Every four years, I get so pumped to watch the Summer Olympic games and, of course, I have a particular fondness for the track and field events. The runners’ incredible athletic abilities, their intense mental toughness, and their fierce competitive spirit are so motivational and inspiring.
How do they make it look so easy? How do they stay so composed under such intense pressure? While the vast majority of us will never run at their level or speeds, here are some lessons and tips we can take from Olympic runners to improve our own running.
Practice Good Form
I’m always in awe of Olympic runners’ fluid and flawless form. That type of perfection didn’t happen overnight – elite runners have worked for years to achieve it. So, while we may never look that good when we’re running, that doesn’t mean we can’t work on making small improvements. Check out these tips on proper running form and find out which form mistakes to avoid.
Goal-Setting is Essential
Elite runners train for years with a long-term goal in mind: Competing in the Olympics. Keeping their eye on the prize helps them push through the pain and drudgery of thousands of hours of training.
While you may not be dreaming of standing on the Olympic podium, it’s still important to set goals. Whether it’s completing your first 5k, training for a marathon, or losing weight, working toward something specific will help maintain your motivation and keep you going.
Run with Others
Olympic runners train with the best, and that constant, high-level of competition pushes them all to perform their best. Even recreational runners find that group training brings out their competitive spirit and helps them push themselves harder. Running with others, even if it’s just one person, also makes running more fun and can help you stay motivated.
Also see: Benefits of Group Training
Fuel Your Body Properly
Olympic runners know the importance of proper nutrition and hydration. But even if you’re not running at the elite level, your diet is important not only for maintaining good health, but also to promote peak performance.
Proper nutrition and hydration can make or break a workout or race, and also greatly affects how runners feel, work and think.
Reduce Race Anxiety
Olympic athletes get anxious before races just like everyone else. But they use anxiety-reducing techniques, such as visualization, meditation, and mindfulness, to help that control that nervous energy and use it to their advantage.
Don’t let your pre-race nerves get the best of you. Figure out what strategies and pre-race rituals work for you so you’ll perform better and enjoy racing more.
Stay Mentally Tough
Olympians need incredible focus and coping skills to get through pain, discomfort, and disappointment during both training and racing. To take your running to the next level, you need to learn how to run through discomfort and how to maintain your mental focus.
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Don’t forget about rest days.
Even the best runners in the world know that they need recovery time to allow their bodies time to repair damage and build themselves to be even stronger. For both Olympic runners and recreational athletes, overtraining can lead to injury and burnout. Make sure you know the signs of overtraining – including fatigue, lethargy, irritability, and soreness — and give yourself some easy recovery workouts every week.
Running coach, avid runner, and fitness writer Christine Luff is an RRCA-certified running coach and ACE-certified personal trainer. Founder of the website Run for Good and author of the book Run for Good: How to Create a Lifelong Running Habit, she coaches runners, from beginners to advanced, who are training for races, from 5Ks to marathons.
