Real Self-Talk for Endurance Athletes: Beyond Pep Talks and Positivity
What Mantras and Self‑Talk Are (and What They’re Not) — For Endurance Athletes
As a runner or endurance athlete, your mindset is one of your most powerful training tools. Your legs carry you the distance, but it’s your mind that determines how you stay in the race—mile after mile, hour after hour, year after year.
There’s a big difference between finishing a race empty but satisfied—regardless of the result—and finishing empty but defeated. I’ve been in both places over my running career. The races I want to keep showing up for always involve the former.
In sport psychology, when we talk about mantras and self-talk, it’s easy to dismiss them as motivational fluff—or assume they require relentless positivity. In endurance sports especially, pop culture tends to water self-talk down into feel-good affirmations that ignore the mental demands of long efforts, discomfort, and doubt. But real, effective self-talk is a performance tool—grounded in repetition, experience, and trust in your training.
This post dives deeper into what self-talk actually is as a psychological skill—and how it can support a performance mindset that brings more enjoyment, endurance, and sustainability to your training and racing.
What Self‑Talk Is (When It’s Actually Helpful)
1. A Performance Cue, Not a Pep Talk
In running and endurance sports, a mantra is often a cue word or phrase—something simple that brings you back to your body, your breath, your rhythm.
Examples of cues you can return to when you need them:
“Relax your shoulders”
“Strong and smooth”
“One mile at a time”
I’ve spoken before about the benefits of living with—and being married to—my coach. He can always tell when I’m starting to fade, physically or mentally. He will quietly provide me with simple and effective cues like:
“Lift your knees”
“Eyes up”
“Lean forward”
“Relax your shoulders.”
These are now embedded in me. I can hear them in my own mind when I start drifting away from the moment I need to stay in—to finish a workout, complete a long run, or stay in the hard effort in a race.
The key to crafting what cues and mantras work for you is to experiment. Figure out what you need to hear, and practice it—just as intentionally and consistently as you would your race-day nutrition.
Because this isn’t about hyping yourself up like a crowd does at mile 22. It’s about redirecting your mind when it starts to spiral, and bringing yourself back to the work.
2. A Grounding Tool
Long runs inevitably come with discomfort. We’re not trying to avoid it—that’s part of the process. In my experience, it’s actually what draws many of us to endurance in the first place. What we’re learning is how to be okay with that discomfort—how to come back to ourselves and stay present with whatever the moment brings.
Your self-talk becomes the internal voice that helps you stay grounded. Mantras like “Stay relaxed” or “Breathe in, deep breath out” can anchor you to the now—especially when your brain wants to sprint ahead to how much is left.
There are definitely moments when forward-thinking strategies help—like, “Just run to that next big tree, then reassess.” Those tricks are part of the toolbox.
But self-talk is what helps us stay present and engaged—especially when that’s what we might need most.
3. An Act of Trust
The right self-talk reminds you that you’ve trained for this. You’ve done the work. You know what it takes—and when things get tough, what you need most are reminders, not doubt.
It’s easy to mistake the feeling of wanting to stop for a sign that you have to. But outside of injury, we’re often capable of far more than we think.
You don’t need to feel perfect to move forward—you just need to keep showing up.
When you need a quick injection of hope—and a reminder of what you’re capable of—try one of these:
“I’ve done the work”
“Keep moving forward”
“This is what strong feels like”
In moments of doubt during a hard effort, I often think back to the dozens of times I’ve hung in when I wanted to quit. Sometimes I’ll tell myself, “This is what that 5K finish felt like.” It’s a reminder: I’ve been here before—and I know how to keep going
What Self-Talk Isn’t
1. Not Toxic Positivity
If your body’s hurting at mile 17 and your inner voice is saying, “This should be easy!”—that’s not helpful. Empty positivity can feel fake and often increases anxiety as it is so far from the truth.
Instead of pretending everything’s fine, use mantras that acknowledge the discomfort and help you move through it, like:
“This is hard, but I’m okay.”
“Keep showing up”
“This is what effort feels like.”
“Stay in it”
2. Not a Magic Fix
No mantra will carry you through an under-fueled race, mask an injury that truly needs attention, or make up for overtraining. Self-talk is a tool—not a solution. It’s empty and ineffective without the foundation of solid training, recovery, and nutrition.
3. Not Disguised Comparison
Don’t let your self-talk turn into self-judgment. Mantras aren’t meant to shame you for not hitting a pace you ran five years ago. They’re meant for the runner you are now—not the one you used to be.
As I’ve written about many times in my writing, we are always evolving. The tools we use—especially mental ones—need to grow with us if they’re going to stay real and effective
Self-Talk That Meets the Moment
The most effective mantras are specific to the moment you're in. What you need to hear at mile 2 is often different from what you need at mile 22. Here are a couple of examples of how to match your self-talk to different points in a run. Think of these as flexible tools—not scripts—to help you stay grounded, focused, and in control when your mind starts to drift to places that are not helpful.
Early miles, setting pace
“Easy effort” / “Find your flow”
→ These remind you to stay patient, settle in, and resist the urge to push too soon.Mid-run fatigue
“Strong legs, steady breath”
→ Brings you back to your body and form when your energy starts to fade.Hitting a wall
“Stay in it” / “Take the next step”
→ Helps interrupt spiraling thoughts and refocuses you on small, doable actions.Race-day nerves
“I belong here” / “Trust my training”
→ Replaces anxiety with confidence and anchors you in your preparation.Comparing to others or your past self
“Run my race”
→ Redirects your focus to your own effort and goals—where it actually belongs.
How to Use Mantras in Your Training
-Keep them short (3–7 words max)
-Pair them with breath or stride
-Practice during training—not just race day. You can’t access what you’ve never rehearsed. Relying on something you haven’t practiced is magical thinking.
-Write them down if you need visual reminders—on your hand, wrist, or forearm
-Re-evaluate and change them when needed. What worked last season might not fit now. If it’s not sinking in or sticking with you, it probably isn’t right for you right now.
Final Takeaway
In endurance sports, your inner voice shows up long before the finish line. We spend hours alone in our minds, and the way we speak to ourselves shapes how we experience those miles. Mantras aren’t just for the hard moments—they’re tools for building trust in your training, grounding yourself in effort, and reminding you that you are in charge of your mind and where you allow it to go.
One of my favorite marathoners, Deena Kastor—a U.S. Olympic medalist and all-around remarkable human—has spent her career honing the power of mindset. In her memoir, Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory, she reflects:
“Every aspect of a run, from the pain it produced to the satisfaction it brought, offered me a choice: Is this a thought that will slow me down? Or can I find a perspective that will speed me up?”
That’s the heart of effective self-talk: choosing thoughts that support the performance and experience you’re working toward.
Self-talk doesn’t (and shouldn’t) be sunshine and toxic positivity. But it should be honest, repeatable, adaptable, and rooted in your reality.
Hopefully, you are not just trying to survive the miles. You’re devoting time, energy, and intention to this sport—so make your mindset one of your strongest assets
If you’re feeling stuck with your self-talk or unsure what mindset tools fit your training, get in touch—let’s see if we’re a good fit to figure it out together. Helping athletes develop mental skills that support their goals is what I do. If you’re curious about how we could work together, I’d love to connect.
