Negative Thinking in Ultras: What to do When it Hits

Is your reaction to negative thinking, “I shouldn’t think this?”

You might believe that good ultrarunners don’t deal with negative thoughts. After all, negative thinking can make any race miserable, and if left unchecked, can spiral out of control and ruin it.

Since you know what you *should* be thinking—positive thoughts—the solution seems obvious: replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. Simple, right?

But when that doesn’t work and negative thoughts keep creeping back in, it’s frustrating.

You tell yourself it’s stupid to think the negative thoughts, but no matter how hard you fight them, theyreturn.

You might try pretending the thoughts aren’t there, but they persist. And the harder you try to suppress them, the stronger they become.

This isn’t helpful in a race but the real harm in trying to avoid negative thoughts is that it convinces you that you're mentally weak and can’t trust yourself to handle them. You see it as proof that you can’t stop these thoughts, which only makes you more afraid of them.

Fortunately, none of this is true.

The reason you haven’t been able to stop negative thoughts is simple: it’s because you can’t prevent them.

None of us can.

Negative thoughts are completely normal. Everyone has them. Everyone. 

It’s part of being human.

So Instead of trying to eliminate or push away a negative thought, allow it to be there.

Welcome it in without fear. You don’t have to keep it.

I teach clients a process to direct their thinking so they can choose a better, more realistic thought that truly works for them. The first step is to calmly recognize the negative thought and face it without fear.

And you can’t allow a negative thought to be there if you're busy trying to get rid of it.

At 50 miles in Superior 100 this year, my feet hurt, I’d taken a bad fall, and was wearing down. I started thinking, “You can drop. You’re not going to make it anyway. You fell hard, and that’s a good enough reason. It’s ok.”

Clearly, negative thinking. We all have it.

Instead of panicking and trying to push it out of my mind, I thought calmly, “Oh, look at that. I’m thinking of dropping. And my mind has come up with a handy justification. It’s really tempting.”

I let the thought hang out until I got to the 62-mile aid station and found a trusted friend. I wasn’t going to drop but honestly telling him my thoughts made that first ‘allowing’ step more powerful and took the punch out.

From that point on, I pushed forward with no more temptation to drop. In fact, I fought hard to keep going, right up until I was pulled at mile 95.

If I’d kept trying not to think what I was thinking about dropping, I’d have mentally worn myself out and dropped at mile 62.

Acknowledging the thinking gave me the chance to choose, “No, dropping isn’t me. I run to finish.”

You can’t stop negative thoughts—they’re a normal part of being human, and we all have them. Trying to fight them will only leave you frustrated and defeated.

Instead, expect them to come and be ready when they do. The ability to control negative thinking is one of the most powerful skills an ultrarunner can develop.

Once you learn to handle these thoughts, they’ll no longer scare you, even in your toughest moments. 

Acknowledge them, choose a different response, and you’ll build the mental strength to overcome any challenge and finish strong.