Imagine finally standing at the start of your big race, well behind the pros, amid all the chatter and last-minute announcements, watching all the confident, smiling, laughing runners around you.

You want to belong like they do.

You definitely don’t want to be ‘that’ runner - the one that sticks out as obviously not belonging.

One of my fabulous clients started out seeing herself as weak.

Comparing herself to famous ultrarunners like Courtney Dauwalter didn’t help.

They were so strong over tough courses, against the weather…through everything.

As ultrarunners, doing our best means we have to do more than be mentally strong enough to run an impossible distance.

We have to understand what impairs that ability.

One of the biggest is what I call Fatigue Brain.

You already know mental strength is important.

You know it sets the badass ultrarunners apart.

And you know you should be doing something about building it.

You’re smart and a hard worker - you’re sure you can.

It’s just…how?

On my two-week trip to New Zealand for the Tarawera 100, I faced a daunting amount of unknown.

So much that I almost didn’t know how to imagine the trip.

How hard would it be to get around, did I get the right accommodations, would the phone plan actually work, was I packing right, was I planning too much or two little…? And I hadn’t even nailed down plans for the second, post-race week.

Ultrarunning makes your life better.

And mastering strategy and mindset - what I coach - triples that benefit.

One - it obviously improves your ultrarunning…

You know that moment?

You’re in the aid station at night by the bright, warm fire and it’s cold, your feet hurt, your legs feel stiff as boards and for the moment, you don’t have to move.

Then you glance over at the trail out of the aid station, into the dark.

I’ve heard this a lot over the years:

“If you’re not DNFing every once in a while, you’re not trying.”

But it isn’t true.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be that confident runner, standing at the starting line knowing you can finish?

Knowing you can handle all the climbs, problems, and lows ahead?

You can be.

I help my clients run races they’re proud of and discover they’re capable of more than they ever imagined. Usually, that’s in the form of a goal or “A” race, where they want to do everything possible to perform at their best.

However, believing that every race requires you to push yourself to complete and utter physical exhaustion isn’t necessary. In fact, this mindset can lead to burnout and rob you of your love for running.

Yes, there are A races where the goal is to run your absolute best or hit a PR. But there’s also value in giving yourself permission to run races for other reasons—whether it’s as training, to experiment with changes, or simply for the experience. Ad the popular blog post below recommends, don’t let the belief that you have to all-out race every race stop you from enjoying more of them.

A fabulous client going for his first 50 mile race messaged me he was thinking of changing his race goal.

Instead of finishing, he was thinking of going for a fast time.

I groaned. I’ve seen it a million times.

If you can’t decide which races to run, this post is for you.

I’m going to give you three simple questions to guide you.

But first…relax.

The first thing you need to do for success in ultras is simple…but a lot of runners skip it:

Define success - for yourself.

You have to know what you want to accomplish as an ultrarunner.

If you want to prevent burn out or keep the joy in your running, start doing this one simple thing:

Celebrate.

I know…it’s not as important as other things, you don’t have time, and you don’t see the benefit.

It’s always your day.

From where you’re sitting now - not in a race - this statement probably sounds nice, though nothing earth shattering.

But this one thought can change the outcome of your next race.

You poured your heart, soul and a lot of training into this race, your third try at 100 miles.

And DNF’d…again.

Confidence shot, you half-heartedly wonder “Should I try again?”

I ran Daytona 100 this weekend and was reminded of this post.

There seemed to be a high proportion of first time 100-mile runners at the racer and I can see why - it looks easy.

At least on paper.

People ask for my secrets and here’s one of the biggest:

You can do more with mind work than defend against negative thinking.

A lot more.

An accomplished ultrarunner told me she recently realized she had a terrible "elevator pitch" when she talked about her ultra running.

“How do I embrace and communicate who I am without downplaying what I've done or accommodating others’ responses?”

I’ve been there.

The biggest mindset factor behind your results?

Your self image.

Self image is “one's conception of oneself or of one's role” - how you see yourself.