When learning to race at any distance, strategy is important. Racing middle and long distances doesn’t mean sprinting from the starting gun to the finish line. likes to negative split (run the second half faster than the first). This is a common approach of world-class athletes. In both of Melody’s Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship wins, she did not take the lead until after the first mile. This requires trusting your mental strength as well as your fitness. Having a racing strategy is important for runners.

To race well, it’s important to learn to pace yourself. You can do this by practicing varying your effort in workouts or on easy to moderate runs. Pay attention to how you spread your effort throughout a session. You can also run without a watch or split cues to determine—by feel—the rhythm of your effort.

Pacing yourself is like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Are you globbing spoonfuls of peanut butter on one side of the bread, or are you carefully spreading it across in an even layer? Once you add jelly, is your ratio to PB off, or is it balanced? Try testing out a few different approaches in practice. Worst-case scenario? You bonk or get booty lock (that cramping feeling in your rear and legs when you’ve run all-out). As long as you walk away with new knowledge and continued curiosity about how to build your most delicious PB&J sandwich, you’re stronger for it.

Another key to good racing is to start out confidently. Get out quickly enough to get into a smart position without draining your immediate energy stores. Then progress into a rhythm, breathe, and as the adrenaline from the start wears off, remind yourself not to fall asleep. Instead, tell yourself it’s time to get to work. Start moving up, allowing competitors and teammates alike to motivate you into getting the most out of yourself.

Once you’ve dialed in your pacing and start, work on making moves during races. Throw in a surge, challenge someone who runs up on your shoulder, stick with someone who passes you for 100 meters. The goal? Giving maximum effort—your very best—up until the split second you cross the finish line! Competition makes us dig deep.

No matter your goal or plan, make sure to keep your eyes and ears in the race in order to observe and react to what’s going on around you. Races rarely go as planned. Often they’re filled with jostling, unexpected moves, and even falls. Here are tactics for tackling some of the challenges you might face.

Tight Packs

You’re going to get elbowed, possibly even in the boobs or kidneys. Be assertive. Protect your space. Learn how to stand up for yourself without being deliberately or unnecessarily rough; do not impede any competitor or you will get DQ’d. Activate your forearms. Make them like steel so when someone pushes against you, you are a solid barrier. Be fierce! Take up space!

Side Stitch

If you tend to get cramps in your torso, try this prerace exercise: Lie on the ground. Bend your knees with your feet on the ground, hip-width apart. Place your arms out to the sides, relaxed with your palms up. Fold your right leg over your left. Gently drop your knees to the right, and turn your head to the left, allowing rotation to travel up through your spine. Inhale and exhale three times, as deeply and completely as possible. Take a fourth inhale and hold it for 10 seconds, then exhale forcefully, until all the air is out of your lungs. Switch sides and repeat. If it happens in your race, try to breathe into it and hang tough.

Falling

If you take a tumble in a race, pop up! Unless you’re injured, use the surge of adrenaline that will course through your veins to regain your stride. Work steadily to find a new position. If you fall down frequently in practice or races, you might be tired or underfueled, in which case try taking a day off, drinking a milkshake, and incorporating single-leg and proprioceptive drills into your training. Also work on upper-body strength, ankle mobility, and lower-leg strength.

Getting Passed

It happens. How will you respond? First, dig up that grit inside you—you’ve definitely got some—and resist the urge to slow down. Try to surge with the other racer. If they persist, as you are being passed, try imagining a rubber band (or hair tie or scrunchie) attached from your belly button to the center of the passing runner’s back. Let it pull you along and hang tough!

Feeling Tired, Uncomfortable, In Pain

Start with the idea that if you begin something, you will finish it. Accept that racing can be uncomfortable, searing, and sometimes even pukey. It makes us feel countless fleeting sensations. If you feel sharp or pinpointed pain, ask yourself if it is a damaging kind of pain. If it is, call it a day and take care of yourself. But if the pain isn’t signaling an injury, remind yourself that it is there to chisel you, to develop your grit and resilience, and to test your determination and strength. Embrace it. Don’t forget, the faster you run, the sooner it’ll be done!

Going Out Too Hard and Bonking

Practice pacing. Be humble. Check your ego at the Porta Potty on the way to the start line. To avoid fading, start more conservatively (slightly slower) in the first third of the race so you can pass competitors later. But it’s a balancing act, and the trick is to not go out too slowly. You want to use up everything you have to give by the time you stride across that finish line. If you’re bonking because you’re low on energy (signs include dizziness, lightheadedness, stomach grumbling, feeling weak) then eat more and/or more frequently, including more protein, carbs, and fat. Have a bigger snack or meal prerace (making sure to leave enough time to digest).

Tummy Trouble

Stress, nerves, and running hard can cause us to sprint for the toilet or garbage can. Relax, this happens to most runners, whether they admit it or not! If you tend to experience GI distress before or during races, test out easier-to-digest prerace fuel (such as plain toast, bananas, white rice, or applesauce). If your digestive issues exist during normal training or when you’re not running, see a doc.

Coming in Last

If you gave your best and worked for every inch of the race, congratulations! No matter what, there’s no place to go but up. Keep training, and focus on areas that need work, such as your aerobic fitness or your final kick. Incorporate fast strides, , and A, B, and C skips so that you can keep driving when called upon. Did you finish last because you gave up? Work on your mental fortitude.

Winning

Woo-hoo! Own it. Embrace it. Celebrate it. It’s awesome, but know that it doesn’t define your worth. Winning may bring with it some extra attention and pressure upon you or a sense of needing to live up to expectations. Acknowledge that, then take it one step at a time, knowing we all win some and we all lose some. Practice mindfulness to stay grounded.

Criticism

Is your coach, parent, or brain hypercritical of your race? That can be a difficult experience. After your race, try to decipher what you are feeling and how the race actually went. Competition makes you dig, and this includes digging deep for something positive about your race, even if it’s just the fact that you showed up and crossed the finish line. No matter what, if you put effort forth, take pride in the fact that you uncovered new layers of yourself and gained fitness. Remember that there’s a lot of value in putting yourself out there, pushing yourself and taking risks, no matter the result or what your brain or someone else tries to tell you.

Adapted from by Elizabeth Carey and Melody Fairchild with permission of VeloPress.

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When people talk about “racing weight,” they are referring to a number on the scale that they believe will turn them into the fastest, best runner they can be. That weight is usually a smaller number than they’d normally see when stepping on the scale, which they believe is more efficient for racing.

A weight that guarantees I’ll be the fastest runner I can be? Sounds great, right? Nope! Look closer and you will see that “racing weight” is for runners.

Why? First, weight is arbitrary. The number on the scale is simply a measure of gravity pulling on a body. That number depends on whether you’ve pooped, how much glycogen you have stored, how much water you’ve had. Furthermore, it doesn’t measure important things, such as your muscle tone or athletic ability.

Second, many circumstances combine to influence the shape a body takes. These factors include genetics, environment, diseases, medication, lifestyle, socioeconomics, and more. Your body does have a set point—a composition it naturally gravitates toward—but even that shifts with time.

Third, some runners try to get to their “racing weight” by cutting back on calories. But restricting calories is neither fun nor productive. It can result in no weight loss or even weight gain. Why? Because the formula “calories in – calories out = weight loss/gain” is wrong. The math just doesn’t add up. Metabolism—and oversimplification of a “calorie”—has a lot to do with this.

Basically, your body wants to keep you alive, and when it senses restriction, it holds on to lifesaving energy, such as fat. If an athlete has a history of dieting or weight changes, her metabolism may have already slowed. If an athlete has not restricted before, she might see some weight loss, but initially that loss is water and stored glycogen. (No fun if you’re about to race and are dehydrated and weak, an experience Melody had at the 2000 Olympic Marathon Trials.) Regardless of a runner’s past dieting history, restricting puts every athlete at risk for the complications of a syndrome called Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), which include bone injuries, hormone disturbances, GI distress, mood effects, and other bummers.

Fourth, losing weight can mean losing strength—a disadvantage on the course, track, road, and trail. Research suggests that achieving an idealized weight or body composition through severe and persistent energy restriction will negatively affect your performance and health. Who wants that?

Finally, how you perform on race day is the product of countless details. Think of it like making pancakes, a simple dish yet one that turns out differently depending on the recipe, ingredients, heat, cooking oil, pan, and how good a flipper you are. In training, your body and mind are altered by the process and ingredients too. Running, recovery, and strength training alter your body and mind—as do nutrition, hydration, and hormones. On race day, many external factors can affect results, such as weather, strategy, mental prep, confidence, fatigue, and stress. “Racing weight,” then, is neither the cause nor guarantee of success.

You might look around at a race or on your Insta feed and see a bunch of lean runners. Remember: Appearance doesn’t determine success, and weight is merely one of infinite details that may influence performance. Trying to look a certain way (like a teammate or celebrity or track pro you admire) is a harmful trap. If you are training appropriately for your goal, fueling, sleeping, and taking care of yourself, and are otherwise healthy, then your body will take the shape and weight that is right for you. That’s the vessel in which you will run at your best. It flows naturally from working with your body, not against it.

Adapted fromÌęby Melody Fairchild and Elizabeth Carey with permission of VeloPress.

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Rest means recovery, and FYI, rest is not laziness. It is the time when your body adapts to training — when you reap the rewards of work, like a farmer harvesting a crop. Without adequate recovery — including easy days, sleep, and total rest — training adaptations go down the tubes. Your muscles, nerves, bones, fascia, and mind need this time to repair before they can progress, strengthen, or improve. Certain activities, like swimming, jogging, and yin yoga, can aid in your recovery by promoting circulation and relaxation. Mobility and stretching are other so-called active recovery methods, which we’ll cover in a minute. The best example of rest is the kind where you truly rest, doing little to no exercise. If the word rest rubs you the wrong way, think of it as recharge time. No matter what you call it, it is essential to realizing your potential.

Depending on your age, how long you’ve been running, and where you are in a training cycle, you might need more or less rest. As you get stronger or fitter, you might notice that you recover faster. (Woo-hoo!) That means you’ll feel less sore and tired between runs and stronger heading into your key workouts.

Running Downtime

What do you do when you’re not running? Maybe eat, sleep, read, go to school, TikTok, hang with the fam, work? Regardless, everything you do adds up. Imagine your time and energy like a pie. Each activity takes up a slice. You have only one pie. And it’s on you to slice it up, whether it’s pumpkin or cherry. The reality? No one can “do it all,” and your body doesn’t distinguish between stressors like school activities, family drama, and running hard. Stress is stress. Knowing that, what is your biggest slice?

Remember: To make the most of running, especially with the 27,593 other things you have going on, you need to protect a slice for rest and recovery. When you’re resting, know you don’t have to be busy recovering — say, ice bathing, foam-rolling, or scouring best-in-state times. Give yourself a break! Consider giving your social media scrolling a break, too. Quieting your mind and body is as important as pushing and moving them. In stillness, you are able to fill the reservoirs of energy you need to perform. Research suggests that silent downtime can help restore your brain, nerves, energy, heart, and lungs. When we get quiet and are free from distractions, we are able to better hear our own powerful voice within: intuition.

Sleep, Sweet Sleep

. There are many tools and gadgets that are promoted as recovery tools, but the best use of your downtime? Good, solid shut-eye.

Sleep is recovery for life and training. Without sufficient sleep, well-being is compromised. Lack of sleep can affect performance, academics, judgment, and even bone health. It may also affect whether you get hurt or sick.

Do you feel tired or sleepy during the day? Studies show that most teenagers fall short on sleep. Experts suggest at least 9 to 10 hours of sleep for optimal development and recovery. You’ll know you’re getting enough when you wake up feeling rested and when you can stay alert during the day. Research suggests that athletes who get quality sleep have better reaction times, decision-making, and endurance. Sleep also allows your growth hormones to get to work, improving both mental and physical development, recovery and adaptations from training, and even your mood. You’ll feel better — and do better in school, running, and relationships — if you get a good night’s sleep.

You might have trouble falling asleep, especially after hard or long efforts. Or you might be stuck with a routine that doesn’t fit with your natural sleep tendencies (especially if you’re a night owl forced to wake up at the crack of dawn for school). That’s tough, but there are ways to get more — even if it means taking a quick siesta or giving up a show or social media time. If you’re suffering from insomnia or chronically tired, get checked out by a doc.

To improve the quality of your z’s, try the following suggestions.

Create a sleep cave. The best environment for sleeping is a cool, dark, quiet space. Get an alarm clock so you can keep your phone elsewhere; it’s distracting and disruptive to a good night’s sleep.

Design a bedtime routine. Try to stick to a regular schedule with bed- and wake-up times. Create sleep-inducing habits: An hour or two before bed, turn off screens. Limit blue light, which disrupts your body’s sleep mechanisms, or set a filter on your phone or computer if you must be on it late. Wind down with relaxing activities, like foam-rolling, journaling, doodling, listening to chill music, or taking a warm bath. Have a snack or soothing warm drink with protein (think: warm milk) to promote muscle recovery.

Pass on supplements. If you consume caffeine, stop by noon. Also, know that over-the-counter supplements and prescription medications can interfere with your sleep cycle, so be aware of potential side effects. The jury’s out on how sleep aids affect performance. Even some teas could give you wacky dreams, so err on the side of caution.

Nap if you can. Even a short snooze can improve your energy and mood. Aim to keep naps to no more than 30 minutes, earlier in the day, to avoid staring at the ceiling at night.

Give yourself a break. Find little ways to take a break where you can. Even if you’re working hard on a paper or rushing from track to choir, can you lie down for a minute? Just putting your legs up the wall for five minutes can be restorative. Consider whether that essay will be more coherent if you wake up early instead of burning the midnight oil.

Rest Days: Chill Out!

Rest days are the best days. There are two types: rest days that include some light activity, such as a very easy jog or swim or stretching; and rest days that are totally off — in other words, no cross-training, no nothing. With all the growing you are doing as a young athlete, we highly recommend the latter at least once per week. As Melody recommends, No stress, just rest. Doing nothing may be a weird feeling at first, but we promise you’ll get the hang of it and probably come to really enjoy it.

How many rest days you need changes over time. For example, in middle school, a healthy plan might be to run two to four days a week, play other sports on other days, and keep at least one total rest day. In high school, you might run up to five days a week, with one day a week for cross-training and one total rest day.

No matter your age, taking a totally restorative day per week, with no exercise or workouts, can encourage both physical and . Especially as you are growing, your body — muscles, nerves, bones, and brain — needs time to recover from all that you’ve done in training (and everything else you’re busy with). How much time you need to recover depends on a bunch of factors, including sleep, nutrition, how long you’ve been running, and stress levels. Listen to your body’s signals. Think about rest days as an investment in the work you’ve done and what’s to come. Take an extra day if you need it. Trust us, you’ll emerge restored and refreshed.

Adapted from by Melody Fairchild and Elizabeth Carey, with permission of VeloPress.

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Every year, girls bring questions to my running camp. Unfortunately, we camp in Oregon this summer. But I can share answers to the most frequently asked questions with you, especially because I hear similar requests at every practice and meet.Ìę

Athletes and their parents have been picking my brain for decades. Year after year, I hear variations on similar themes: How should I train throughout the years, with physical growth and puberty, and race faster? What are good mental approaches (including stress management and goal-setting)? What about nutrition and weight?!

That’s one reason I wanted to write , a guide for young runners addressing all these questions and more. Another reason for the book? It’s time to set the record straight. It’s past time for young runners to know that common misconceptions about females can be unhelpful at best and harmful at worst. This includes expectations of me as a high school “phenom.”

Too often I hear stories about unhealthy running experiences and undue pressure. Whether they’re figuring out how to navigate puberty and periods, or expected to run faster and faster with every race, runner girls hear myths and encounter taboos. Such misguided ideas can point runners in the wrong direction, like a misplaced cross-country course marker.Ìę

These detours can derail seasons, health, mindset, longevity, and even one’s love of running. But they need not! With the right information, positive support, patience, and grace, young runners can flourish into long-time successful athletes and — most importantly — have fun.Ìę

Here are the top three frequently asked questions I hear from runners and their parents, which we cover in-depth in Girls Running, plus how to get going on the right foot.

Q. Does losing my period mean I’m a good runner?Ìę

A. Nope.

Missing a period is called amenorrhea. It might seem common or maybe even convenient, but it’s a red flag.Ìę

Periods (the collective days you “bleed,” when the lining of your uterus sheds) are part of the menstrual cycle, a sign of reproductive health as well as overall health. Periods should start a year or so after you begin puberty, or by age 16. At first, they might be irregular when and how they show up, but they should settle into a rhythm. That’s one indicator of how your endocrine and nervous systems are functioning. They set you up for effective training, competition, well-being, and even long-term development (See: )!

When your period goes missing, or if it comes (or doesn’t) with , see a healthcare professional such as a doctor or another sports-specific expert with credentials.Ìę

Losing your period is one signal of low energy (nutrition), stress, illness, or other conditions (including pregnancy). None of those are helpful for running your best right now. Missing periods can put you at risk for bone issues and other complications.

Q. Do I have to be thin or light to run fast?

A. No.

First, let’s be clear: Any body can be a runner. If you prefer to move faster than slower, or go further than most, welcome to the running community!

Second, just because some fast runners appear to be smaller or slighter does not mean that all runners need to be “thin” to run fast. Just because a runner sees a different arbitrary number if she steps on a scale, that does not translate to speed or worthiness. Every body is different, and anyone who fits the definition above qualifies to run, with the potential to run fast.Ìę

This might sound bonkers or weird. That’s because our sport culture and larger society reinforces an unrealistic, narrow set of ideals and expectations, in particular for girls and women. The sport culture and our society say that you need to be thin to run fast(er), or look a certain way to be valued, but they’re wildly mistaken. Trust us. Diet culture and running-specific culture is erroneous and limiting; they encourage unhealthy behaviors including eating disorders that cause serious consequences and inevitable performance declines.Ìę

Rather than focus on appearance or weight, focus on the process of training, , and strengthening your mind-body connection.Ìę

Q. How do I talk to my coach when I am not feeling well, or I’m tired or injured?

A. To borrow a brand slogan from a ubiquitous sponsor of running, just do it.

Okay, I know, it might be tough. But it’s important to speak up. That’s because when you’re not feeling well, if you’re fatigued, or when you’re feeling aches and pains, your body is trying to tell you something. Trust and invest in it. As you grow up, you’ll learn to interpret these signals and tend to yourself. But especially during puberty, menstrual cycles, or stressful times, it’s beneficial for runners to tap into their support crews for help navigating what your body (and mind) are asking of you.Ìę

Based on what you’re feeling and other information, coaches should adjust your training, recovery, or other plans with the goal of optimizing your training, recovery, and competition — for both the short- and long-term.

If they don’t hear or believe you, find someone else who does. Part of being a successful, happy athlete is taking responsibility and initiative. This involves communicating with adults. Speaking up and out takes practice, so start now.Ìę

GIRLS RUNNING (VeloPress), by Melody Fairchild and Elizabeth Carey, is . is a running coach, director of Boulder Mountain Warriors Youth Run Club, founder of Melody Fairchild’s Girls Running Camp, and a master’s athlete in Boulder, Colorado. is a freelance writer and running coach in Seattle, Washington.

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Runners harness massive amounts of energy and willpower to do the hard work of training and racing. Runners sustain incredible focus to accomplish goals. What if we re-directed, or merely shared, those resources and skills?Ìę

We could make a powerful difference in the world. In fact, the running community is primed to be a collective agent for change. Right now, it’s more clear than ever that the world could use runners’ commitment, resources, and skills to combat social injustice, including individual and .Ìę

Even in my so-called progressive hometown, the running hotbed of Boulder, Colorado, hatred is hurled at Black people. One day after coaching youth running club practice, I was standing with two Black athletes. A car full of young white people drove by; the passengers yelled a racial slur before speeding away.Ìę

Of course, this upset my athletes. Of course, this upset me. It better upset all of us. As should the harrowing stories of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people who’ve faced oppression and violence.Ìę

Our Moral Responsibility

We cannot tolerate mistreatment, whether blatant or more subtle, of Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC). Even if it seems inconceivable or surprising to those of us who are insulated by white privilege. As Alison ¶ÙĂ©ČőŸ±°ù, mental health coach, founder of Harlem Run, and runner, told , “People who are shocked by what happened to Ahmaud Arbery are in the beginning of their white racial identity, just realizing, ‘Oh my god, my whiteness carries meaning.’”

As a white woman, I’m called to take responsibility and use my power in and outside of running. I must open my ears and eyes, and welcome discomfort — with no desire for praise for speaking out or standing up for what’s right. This includes researching, reflecting, and respecting who’ve been having these conversations and pushing for change for a very long time.Ìę

We only have one planet with one messy, giant human family, and one chance to coexist. Positive role models who walk (er, run) their talk help us all move forward stronger, together.Ìę

Activist Role Models

For our book , we talked to athletes who are activist role models. They exemplify how to serve a purpose greater than ourselves, even while training and competing seriously. They do so with purpose, calling attention to a range of issues.Ìę

, for example, has completed prayer runs to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), among . Last year, she raced the Boston Marathon with symbolic red paint across her mouth and legs while praying for lost and stolen relatives. Her activism inspired then-high schooler to dedicate her races at the Washington state high school track and field championships to MMIW.Ìę

Currently, is hosting a series of virtual fitness and mental health events called . Pro runner and her training team are chasing a record in the mile and raising funds for the Sachs Foundation, which provides educational opportunities to Black high schoolers in Colorado. Gold medalist sprinter and jumper shared her experiences, insights, and a call to action for people to register to vote and pay attention to local politics, on her blog.Ìę

Time to Mobilize

I’m putting my feet to the pavement. Most runners want to get a long run in on Sundays. To add meaning into that Sunday “long run,” I am committed to marching on a path that parallels the highway to Denver every other Sunday until election day on November 3. My goal is to mobilize my running community to show up in support of Black Lives Matter and racial justice, to get out the vote, and to keep the momentum going towards changing the systems that are failing our country.Ìę

What moves you, as a runner and agent for change? Is it a virtual race to raise funds, like or to support ? Is it calling out your coach if they use racist language? Is it organizing your running team or club to register to vote? Or is it dedicating your off day to reading about antiracism?

Whatever inspires you to move, know that as a runner you’re primed to be a change-maker, and maybe even a leader.Ìę

—

GIRLS RUNNING (VeloPress), by Melody Fairchild and Elizabeth Carey, is . is a running coach, director of Boulder Mountain Warriors Youth Run Club, founder of Melody Fairchild’s Girls Running Camp, and a master’s athlete in Boulder, Colorado. is a freelance writer and running coach in Seattle, Washington.

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I stepped to the starting line of the 1991 Junior World Cross Country Championships in Antwerp, Belgium knowing I was a favorite to win. I had a plan based on whether scenario “A” or “B”Ìę transpired among my competitors. Neither did.Ìę

As I rounded the final hairpin turn of the tight, ribbon-like 4K course I thought, “I am going for the win!” As my eyes drew in the finish line down the long straightaway, I saw two women, who’d broken from the pack early in the race. I ran that last 250 meters in bewilderment and grief, wondering how I’d missed them.Ìę

Frustration set in afterward, as I had to accept that my perspective—how I’d regarded the race and my competitors—had been too narrow to succeed. I had not seen the full picture; my focus was on two frames of a reel when I needed to see the entire scene. That full scene included me and my competitors, striving together, pushing each other to our best efforts. I did not regard my competitors as such back then; I saw them as detractors, rather than additions to my race experience.

If I had entered the race focused on the bigger picture, viewingÌę the challenge ofÌę my competition as providing me a “growth opportunity,” would I have seen the reality unfolding before me, and been able to respond? I’ll never know, but years of exploring how to become more aware of how I am affected by my interface with others and the environment have been beneficial and enjoyable.

How often do we narrow our focus so much that we eliminate the bigger picture? Or, on the other hand, allow it to become so wide that what’s right in front of us is blurred? Think of the iPhone camera modes: In “portrait mode” we blur everything but the object of our focus. But, with patience and a steady hand, we may be able to shift to “pano” mode and take it all in with clarity.Ìę

What influences the perspective and focus we take?

Why We Lose Perspective

Kay Porter, Ph.D. and author of ,Ìęsays athletes often zoom in too close with a perspective called myopia. “Successful and elite runners have consistent focus and concentration skills. However, sometimes they get over-focused on the goals of the race and lose sight of their desired outcome. This loss of perspective often leads to ‘over arousal’ and creates mind, body, and emotional tension, causing them to underperform,” she says.Ìę

Of course, preparing to race well requires an ability to compartmentalize. As a young runner in high school I was impeccable at this, and the resulting hyperfocus enabled world-class performances. But it also took a lot of energy to maintain such an air-tight psyche.

As I grew up, especially in college, I learned how to allow more in. I sought the “pano” shot at every turn — absorbing strengths, vulnerabilities, the experiences at hand. On the eve of the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, at the pre-meet press conference, I went into that pano mode to take it all in. Then, someone asked me about how the death of my mother had affected my running career. My lens busted. The question unleashed emotion, and I felt depleted for the next day’s race. After months of preparation to win the 10K, my vision was blurry and I could hardly see the lanes on the track. I deflated like a balloon with every lap.Ìę

Luckily, age affords us perspective. Life is an emotional ride! I have learned how to manage those emotions — without denying them — which is essential for running longevity as well as physical and mental health.Ìę

Tools to Adjust Perspective

So what helps us zoom in, zoom out, or get the focus just right?Ìę

• Be Curious: A key to spontaneously being able to adjust perspective has been embracing curiosity — in relationships, races and all experiences. Curiosity has helped me enter “pano” mode, expanding the possibility of what can be perceived and received, in any given moment.
• Breathe: Two years before I made the World Mountain Running Team at age 38, I practiced Kundalini yoga (and still do!), which has taught me to use breathing patterns to achieve various mental states.
• Affirm Yourself: Look yourself in the mirror and say: “You have everything you need, inside you — just allow your energy to flow.” (Or something similar that resonates with you.)

As a teen, I felt it was “me against the world;” I believed my strength was in my independence from others, not my interdependence with others; I was in “portrait mode,” with the focus on me and the rest of the field blurred. Racing when I was young was a lonely endeavor. At 38, my perspective became more focused on interdependence and it actually excited me to embrace my competitors as my friends and co-creators.

These lessons are especially important today. We need to seek the ways we “,” as Vietnamese Buddhist monk Tich-Nhat-Hanh says.

On your next run, ponder how much you are willing to be moved by your interface with the environment. Open yourself to the idea of “Inter-being,” and when an opportunity to run stride for stride with someone presents itself, say yes. Try something new. Maybe next time you talk to someone, you’ll be more likely to see their point of view.

###

is a running coach, director of Boulder Mountain Warriors Youth Run Club, founder of The Melody Fairchild Girls Running Camp, and master’s athlete in Boulder, Colorado. Her first book, GIRLS RUNNING (VeloPress), co-authored with Elizabeth Carey, is forthcoming. is a freelance writer and running coach based in Seattle, Washington.Ìę

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As a child, I dreamed of running in the Olympics. I imagined wearing the red, white, and blue while racing in a packed stadium. That vision motivated me to set goals—incremental objectives that would bring me closer to my dreams. My goals motivated and guided the actions I took and fueled the emotional tank I reserved for chasing dreams.

What do you dare dream? As you imagine your dreams coming true, motivate and guide what you do today, tomorrow, and beyond?Ìę

As Cathy Utzschneider says in her book,Ìę “Setting a goal changes us. The word ‘goal’ itself stirs up mixed feelings: excitement, fear, and questions, ‘Will you meet it? Do you really want it?’”Ìę

With this perspective and my own experience as a coach and athlete, I see that both outcome- and process-oriented goals provide value for runners, no matter where they are in their career. Outcome goals hinge on specific results (say, setting a 5k PR). Process goals involve the practice (say, committing to training consistently). By breaking our big dreams into little tasks, we focus on one manageable action at a time.

Outcome and process goals both help mark a path towards the destination of our dreams. When clearly defined as stepping stones, goals of all types help ground us in the moment, celebrate growth, and invest in the hard, rewarding work of training and racing. Most importantly, goals ask us to be mindful of the step we are taking right now.Ìę

In my career, I’ve had the opportunity to practice using goal-setting in different ways, and lead others who’re doing the same. Here are three lessons I’ve learned about unleashing your inner champion with goal-setting:Ìę

1. Take It One Step Further

When I was eight years old, I announced to my family that I would run to what we called “the house behind the rock.” I didn’t know it at the time, but this goal was both a process-oriented and outcome-oriented one. It was a challenging adventure that stirred exciting nerves within me. I arrived at my destination in two minutes! The sense of satisfaction was awesome. I smiled, grabbed a stick, and drew a deep line in the dirt on the side of the road. I declared, “I’ll go one step further, next time.”Ìę

At that moment I adopted the mantra, “Every step I take is a step closer to my goal.” The goal became running far enough to connect two canyons via a steep, dirt road, for a total of five miles. Thirty-eight years later, this route, which I call the Poorman Road run, is still my personal barometer. Each time I run it, the hope and joyful anticipation of chasing a dream are re-ignited.Ìę

2. Find Another Route

No path toward a goal is free of potholes or roadblocks. When we encounter obstacles, we are called to stop, step back, and gain some perspective—figuratively and literally! Often these obstacles require us to go off-road and chart a new path out of necessity. As we are challenged by the uncertainty of a global pandemic and countless canceled plans, this is more true today than ever.ÌęÌę

To maintain motivation when our path is altered, practice patience. Stopping and stepping back gives us a better view of both our long-term goals and the passion that running dreams stir in us.Ìę

In college, I faced a big detour. When I went to the University of Oregon, I was expected to make a seamless transition from high school and continue running at the top. That didn’t happen. With injuries and the grief of losing my mother that summer, I plummeted to the back of the pack. After a tough freshman year, I took the advice my mother had given me; I took a year off. I needed a break and it afforded me perspective. It inspired me to take the long road back to the top, one step at a time.Ìę

It took me five years to run faster in college than I had in high school, but I did it—while winning the NCAA indoor track 3,000-meter championship title in my senior year.

3. Practice PerseveranceÌę

At 38, pushing master’s age, I began dreaming of making the World Mountain Running Team. I had never trained to be competitive at the international level in this steep, challenging race scene. I asked the U.S. World Mountain Running Team leader, Nancy Hobbs, for training advice. “Run uphill, whenever you can and at least once during every run,” she said.ÌęÌę

En route to reaching my dream, my process goals became clear: run up. And up and up! This was a fun challenge and a practice ingrained in me from childhood. As I tackled the training, I defined my outcome goal: finish in the top four at the U.S. Championships to make the team bound for Worlds in Italy.

I noticed that my running life was coming full circle. A pattern of goal-setting had afforded me a strong foundation from which I could push off time and again. I finished second at the U.S. qualifying race, and scored for the U.S. team that took gold.

Goals continue to give me clarity in times of doubt and a sense of purpose each day. They adjust the compass in my heart, so I can focus on authentic passion. This is what is so powerful about goals. They align us with what’s necessary to reach our dreams.

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The best running coaches understand the demands of running. They intuit what each athlete can handle physically, mentally, and emotionally. They hold us accountable but also support us. All this makes the work of training and racing easier and helps us discover the best version of ourselves.Ìę

I’ve been lucky to work with top-notch coaches throughout my running journey. Each one has offered essential insights for different phases of my career—and life! Here are four that are helpful reminders for every runner, young or experienced alike.Ìę

Tip: Look at the big picture

In high school, I was intense and perfectionistic. This exacting nature helped me become the fastest high school distance runner in the nation, but gone unchecked, it was debilitating. My coach recognized this and would repeat often, “Remember the big picture.” In particular, he referred to my dream of running professionally after college. He wanted me to realize that a running career can last a lifetime. I felt only as good as my last race or interval session, but he knew that gracefully accepting the ups and downs of training was necessary for longevity.Ìę

The “big picture” expression gained new meaning during a life-changing event outside of running. My mother had cancer throughout high school, and she died two weeks after graduation. I started to realize coaches need to address their runners’ mental and emotional experiences, not just the physical.Ìę

Tip: Let injuries heal

In my first year running collegiately at the University of Oregon, I started off with a psoas injury. I was eager to get back and prove myself, and kept hammering—but to no avail, as I was injured throughout the year. Coach Tom Heinonen would say “Don’t pull up your carrots before they’re ready. You can’t put them back!” He knew . He didn’t want me testing my ability to run while I was still in pain—good advice!

Tip: Focus your mind

As a pro runner after college, I struggled with depression and negative thoughts. Yes, I believed I could fly to new PRs. But there were days when I could hardly spread my wings to get off the ground. In my hometown of Boulder, Colo., I went searching for a sign and literally bumped into Steve Jones, former world record holder in the marathon, next to a clothing rack in the Boulder Running Company. He ended up helping me reach my goal of making the U.S. team headed to the World Championships in the 5k.Ìę

“You’ve got to learn to compartmentalize,” he’d say. Ahead of my qualifying race at the US Track and Field Championships, he said, “At some point before the race, you’ve got to decide you will make the team.” In the holding area 20 minutes before the start, I repeated the mantra “I am top 3,” and I didn’t stop saying it to myself until I crossed the line in third place.

Tip: Celebrate your wins

As I neared 40—the age runners qualify as master’s—I kept competing, but sought more balance. I wanted to honor my whole self, not just the athlete in me, and sought the guidance of Margo Jennings, who coached Olympians Maria Mutola and Dame Kelly Holmes, with a keen approach of training the mind, body, and emotions. Her coaching made me realize what coaching truly is: the sacred honor of helping an individual realize their full potential as a human.

“The most valuable thing a coach can give an athlete is helping to shape their character by keeping them grounded in the present and focused on the experiences, lessons and reflections of each day—what they learned, what they are grateful for, and what they have given back to others. [And] always reminding the athlete that their daily journey, rather than the final outcome of the future, is most important,” she says. Her methods helped me realize that not once during my thirty years of running had I ever really celebrated a victory. The next time I raced and won, I threw my hands into the air, with a smile. It felt really good.

Celebrating myself was a powerful gesture that signaled a shift toward embracing the joy of every step—a message I have embraced as I have the honor of coaching many youth and adults alike.Ìę

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is a running coach, director of Boulder Mountain Warriors Youth Run Club, founder of The Melody Fairchild Girls Running Camp, and master’s athlete in Boulder, Colorado. Her first book, GIRLS RUNNING (VeloPress), co-authored with Elizabeth Carey, is forthcoming. is a freelance writer and running coach based in Seattle, Washington.

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At one point during my pro running career, I was in between coaches and training locations. The uncertainty left me wondering what was next. How could I stay motivated and moving in the direction of my dreams? I needed guidance.

’ book Wokini (the new edition is titled Lessons of a Lakota) inspired me. Mills, who won the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, invited readers to use their imaginations to create “wokini,” which in the Lakota language means “new beginning.” I did just that by focusing on happiness, as Mills recommends.Ìę

Three times a day for ten months, I meditated on happiness by recalling a memory that made me feel, well, happy! This practice taught me how to line up the energy for what I wanted, before journeying down the road to find it; it strengthened my intuition. It helped me make a move that changed the course of my life in positive and healing ways.Ìę

Right now, most of us are at uncertain crossroads. Without races, meets, practice, or even group runs on the calendar, it’s hard to —let alone keep dreaming about our goals. We could use some guidance and motivation.Ìę

Why not try using our imaginations, as Mills suggested? Tapping into the reserves our imagination provides us, supplements our emotional tank, which is usually topped off every time we meet our group to run.

Using your imagination positively—which is a practice, just like running—fortifies your mental will. It teaches us that our thoughts are powerful and we must choose them wisely. It motivates us to point our nose in the direction we want to go, no matter where we find (or have lost) ourselves.

Meditating on happiness is just one way to harness the strength of your creative mind. It’s one example of “guided imagery,” which can set runners up for success, says Terry Chiplin, owner of Active at Altitude in Colorado, who created the 21-day program for runners to work on strengthening their mind-body connections.

“Guided imagery is a very powerful and highly effective technique that is used by sports psychologists, elite athletes, as well as a wide range of health and therapeutic interventions,” he says. “It uses all five senses and creates internal images that, to your body and nervous system, are indistinguishable from actual physical reality.”Ìę

Running Happiness Meditation

Time: 10 minutes

When: Every day

Steps:

• Sit down.Ìę
• Set a timer for 10 minutes.Ìę
• Close your eyes. (Well, read this through first!)Ìę
• Recall running memories that make you smile. (For example: A satisfying workout or race when you felt how your fitness had reached a new level—and the cheers and high fives that came with it. Laughing uncontrollably with your teammates or running buddies after a meet or race. ÌęMidway through a long run when you catch a nice breeze or a beautiful view. Any happy, fulfilling memory works, but relive your favorite running moments at this time).
• When your attention wanders, and it will, bring it back to another memory, or the same fulfilling memory over and over. Keeping pulling it back until the timer goes off. (It’s like training a puppy to stay.)
• Let any criticism or negativity go.Ìę
• Notice how this exercise affects your mindset throughout your day.Ìę

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is a running coach, director of Boulder Mountain Warriors Youth Run Club, founder of The Melody Fairchild Girls Running Camp, and master’s athlete in Boulder, Colorado. Her first book, GIRLS RUNNING (VeloPress), co-authored with Elizabeth Carey, is forthcoming. is a freelance writer and running coach based in Seattle, Washington.

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As the global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus disrupts life as we’ve known it, a coach can—and should—be a valuable resource. But it can be challenging to keep in touch.Ìę

When you can’t—and shouldn’t—meet up with others, remote coaching fits the bill. But maintaining a healthy, productive coach-athlete relationship remotely requires a different approach than practicing IRL.Ìę

In my view, in-person connections are exponentially more efficient (at least) and powerful (at best) than virtual connections. In person, a mere 30-second check-in during the warm-up or between intervals fills my desire to connect with an athlete and simultaneously allow my athlete to feel seen and be heard. At practice, I read my athlete’s body language and see in their faces how they are doing. Remotely, it takes more work to find out how they’re doing and what they need.Ìę

The good news? A plethora of tools and tricks exist to make remote coaching a positive reality. In fact, a boom of online running coaches work around the globe using digital training platforms, email, texts, and calls. The not-so-great news? It might take some coaches awhile to get up to speed with some of the tech. Like athletes, individual coaches bring and weaknesses to the equation.Ìę

High school and collegiate coaches, for example, are taking the changes in stride, but each is handling it somewhat differently. Some are posting workouts and information as shared documents on cloud services like Google Docs. Others are sending specific weekly workouts on parent-athlete team sites. Others still have already given out a chunk of training and are checking in every week or so, but mostly relying on athletes to reach out if there’s an issue. Some, like Leah Kangas, assistant track and field coach at Garfield High School in Seattle, Wash., text with their athletes daily.Ìę

At Lincoln High School in Portland, Ore., assistant track and cross country coach hosts bi-weekly Girls Talks, a practice she started last year but has now moved to Zoom. Lincoln head track and cross country coach Eric Dettman is holding 1:1 Zoom meetings, using the Remind app to send out announcements, and posting training on Google Docs. Athletes log their training through Google, connect with each other on group chats, and even created virtual team challenges on Instagram and beyond. Coach Davis Markham says, “We have two team mantras that Eric preaches all the time and these kids are totally bought in. They are: ‘Be the best version of yourself’ and ‘Love your teammates.’ All the things we do really support those mantras.”

For many it’s not just about whether or not an athlete did the training. It’s about how they’re doing. Are they healthy and safe? Are they stressed? Are they sleeping? Are they connected to others? Being coached remotely may take an extra step or two, but it’s worth it—especially if you could use some support, connection, and/or training inspiration right now.Ìę

Here are three tips for communicating with and learning from your coach remotely:

1. Use the right tools

We’re clearly not limited to just texting or emailing with online coaching. Tools like Final Surge, TrainingPeaks, and Strava offer a range of tracking and data-sharing capabilities, and sync with GPS watches so you can easily upload your training details. The plethora of . I use TeamSnap with my athlete groups to share workouts and photos, and to host group chats. But I prefer 1:1 communication: texting, emailing, and good ole-fashioned phone calls. Some tools are better for some athletes than others; for example, my women’s running group prefers Zoom happy hours! I say keep it simple. The lower the barrier to entry, the better.Ìę

2. Show up, with honesty

I can’t help my athletes be accountable. It’s on you, as an athlete, to do the work. Or rest, or something in between. Or it’s on you to tell me what’s preventing you from doing what I asked, so I can tailor your training accordingly. Some athletes are hard-pressed to admit they feel tired or injured. But now is not the time to silently tough it out, or to go dark. Be honest with your coach about how you’re feeling and what you’re doing. We don’t know what we don’t know.

3. Speak up

It’s OK to be not OK. Whether you’re struggling with illness or family stressors, or the uncertainty of the future, share what’s on your mind and in your heart. Whether you tell your coach or another trusted confidant, it’s important to tend to your mental and emotional well-being as well as your physical health. If whoever you tell isn’t holding space for you or makes you feel worse, look elsewhere for support, especially if you’re feeling triggered with , depression, or anxiety.Ìę

Ìę

Toll-free, confidential helpline: 1-800-931-2237

24/7 Crisis Support via text: send NEDA to 741-741

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-8255Ìę

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is a running coach, director of Boulder Mountain Warriors Youth Run Club, founder of The Melody Fairchild Girls Running Camp, and master’s athlete in Boulder, Colorado. Her first book, GIRLS RUNNING (VeloPress), co-authored with Elizabeth Carey, is forthcoming.

is a freelance writer and running coach based in Seattle, Washington.

The post Running in Harmony: How To Work with A Remote Coach appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.