“Ideally, runners should land lightly on their heel, with the lead leg just slightly bent at the knee (the best method to absorb shock), immediately roll up to the forefoot or toes, and push off powerfully into the next stride.”
                                                                                         64

“If you watch your feet hit the ground, you're hunched
over. But if you raise your eyes to the horizon, your back naturally straightens and you come into more efficient alignment. Good running is straight-backed, tall running.”
“The feet announce how well you absorb shock. If you hear slap, slip, scrape, shuffle, you’re hitting the ground too hard by not making full use of ankle flex and toe off. The less
you hear at foot plant, the less likely the ground is to hurt you. Good running is springy steps, quiet running.”
                                              32

“Run tall. Pretend you are a puppet and someone is pulling your strings to keep you upright. Not slanted forward, not leaning back, not collapsing onto your hips. Swing your arms forward to back, not across the body. Think about driving your elbows straight back behind you, then forward. The harder you drive your elbows back, the more it tells your body to lift your knees, the faster your feet move. Keep your wrists and hands loose, as if you are holding a baby bird or an egg....Have an easy, swinging stride. Stride
naturally so you are neither overstepping nor mincing along. Paw the ground as lightly as possible,  taking light, loose footsteps. If you are slapping the ground with your feet, you're driving energy into the ground instead of
propelling yourself forward.”
                                                                         79

“... Celebrate small victories. Running a mile, or a kilometer, or even a minute can be an accomplishment... and
anything runners do...is a long step forward from their recent inactivity.”
                                              75-76

“You must coax improvement from yourself little by little with moderate but regular efforts and not try to beat
yourself into shape. Over-eagerness rarely produces
instant success but often leads to frustration and injury.”
                                              78

“...If your body never knows what it feels like to go longer, harder, or faster, your mind will never trust that it can.”
                                                                         21

“The body is able but the mind is willing.”
                                                                         23

“I encourage you to prepare simple decorations to counter the negative thoughts that go through your mind when things get tough. The next time you're going through
something hard, become aware of what you're thinking
and flip those negative thoughts to the opposite.”
“Mental toughness starts with the belief that you are
mentally tough, and it is nurtured through positive
declarations.”
                                                   80

We need to believe the best about ourselves, focusing on what we want to increase in our bodies and in our lives...To become a mentally strong runner is to believe that I am a mentally strong runner.”
                                                    82

“The streak, as I affectionately refer to it now, started out innocently enough, as I kept a tally of my workouts sheets of yellow, lined legal paper.”
                                                                         190

“Running, though, gives you an opportunity to crack open the spine of a spankin’ new journal, devoted solely to your next round of firsts.”
                                                                         136

“Joining a running club. A running club not only offers a good source of training and racing knowledge but also provides support and a motivational boost from your
fellow runners.”
“Plan a weekend morning social run with other runners and then join them for a scrumptious breakfast.”
“Read a book about running, cut out pictures of runners from magazines and post them on a wall, or even watch
a movie that has a running theme...”


“Congratulate yourself on the distance that you've already run and don't dwell on how far you have to go.”
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“Don't give up. It's going to be hard, I still have bad
running days, but you move on and do better the next. And have fun. Always
have fun.”

“Just keep going, no matter how slow, just show up”

“Don’t push yourself
too hard initially (listen
to your body) because
it’s easy to hurt yourself and lose progress before you get comfortable with
the routine.”

“ Take it slow and use small increments to increase
distance. Walk/run method is ok.”

“Don’t go all out when you start. It’s a process”

“Don't try to do what others want you to do, just do what you want at your own pace.”

“It is hard, but it is worth it.”

“Let yourself fall in love with it before you get frustrated b/c you can’t do the pace
or distance like others.
Be patient.”

A 2021 Graphic Design Thesis Project by Juliana Cianciotto

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“… cross-training holds the key to mental rejuvenation after a hard race (particularly a marathon) or racing season.”
“…Strongly consider an active rest. Try swimming, cycling, hiking, strength training, cross country skiing - anything other than running. You’ll still be working out, but you’ll
use different muscles and feel mentally (and physically)
refreshed when you return to running and remain
fitness focus.”
200

“Competition can be a beautiful thing if we are focused on making ourselves and others better and are not concerned about how we stack up with everyone else. When we
compete in the right way, we can find satisfaction in our performances, no matter where we finish, because our goal has been to maximize what we could do that day.”
96

“Running is a big mental game in addition to the physical challenges. But even if your race isn’t unfolding exactly how you hoped - you’re running slower than your time goal, or you aren’t feeling comfortable - focus on finishing.” “Count down the miles in a race to reinforce to yourself that you are making progress to the finish. But when the going gets tough, sometimes the next mile marker or aid station seems like a long way off. A good mental trick is to key in on something closer, like the next street, the fire station up the block, or even the next telephone pole - whatever you need to keep on truckin’.”
121

This idea may be redundant but is a widely used technique.
“Break the race into smaller chunks. This is also good
advice for hard quality sessions or long hills that go up, level off, and then go up again. Focus on the next turn,
the next tree, or the next water stop. Then pick up
another target.”
203

“…When we encourage others, we ourselves will be
encouraged.”
111

“There’s a reason why less than 10% of this country runs, and why the elliptical machines and recumbent bikes fill up at the gym way before the treadmill still. Running isn’t
physically enjoyable. It takes discipline and courage to propel yourself forward faster than a walk. So whether you come in 5th or 5,000th in a race, realize you have more mental toughness than 99% of the people you’ve
encountered in your life.”
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