By the time the Tokyo Olympics kick off in July, we’ll be clamoring to find out which of the world’s best runners have capitalized on the extra year of training, who defends their medals (or dethrones the champs), and who rewrites the record books.
As superhuman as your favorite athletes appear in high definition, performing on the biggest stage requires just as much mental resolve as physical fitness. And what separates the champions from the rest can also work for you—whether you want to run your first marathon, snag a 5K PR, or simply make running a habit. Here, four American record holders share the cerebral tricks that got them to the next level, with applications for athletes of all levels and disciplines.
Dalilah Muhammad
Record: 400-meter hurdles (2019, 52.16)
Mental strategy: Ditch distractions
→ Dalilah Muhammad’s career turning point occurred in 2013, when she was fresh out of USC.
She decided to go all in on track and field and to make whatever changes were necessary for success. Muhammad started asking herself a simple yes or no question: “Is this helping you? Is this not?”
If she thought something would bring her closer to her goals on the track, she stuck with it. If it wouldn’t, out it went. That formula led Muhammad to change cities and coaches, to start working with a nutritionist, and to eliminate many of the social distractions she’d faced in college. It paid off when Muhammad ended her first pro season with a U.S. title, a spot on Team USA, and a template for continued success—like her gold at the 2016 Olympics and world-record run at the 2019 world championships.
Other Hearst Subscriptions: Take inventory of your whole running setup. Weed out the parts that aren’t serving you (too many late nights, skipped recovery fuel), elevate those that are (thorough warmups, consistent strength-training), and tackle decisions from a helpful-or-not framework.
Courtney Frerichs
Record: 3,000-meter steeplechase (2018, 9:00.85)
Mental strategy: Bold Predictions for the Olympic Track Trials
→ In 2017, Courtney Frerichs worked tirelessly to take the leap from Team USA member to international contender. Heading into the London World Championships, she focused as much on mental training as she did on physical training.
Frerichs chose a mantra—“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire,” from film director and screenwriter Jennifer Lee—and wore it as a temporary wrist tattoo. She repeated those familiar words before her race in London, and they helped her stay present each lap. She also broke the race down into smaller parts, another technique she’d practiced, ultimately crossing the line in second place with a massive 9:03.77 personal record. The next year, Frerichs set a new American record.
Other Hearst Subscriptions: Call on a helpful mantra when things get tough during harder training runs. Science suggests that positive self-talk is most effective when you refer to yourself as “you” rather than “I.”
Donavan Brazier
Record: 800 meters (2019, 1:42.34)
Mental strategy: Lighten up
→ The 800-meter specialist’s biggest breakthrough wasn’t when he won an NCAA title his freshman year at Texas A&M, or even when he took home the gold (and the outdoor American record) at the 2019 world championships. It was when he qualified for the Michigan state meet as a high school sophomore and made the improbable leap from 20th on the list to runner-up, nabbing a 6-second personal best.
That planted the seed for a possible future on the track. And it was also a time he was truly enjoying the sport and the relationships that went along with it. “Whenever I’m happiest, that’s when I run best,” Brazier says. Training feels less taxing when he has people to share the load with—as he now does with Pete Julian’s Portland-based group—and the results usually follow suit.
Other Hearst Subscriptions: You’ll stay motivated when the process is fun. Plan a destination race, mix up your training spots, or host a post-workout brunch to keep things light but engaging.
Ajeé Wilson
Record: 800 meters (2017, 1:55.61)
Mental strategy: Just race
→ Ajeé Wilson remembers her first pro season—which was also her first year out of high school—more for her bold move in a late-season race than for her fifth-place finish at the 2013 world championships, where she set a then U.S. junior record in the 800. In another race soon after, against a stacked field that included the reigning world champion, the then-19-year-old took the lead with 200 meters to go. Wilson finished fourth and walked away with more confidence.
She attributes her improvement to the straightforward instructions her coach, Derek Thompson, fed her before each competition: Stay close, stay in the race, just get to the last 200, and see what you can do. Rather than talking through every hypothetical, coach and athlete shared the attitude, “just race to win and the time will come.”
That strategy paved the way for several global medals, indoor and outdoor U.S. records, andWilson’s first Olympic berth in 2016.
Other Hearst Subscriptions: Don’t overthink every outcome of a race. Identify a main goal (whether it’s to win, negative split, or place high in your age group), and trust that you’ll do your best when you declutter your mind and let competitiveness take over.
Becky Wade is a three-time Olympic Trials competitor with a 2:30 marathon best. Her book about global running cultures, Run the World, Races - Places.
