At least it wasn't for me, and I finished 153 hundred-mile races so far. I'm as stubbornly independent as anybody, and I've also been coached on my mindset for years, decades really. I found the coaching I needed and took full advantage of it. I learned everything I could. I value coaching, and I've gotten coaching on multiple things, actually not running, on other parts of my life, but it benefits my running, and I don't ever intend to stop getting coaching. It is life-changing in the best way to have a coach.
And I didn't need to prove I could do it on my own. When I started on this mental mastery journey, I desperately wanted help, but it just wasn't available decades ago. Like if there had been a coach, I would have raised my hand and said, "Yes, I want that." I had to figure it out myself, and it took forever. I looked everywhere I could for solutions, and I didn't care if it was crazy or if I was the only one doing it. I had to get help. And I didn't make it mean anything about me except that I needed to find a solution, whatever that looked like, wherever I needed to look, because I needed to finish races. I was not going to continue that DNF streak. I needed to finish races. That's what mattered. And I'd pay any amount of embarrassment to get help doing that.
Think about Olympians with mindset coaches or performance psychologists or whatever they're called, a bunch of different things. You don't think the Olympians are weak. They're not doing it by themselves. You think they're smart. They obviously want to give themselves the best shot they can at a gold medal. And it would be insane for them to recognize that they could do better with some mindset support and then just not get it because they feel like they have to develop that on their own. That's insane. And it's also not true for my clients either. They didn't let this myth stand in the way of reaching their goals. So don't let this "I should be able to do it by myself" get in your way.
And while we're at it, let's bust the myth that some people are just naturally good at the mindset side and some people just aren't and are doomed to struggle with it. The number one factor in a client's success is just their desire to make change. It's not what they come in the door with, it's their desire to make change from wherever they are, to step across that gap to their next level. So everyone else isn't doing it themselves or just innately strong out of the gate. It's a myth that you probably see on social media used to make somebody look stronger or more impressive or to build up an image. And believing that myth is definitely going to keep you stuck.
The truth is, it's stronger to be vulnerable enough to admit you can't or simply don't want to do this alone, to seek help in the name of going further with it, faster. Here's the real question: you can do this on your own. You can work on the mindset side on your own, absolutely. That's how I had to do it in the beginning. But why would you? It's harder, it takes way longer. I can attest to that, and you're not likely to get as far with it if you're spending all your time trying to figure out how to do it instead of applying it and learning from applying it. Getting help is just a smarter use of the time and energy that you do have for ultra running. So if you're not actively building mental mastery week upon week on your own, but you think you should be doing it on your own, it's worth asking yourself why you aren't.
I want you to succeed, and I want you to take these three things from this podcast. Whether you call it a hobby or something more, ultra running is about refusing to watch life from the sidelines. It's about you and your dreams, and that is worth investing in, plain and simple. Number two, the best time to start is right now, not when you're in better shape, not when the timing's right, not when the planets have aligned, now. The sooner you start, the sooner those benefits start compounding into mastery. And third, there's no good reason to build mental mastery on your own. You'll go further with it, way faster than I did, with support. That's just the smarter choice.
It's easier, I know, to stay in consumption mode and feel like you're doing something worthwhile. You're reading about ultra running, listening to others talk about it, watching other people do it. It's easier to do that than put it into action. So if you've been consuming content about mental mastery and you're ready to actually build it, come talk to me. The first step is a free consult, and the link is in the show notes. My goal here with this episode is to get you unstuck and into action, for you to start building mental mastery and up-leveling your results like I know you can.
So don't let the three reasons I've talked about here stand in the way of stepping into the new level of ultra running you want to experience. You're ready for that step today. And the sooner you start, the sooner you're running faster races, finishing more reliably, and loving every bit of this fabulous sport we're in. All right, you all, that's this week's episode. Thanks for listening. If you know someone who could use this, share it with them. It might be exactly what they need to hear. See you next week. Bye.
Thanks for listening to Unstoppable Ultra Runner. If you want more ultra talk, mindset tools, and strategies for running with confidence, visit www.susanidonnelly.com. This podcast receives production support from the team at Digital Freedom Productions. That’s it for today’s episode. See you next week.
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