100-Miler Experience Notes – Part 6: My Race Day Mantras
My legs are soft AND strong -
My mind is my strongest muscle -
Rise to the run -
My legs are soft AND strong - My mind is my strongest muscle - Rise to the run -
For every big challenge or race, I have mantras — short, powerful affirmations that become my internal rhythm not only when things get tough but also in the easy and joyful moments to stay present, humble, and grateful.
Mantras are simple, but they hold a kind of quiet magic. They’re words you repeat to yourself — silently, out loud, in front of a mirror, or written in a journal. Just like in hypnotherapy, the more often you repeat them, the more powerful they become — if you believe in them.
Training with mantras
I don’t wait for race day to use my mantras — I train with them. Especially when training gets harder, when legs burn, or motivation dips.
Some of my go-to mantras are the ones that pull me back into focus:
Train harder than you race.
Keep going.
Always moving forward.
You chose to be here.
They might sound simple, but when your mind starts negotiating and your body starts questioning, these phrases become anchors — reminders of choice, strength, and purpose.
When the mind slows, the mantras arrive
My race-day-specific mantras always find me during the taper phase, especially in the two or three days before a race.
When I slow down — not just my body, but my mind — and spend more time journaling, reflecting, and resting, the words I need for that particular race seem to surface naturally.
They’re different every time because I’m different every time.
My mantras for the Autumn 100
This time, during the final days before attempting to run 100 miles, these three mantras came to me — and they carried me through the miles, the pain, and the stillness.
1. You’re soft and strong.
This one reminded me that both can exist at once. That strength doesn’t always roar — sometimes it’s quiet, flexible, adaptable.
It was my cue to stay open, to let my body stay loose and my mind stay kind, even when I was pushing beyond my comfort zone.
2. My mind is my strongest muscle.
A simple truth that feels more real with every ultra I run. Because out there — when everything hurts and your body wants to stop — the mind decides what happens next.
This mantra was my fuel for the miles where I had to dig deep. It’s also a powerful reminder for life beyond running.
3. Rise to the run.
This one came to me on race morning, standing in front of the mirror. It was a powerful moment.
Whatever the day would bring — cold, rain, joy, pain — I would rise to meet it. Not shrink from it, not fear it — rise to it.
And when I whispered it to myself before stepping to the start line, I felt it. Not as a thought, but as a truth.
Mantras don’t make the miles shorter, but they make the journey deeper. They remind us who we are — and who we’re becoming — one step, one breath, one belief at a time.