If you look up “mantra” you’ll find definitions such as:

A mantra is a word or sound that is believed to have a special spiritual power: A personal mantra is sometimes repeated as an aid to meditation or prayer - especially in Hinduism and Buddhism.

I discovered mantras the first time in a yoga class. Similar to the breath exercises which calm you down, mantras are a useful tool for anchoring into the present moment. They provide a point of focus. What I love about mantras is that you can easily use them anywhere you go and you can create them for each situation.

They helped me a lot in the past - from difficult situations at work, challenging times in my private life and certainly during my training and ultra challenges. I rarely say them out loud, I usually think them to myself. But don’t understand the effect of thinking mantras. They are a very powerful tool. Since running, especially going ultra distances, is more about than being a good and fit runner, having mantras to cultivate a strong mind was absolute key in my experience and a profound change in my life in general.

Hopefully you’ll understand why this is quite a personal post for me. I’m going to share with you some of my deepest thoughts with the hope that it’ll help some of you when facing challenges in a training session, during races or in tough life situations in general. Since mantras are so personal, I’m sure that some of my mantras will sound strange to you, and that’s ok, but perhaps some of them will resonate with you and inspire you to create your own and give it a go.

Here are my favourite mantras during a training session when things get hard and I need to push through":

• Train harder than you race.

• Have an open mind.

• (I don’t have to do this.) I GET to do this.

• Mood follows action.

• Pain is temporary. Quitting is forever. (I borrowed that one from Lance Armstrong)

• Mind over body.

Here are the mantras I used during my first ultra trail running challenge:

• Enjoy every.single.step.

• Enjoy every.single.moment.

• I’ve got two healthy, light and strong legs.

• This is my first ultra trail run challenge. I will never have this opportunity again to run a first ultra. So I’ll enjoy it all the way.

These are some mantras I used during another ultra trail run challenge:

• I’m going to finish with ease, joy and love.

• I am doing this. I am really doing this.

• I can do it. I am going to do this. I am doing this. I am really doing this.

• One step after the other.

As you can see, I come up with mantras for every situation depending what I might face and how I am going to overcome it. I am a strong believer in positive thinking. Thus, my mantras are all positive in their affirmations and message.

My main goal with using these mantras is to focus on the one present moment and remind myself how blessed I am. That one present moment is all we’ve ever got and it’s in our responsibility and power to do the best we can at any given moment. And in these moments, we show who we truly are and what we’re made of.