The following success stories represent the value of mental training.
Krister Wiklund, Planning Analyst TJX Europe / 361° Ambassador
I started running in the summer of 2015. After just a few weeks, I could feel how good the movement was for my body and soul. It especially helped me reduce stress and heavy thoughts in connection with my bipolar mental illness. The runner in me was born. I bought the book Mentaltraining für Läufer to support my journey toward the first half marathon in Cologne in 2016.
Because of my bipolar disorder, I am well versed in cognitive therapies. I have to understand thought patterns and what role the power of thoughts plays in changing feelings and behavior. During running and in life there are always situations where you don’t feel well, which can’t be changed or avoided. But you can learn to perceive situations differently and to react better to them. For this Michele gives very good suggestions and provides the tools. Maybe it hurts somewhere, maybe it’s exhausting, or maybe I don’t feel motivated and even want to give up the run completely. The exercises from the book have helped me develop mental thinking for these very situations that steers my thoughts away from the problems and toward possible solutions. By practicing regularly, I could significantly improve the mental side of training.
I’ve even used the mental training for important achievements outside of running. I have used the tools for setting and formulating powerful and achievable goals to get my dream job. I used the Positioning & Resource Reload technique to find out what new professional challenge I needed. The whole process took about three months from start to finish. In particular, the book helped me to develop clear answers to the following questions: Where do I stand now? Where do I want to go and why do I want to go? And finally: What do I have to do to get there? My new boss said that he had never experienced anyone who knew exactly what challenges he was looking for and who had dealt with the position in this way. When I sat in the last interview, everything went in slow motion. I knew exactly what to say and where to go. It was as if I had released the arrow from the bow and now just had to wait for it to hit the target. A really cool feeling, and when I got the job, it was more like déjà vu. And yet I celebrated it with a fist pump and a smiling “Yes!”
Meanwhile I have three marathons and a handful of half marathons behind me, and this year I will realize my new dream, ultrarunning. This book is still my permanent companion. To change something permanently often requires a lot of mental work and perseverance, but it is always worth it.
Eva Sperger, Psychotherapist, German Champion Ultratrail Run 2017
In 2017 I won the German Ultratrail Championship (DUV). To mentally prepare for the race in the Alps—a distance of 82 km with 4,200 meters altitude—I worked intensively through Michele’s book. A little later, after two demotivating competitions directly before an international ultra race, the Transvulcania, I wanted to recharge my mental batteries. To prepare, I used the instructions in the book to prepare mentally, and using these mental strategies, I competed in the race full of newly won energy. The strategy of focusing on a performance goal, such as placement or process, helped me a lot. It became clear how much running is my passion and how much it can transfer to my life. The competition with its 74 km over volcanic rock was miraculously pure enjoyment and an absolute booster for the upcoming World Championship in 2018 in Spain where I achieved 17th place in the Penyagolosa Trail.
After winning the German Championship, being nominated for the national team and participating in a World Championship, I was contacted by sponsors. This raised the question of what values I wanted to represent. There is a chapter on this in the book. That helped me a lot to understand why I do this sport, which is important to me. Knowing the reason why I run and invest so much time fuels my motivation and passion.
Since then I have used the book to prepare for hard competitions and have always gained new methods for competitions. It is really fun to discover the “resource jokers,” to draw on them while running, and to incorporate the resource work into psychotherapy. I am a psychotherapist and have hypnosis training. Michele’s book and instructions for implementation totally helps me to learn the techniques better and to use them more for the therapy sessions!
A funny anecdote: an acquaintance once observed me reading the book and had to laugh a lot about how deep I was and how often I nodded approvingly without the presence of others. This unique combination of mental training, hypnosis, and running hits the nail on the head. Thank you very much for the great suggestions and the strength I gained from the book. In my next competition, the UTMB with its 170 km and 10000hm, it will surely motivate me again and help me prepare mentally and be a source of strength.
Frank Konkel, Ultralunner & Sales Manager
August 13, 2017, 7:13 am. After 100 miles and 25:13:42 hours, I crossed the finish line in Berlin, managing something incomprehensible for me. April 1, 2011, irrevocably changed my life. I spent a week in a clinic on suspicion of a stroke and was thoroughly examined. It was not a stroke, but I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now I had an explanation for my bad physical condition and the many pains and complaints in the last decades. Well, a bad diet, obesity, and only spectator sports also contributed to this. On the way home, I realized that I had to change my life immediately. Three years later, my daughter asks me on a hike what goals I still have in my life (at the age of 49). Spontaneously I answer, “I want to walk 100 kilometers at least once in my life.” I still have no idea why I said this, but it would change my life a second time. Still on vacation, I ordered books on running training. I had already changed my diet considerably in the last few years, completely renounced alcohol, smoking became less, and only sport was missing. My goals were quickly set: 2015 a marathon, 2016 a 100-kilometer competition, 2017 the 100 miles.
I was able to learn to walk quite well with the appropriate training. In March 2015, I took part in a 6-hour run and ran a little over 54 kilometers. While the pounds were falling, the running shoes were wearing out more, the times were getting faster, the distances were getting longer. I actually had only one weakness: me! Even if feelings of happiness prevailed, the head can unfortunately put a spoke in the wheel. As negative thoughts were becoming more frequent, Michele Ufer’s book fell into my hands by chance. In recent years, I had concluded that the power of thought can have enormous effects on life, so why not mental running training? Completely fascinated, I decided to try the strategies. Through mental training, it has been incredibly easy for me to motivate myself. I almost never skip a training session because I usually look forward to the inner satisfaction after the training. I got rid of my negative attitude. The negative thoughts still come today, but much more rarely and not so strongly. Usually I meet them in advance, because I am in constant dialogue with myself. On some stressful and uncomfortable days, the positive self-talk already begins after a few hundred meters and release energy immediately. So it sometimes happens that I set training records that I didn’t expect. When the feet start to hurt during long runs, I recall pictures from the past, like a moment from a holiday: After hours of hiking, we passed a Kneipp pool with ice-cold mountain water. Then it happens that after some time I freeze at my feet.
After four years of ultrarunning and mental training, not only my physical condition has improved, but my whole life has changed for the better. In addition to my general fitness, I have acquired a tremendous mental strength, which is also transferred to my daily work. I always find myself setting professional goals that I would never have dreamed of years ago.
And the multiple sclerosis? My doctors said with a twinkle in my eye that it hardly had a chance to happen to me because my body had to function constantly and perform at its best and simply had no time to let the disease appear. Let’s hope it stays that way. In any case, the beautiful long runs on the weekend are transferred to the whole week, to everyday family and professional life. I am very satisfied with myself and my life.
Achim Dietrich, Ultrarunner & Police Officer
At first I was skeptical about mental training techniques. But then the personal experiences of Michele and others convinced me that it is possible to improve performance and mental endurance through mental training and control.
In January 2019, my wife and I flew to Florida for vacation. I wanted to use this opportunity to run a 50-kilometer race there and set a personal record. I had set my sights on a new best time of 4:13:48. I was really looking forward to good running weather, far away from the Central European winter. But it didn’t quite work out as expected. A cold front with continuous rain and squalls came up. You’re flying halfway around the world, looking forward to a sunny ultra, aiming for a best time, and then that. Frustated, I began thinking, “I can’t start in such bad weather,” or “I can tick off the record attempt.” But I started anyway, in the dark at 7 in the morning, in continuous rain, in 50 degrees. Up to kilometer 25, my pace was on record course and then I had to call on some of the motivation techniques from this book. With the rain continuing to pour, inch-deep puddles formed in the streets, and the wind whipped my face. I was feeling doubtful almost the entire time. So I used the visualization technique. I imagined how every single raindrop works like an energy drink and gives me the strength to continue running at a fast pace. I also thought that each puddle would serve as a springboard. Using another mental strategy, I concentrated 70% on my running technique: clean feet on the asphalt, knee lift. With the remaining 30%, I kept thinking about a tasty medium steak as a reward or a hot shower at the end of the run. These mental strategies made it easier for me to reach my goal, step by step. The effect was sensational for me. I finished second overall in 4:11:20. Despite the difficult external influences (weather), the motivation techniques helped me to complete the run successfully and earn a personal best.
I have also used some focusing techniques several times in my profession as a police officer and passed them on to other colleagues. As a patrolman, you are confronted daily with unexpected situations. I am often called upon to settle a dispute and restore calm. At these moments, negative thoughts only make the situation worse. Instead, I consciously stop the negative thought reformulate it as: “I know both parties, and I know how everyone ticks. I make our approach transparent to both parties and end this dispute safely and satisfactorily without much effort and violence.”
Having used the mental techniques to achieve my goals means I can say from experience: they work.
Regina Senften, Masters Swimmer from Zurich, Switzerland
I’ve been studying Michele’s book about the 50-meter pool swimming world championships. Although I had already read some books about mental training and even attended courses, it was this book that triggered the “click” and was a huge help. Why would a swimmer consult a book on mental training for runners? Quite simple: Even a swimmer wants to be highly focused and highly motivated on the starting block. Even a swimmer wants to remain positive in competition, even if her muscles hurt and her lungs burn. And even a swimmer wants to say at the stroke: Today everything fits, body, head, and gear.
Before reading the book, I had often noticed during training that I was afraid of hard series, which we call “vomit series” in swimming. It was quite clear to me from a training science point of view that such high-intensity intervals are mandatory if you want to improve your performance. Nevertheless, my head kept me from training really hard for a long time, meaning my performance didn’t increase as desired. My inner voice often said to me, “I can’t do any more.” “I can’t swim clean anymore.” “I can’t breathe anymore.” Thanks to this book, I finally managed to get my negative thinking spiral under control and to stay focused from in the race from beginning to end. An unbelievably great experience! Michele has taught me to let positive thoughts, pictures, music, and movies unwind, not only when pain occurs during training or competition, but always when external influences distract me or negatively influence me. Instead of complaining internally, I have put together positive mantras and mental pictures. “I swim very fluidly, loosely, and fast.” “I feel totally comfortable in this element.” “My strong muscles do a great job.” I shot a video of a sparkling mountain stream on a beautiful summer day, accompanied by upbeat music. In training, I try to play this video sequence in my head when I notice negative thoughts regarding pain at the start of training. I rehearsed a gesture for stopping the thought and noted down very concrete result, performance, and process goals with regard to the World Cup. I have put together mantras and pieces of music that put me in a positive, confident, lively mood before the start of the competition.
That didn’t happen overnight, but with time, it worked out better and better. During the last six months, I have taken the book almost daily and worked it through. In the end, I translated almost all the strategies that Michele describes for himself and his sport to me and my life and competition situation. Michele’s ideas and suggestions have opened the door to a new competition experience! The intensive occupation with mental motivation paid off in the end. Everything really worked out at the World Championships: Head, body, and gear. Three new best times and a top 15 place were the reward!
I also use the techniques I have learned outside of my sport. Negative thoughts often appear on the job or in everyday life with the family. With positively formulated inner persuasion, difficult situations can be mastered better than if you constantly keep those negative things in mind. I even use my gesture of stopping my negative thoughts repeatedly outside swimming. The book Mental Toughness for Runners is ultimately a book for mental performance in all sports and in everyday life.
Gunter Rothe, Ultrarunner
The 246-km Spartathlon in Greece is considered the unofficial world championship in the ultramarathon and one of the most difficult road races in the world. As a recreational runner, my goal is to arrive within the cuttoff time. Already in 2016, I had put more focus on mental preparation in addition to run training. The starting point was Michele’s book. At that time, I focused on the positive transformation of all possible negative thoughts or phases of weakness occurring during the race. So, the words “not” (I can’t anymore) or “none” (I have no more strength) were removed from my vocabulary and transformed everything into inspiring and forward thinking. This also included simply ignoring certain issues (pain, complaints, etc.), giving them no place in my self-talk and consciously directing my senses in a goal-oriented direction. Michele’s challenge “Don’t think of person …. in pink pajamas” was and still is for me a very special tongue-in-cheek example of how one can steer one’s subconscious correctly. And it is always a lot of fun to say this sentence to others and ask them: and, what are you thinking about now?
Two years later: the preparations for the 2018 Spartathlon were absolutely catastrophic. Repeatedly I was slowed down by health problems. Mostly my back, then again other “construction sites.” Continuous training was simply not possible. My few long runs covered a maximum of 20 km, meaning I was badly prepared for the adventure Spartathlon at the end of September with almost 900 run training kilometers. My counter-strategy was optimal mental preparation! And for that I found a lot of inspiration and suggestions in Michele’s book. It became a kind of mental Bible for me. Each smaller round of running began 10 minutes before the actual running, lying on my back with my eyes closed. In my mind I already ran, breathed in the different smells (the grain was being harvested, and the air was full of harvest dust), heard the wind in the trees, and “saw” my route: paths, paths, inviting benches at the edge, blackberry bushes full of ripe delicious fruits. Later, while actually running, I rediscovered everything with all my senses. For this next time, I wanted to put together mental bricks to build a bridge from Athens to Sparta. I made a picturebook using real photos to imagines the sites and smells I’d experience during the run. All the strategies Michele so aptly describes them proved to be effective during my short training rounds. The evening before the start at the Acropolis, I went through this picturebook again, page by page, step by step. And my goal was clear: I want to make it to King Leonidas! (Michele’s note: The finish of the race is reached by touching the foot of the statue of King Leonidas in Sparta.)
And then I ran. And how! I used my mental images one after the other, but it was only after more than 100 km I noticed surprisingly that my physical condition was much better than my training condition would have allowed. Michele’s mental tricks were taking effect. No muscular problems, no mental crises! My head was already programmed for the next picture. But the Spartathlon 2018 was not the same as previous years. It rained continuously for more than 28 hours, and from about 220 kilometers on, the side effects of hurricane “Zorbas”—violent hurricane gusts—gnawed at my mental preparation. At this time, I started to talk to Michele in my mind. Michele: “Visualize the goal!” Me: “Okay, there he stands, the king, I want to go there!” At the same time the thoughts: “Who will be on the home straight in this weather, is it still there at all? The paramedics’ tents to the left of it have surely already blown away and the flags behind Leonidas are surely only hanging as rags…Never mind! Go on! Less than 10km!” I visualized the next picture: “Finish, end, done!” My last picture in my bridge picturebook from Athens to Sparta.
Thanks to Michele for endless inspiration, many great, sometimes at first meaningless, little tips which ultimately had a huge impact, for the hint to go forward with eyes opens, fading out the performance-reducing factors, but not forgetting them—very important! Actually, it is always about reflecting on one’s own strengths, about putting them in the foreground. And this reflection always begins in your head!