A Runners Checklist

An anonymous guest article

Welcome to the ninth edition of Guest Articles, where we hand the reins of the Rag over to our community. Our community can write about whatever they want, the only requirement is that it strengthens our community or helps us achieve our goal of making Canberra suicide-free. This week, we hear from an anonymous writer.

A Runners Checklist

By Anonymous

So in the decades that I’ve been running, the science in running has evolved.  We now appreciate a lot more about hydration, nutrition, training intensities, clothing, shoes, and the like.  

As we approach an event we prepare in relation to all of the above and we learn, if nothing else, that as runners we are all individuals.  What works for Zoe won’t necessarily work for Trudie.  What works for Trudie won’t necessarily work for me.  Before the big race we lay out our kit and take the mandatory running clobber shot for social media, bib - check, runners - check, shoes - check….  

The evolving science that is integral to the elite and less thought through at the sweeper’s end of the field is our mental health, attitude, and preparedness.  What are we laying out on the floor or bed with the mandatory gear list provided by the race director from a mental health perspective? What are we packing in our hydration vest that will lift our spirits & help us mentally?

When it comes to fuelling in long races you’re never sure what’s going to work this time.  How many Gu’s can a runner bear?  Will I be able to stomach an ANZAC biscuit 35km into the run?  Will I share the contents of my stomach with an unsuspecting bush by the side of the track?

You pack for contingencies - snakes for sweet, Vegemite roll for savoury, salt tabs for cramps, Coke in the drop bag for caffeine. As the race unfolds you select to suit the circumstances. You accept the things you cannot change & adapt along the way. 

In a clothing sense, you do likewise. Sunnies if it gets bright, jacket if it rains, poles if it’s super steep, buff - well you can do anything with a buff!!!

What’s more, you train & prepare with all the same hydration, same nutrition & same clothing. You also test things out to validate what does it for you. Any car park at the start of a long run will show you the variety of proven options runners swear by. We’re all very different. 

But what do you pack for your mental fuelling? How do you prepare mentally? If I have so many options for hydration, fuelling & clothing then why not pack my bag with mental hydration, mental fuel & mental clothing?  How do I sustain myself, draw energy & protect myself mentally when I’m putting my body (& mind) under such duress?

Here’s where I think we need a rethink as runners who just enjoy getting out there. I also believe there are a tonne of mental strategies that can power your runs; be it training, racing, or in recovery.  Strategies to uplift you when you’re alone.  Others to engage when you’re in a crowd. Ones to clear your mind when you’re struggling to exist. Others to harden your focus & resolve. 

Interestingly some strategies are all about you in the moment & don’t involve others. Others are a group sport drawing together a collective energy in the bunch. Some will be your staple you use every time you lace up whilst others are your salt tablets for the mind that you only draw upon with the onset of ‘mental cramps’ in an emergency. 

The beauty is it’s also easy to give a friend some mental fuel to take on their run. It won’t weigh them down if you reach out to offer them support or give them a few words of heartfelt encouragement. They can pull that gift out when they most need it. 

During a run you can easily also share some ‘mental fuel’ & ‘mental clothing ‘ with others - cheering them on, encouraging them up that hill, giving them one of your mental strategies to overcome that inevitable lull in mood in the thick of a long & arduous outing. Helping them power up the Furber Steps or head out for another yard at the Gumby. 

So we know the science backs the power of the mind in sport. Perhaps as you prepare for that next City2Surf, Capital2Coast, marathon or ultra you should be mapping out both a physical & mental training plan. A plan that lifts you mentally, that prepares you for the challenge & which arms you with a suite of options for the sweet, the savoury, the hot, the cold, the uphill, the downhill, the lonely sections & the crowded sections, the not-even-halfway-yet & the finish-line-in-sight. If our mental plan is purely a finishing time or worse still a Facebook post with that time you may have lost the race before your training has even begun. 

I’ve witnessed some (Singh - you are clearly the gold standard here) who have at the core of their running mental health strategy a goal to see how much they can uplift others. How many motivational quotes did you cite, how many times did you sing Happy Birthday, how many 79-year-olds did you pass doing their 33rd Melbourne Marathon when you were finishing your first?  It’s wonderful to see someone giving others mental Gu’s & mental Tailwind & mental raincoats when they least expect it but conversely most need it. 

Something to ponder – how do you mentally prepare and how do you help others mentally thrive?  My own sense is that my most cherished running event memories are associated with the mental lifts others have given me & the ones I’ve been fortunate to share with others.

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