The Mind of an Ultramarathon Runner

The optimization of executive functioning is an essential component of mastering life’s greatest challenges. Every adversity gives us the opportunity to enlist each of our executive systems and discover the best way to cultivate a dynamic balance among them. This self-reflective capacity can be called awareness or mindfulness, but essentially requires that we remember to be a human being and not a human doing. The tendency to default to an autopilot state is reflected in societal messages that tell us that we need to reduce stress–think less! Disconnect! Go offline! The proliferation of meditation apps, and the posters put up by the HR department demand that we pay attention to “work-life balance.” When the busyness of day-to-day life becomes all-consuming, friends and family are quick to remind us that “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” 

It's easy to imagine that those who actually run marathons should be experts in this perspective, and an ultramarathoner should be an “ultra-expert.” I had the opportunity to work with Maria, a successful centurian marathoner (100-mile runner) and asked her what it takes to win in this extremely demanding sport. Naturally, I was curious about what kind of executive functioning is required and what goes through one’s mind over the 20 - 25 hours of solitude it takes most competitors to complete a 100-mile course. Being a trial attorney, Maria was extremely organized and a skilled communicator. Here is what she shared with me along with my reflections about executive functioning. 

“The two most important things are to have a training plan and a race strategy. The training plan is all about getting your body in proper shape, eating right, and getting the right amount of sleep. The race strategy is about studying the course terrain, being prepared for the weather, knowing ahead of time where the difficult sections are so you can be mentally prepared, as well as subtly adjusting your training schedule leading up to the race to the real-world conditions.” 

This first set of issues seem to primarily be the domain of the second executive system. There is a plan and a set of strategies that have been acquired through experience, mentorship, and study. They have to be held in mind, remembered day-by-day, and adhered to regardless of potential distractions and shifting moods. These are all skills and abilities that have traditionally been a part of the definition of executive functioning. In our attempts at being the CEOs of our own lives, we all need to develop short-, medium-, and long-term plans and have the discipline to stick to them, moment-to-moment, despite the fluctuations of moods and any of the 10,000 things that arise to divert our focus.  

“The next challenge is to remember your plan during the actual race. You have to remember to pace yourself even though you might feel like running faster or keeping ahead of someone coming up from behind. You have to stay aware of your heart rate, what’s happening in your GI system, keep properly hydrated, and stay mindful of how your feet and legs are doing. The endorphins can be a challenge in this regard because while they help you feel less pain, they also decrease feedback from your body. They can put you in a kind of trance and make it difficult to think clearly. You have to resist the urge to zone out in order to keep paying attention to your body and what might be going wrong with your mechanics.” 

Here Maria is sharing the importance of not only having a plan, but remembering and adhering to it during the race. I’ve heard other runners refer to this as an “ironclad mindset.” She understands the impact of the endorphins released for the race and has to counteract them by being more focused on her body than she might be otherwise. She is also describing the importance of staying consciously aware of information from her body for which she uses her first and third executive systems. How she understands and utilizes this information reflects the cooperation of her second executive to translate this interoceptive information into adjustments in her biomechanics and race plan. 

Maria went on to describe an example of emotional regulation that likely involves the participation of all three executive systems: 

“Even though I’ve been running for years, when someone passes me, I become anxious and have to fight the impulse to race them or stay in the lead. I still have to calm myself down and remind myself of my race plan. It’s like holding on to stocks during a crash, the emotional impulse is to pull out, then you remember that you are playing a long game, especially with retirement funds, just like in a long race.” 

In these situations, the second and third systems cooperate to help the first executive down-regulate anxiety and inhibit impulsive behavior not in line with her race plan.

“I also have to pay attention to having my thoughts stray into negative territory. You know, my mother’s health, the problems in my relationship, a challenging case I’m working on, things like that. There is no better way to forget your plan and become depleted of energy than to get caught in a negative thought loop about a problem that is out of my control, especially while I’m running the race. These runs are mostly on uneven terrain, poorly maintained trails, and go through an entire night. It can feel interminable, especially when you are struggling through fatigue and pain. You have to find a way to amuse yourself that doesn’t distract you from paying proper attention to the race. If you can’t figure this one out, ultramarathons are not for you.” 

While I had always focused on the physical challenges of ultramarathon running, Maria taught me that the mental hurdles are just as challenging. She clearly needed the participation and cooperation of all three executive systems. Successfully preparing for and running an ultramarathon requires shuttling between the past, present, and future–a constantly shifting focus between your internal and external environments, and synthesizing all of this information in order to implement it appropriately. Having a plan and sticking to it, whether it is for a long run, career, or relationship, requires that a person remembers the plan, maintains oversight and regulatory control of physical and emotional reactions, and facilitates the necessary inner conversation among the three executive systems. Throughout this wonderful conversation with a renowned athlete, I was reminded that successful executive functioning hinges on expert integration of mind, body and spirit.