By Elsa Trujillo
For International Stress Awareness Week (5th – 9th November), we’ve collated a series of articles dealing with different aspects of mental health and ultra running.
Some articles are from ultra runners in our RunUltra team, such as Sarah Cooke and Alice Morrison, and our favourite coach Andy Mouncey; and we’ve found a few others from around the web too.
Whilst we’re aware that running can be good for your physical health, some of these articles explore some of the evidence that it can also be a great stress reliever and good for your mind too.
Enjoy and run well this week.
How to succeed
Sarah Cooke has gathered some interesting research articles dealing with the psychological profile of runners. Read her article here.
Training stress
Do you know what General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) is? Read Ian Torrence’s article on the different stages of training stress to find out what it is and how to deal with it.
Pre-race nerves
Negative thoughts? Loss of appetite? Fear of having bitten off more than you can chew? It’s natural to experience the pre-race jitters. RunUltra’s Sarah Cooke explains performance anxiety in this article and how to cope with this kind of stress.
Dealing with emotions
Andy Mouncey has some great practical, and mental tricks to help you manage your emotions and get you to the finish line.
When you can’t run
If you’re a highly motivated and hard-training ultra runner, being sent to the dry dock for a period of time can be hard to cope with. Sarah Cooke discusses how you can deal with this trying period of recovery and contemplation.
Getting out and about
Alice Morrison explores the science behind the beneficial effects of heading out to the great outdoors for some fresh air. Read her article.
Depression
In this article, Emily Fife talks about depression and how running, and indeed any other sport, can aid sufferers in managing the disease. Read it here.
#stress #stressAwareness #mentalhealth
