Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter, the author of “Your Performing Edge”, defines mental toughness as the capacity to reliably perform at your best regardless of external conditions, distractions or internal emotions.

Mental toughness is quite important for marathon runners to cope with the stress of the ‘hitting the wall” a fatigue that runners experience during the second half of the race. A marathon may be fit but he will not surely finish the race if he will be overwhelmed by the odds.

Mental toughness is not inborn, according to Dahlkoetter, also of trainer of world-class athletes. This can be acquired through daily workouts.

To be mentally-tough, a runner must have resilience,focus, strength, preparation, vision, openness and trust.

According to Dahlkoetter, the first step in building mental toughness is to develop a positive internal state of mind. Once a runner has this frame of mind, Dahlkoetter says a runner can now look forward to develop a quality performance during the training period. Furthermore, the appropriate attitude can push a runner to develop his real potential.

Build a mentally tough attitude. Instead of criticizing the organizers or the weather, a runner must attend to things he can control like his thoughts, emotions, training and attitude. Remember that a positive energy allows a runner to deliver a good performance.

A runner should allot 10 to 15 minutes each day to mentally rehearse his objectives. He should also put himself in a relaxed state through deep abdominal breathing. Then, as vividly as possible, he should draw an image what he wants to achieve. Moreover, he can playback his past performances for assessment. Finally, upload all those positive experiences into the mental outlook for the forthcoming race.

At the same time, a runner has to monitor his strong and weak points. In developing a strong focus, you must eliminate the distractions and all the negative vibes to be consistent in your preparation.

Use tough words to build mental toughness. A runner can be repeating the following phrases to sharpen his mental attitude. The following words are examples

I stay positive and mentally tough no matter what happens

I project confidence and energy

Going fast feels effortless

I am in my element; I am fully engaged in my running

I am tuned in to what I am doing each moment

I fully enjoy every part of my workout

I am physically relaxed and mentally focused and

I am a strong, mentally tough runner

The success in developing toughness applies to neophyte and veteran runners. Once a runner loses his focus, expect a decline in his performance.

Mastering the art of concentration is beneficial to a runner because he can attend to the urgent tasks and discard the irrelevant ones.

Dahlkoetter recommends an exercise for runners before doing their training. First, find a comfortable, quiet place where there will be no interruptions. Close your eyes and narrow your focus to one point or one topic such as the running form Continue the exercise for as long as you can maintain your focus.. Once the mind begins to wander, open your eyes and notice the time on your watch. How much time passed since you started this task? Ten seconds? One minute?

The longer a runner can focus on one point, the more successful he can he handle tougher mental situations with his running.