Race Day Anxiety. What It Is and What to Do With It.
TRAIL NOTES | MINDSET & GROWTH
what the pre-race spiral actually is, and what to do with it.
Race Day Anxiety. What It Is and What to Do With It.
You have trained. You have done the long runs. You have eaten well, slept reasonably, and you have been here, showing up, for months. And then two days before the race your mind decides to take a turn.
What if I am not ready? What if I get it wrong? What if I bonk, or fall, or cry at the aid station in a way I can never come back from?
This is race anxiety. It is not a sign that something is wrong. It is actually a sign that something is working.
TRAIL NOTE 01
What anxiety before a race is actually telling you
Anxiety is your nervous system preparing you for effort. It is heightened arousal, which in the right dose improves performance. The problem is not the feeling. The problem is the story we build around it.
When we interpret pre-race nerves as evidence that we are not good enough, or not ready, or going to fail, we give the anxiety a narrative to spiral around. When we interpret those same nerves as our body getting ready, the feeling does not change, but what we do with it does.
TRAIL NOTE 02
The thoughts that arrive in the final days
The thoughts that arrive before a big race follow a pattern. Doubt about your training. Comparisons to other runners. Catastrophic imaginings of everything that could go wrong. Sudden conviction that you have not done enough.
These thoughts are not prophecies. They are not evidence. They are your mind trying to protect you from potential disappointment by rehearsing worst-case scenarios. Thank the thought and let it pass. You do not need to act on every alarm your brain sounds.
HER TRAILS COACHING CUE
Write down three things you have done in training that made you proud. Keep that list somewhere you can see it. When the doubt comes, read it.
TRAIL NOTE 03
What to do with the feeling in the days before
Reduce decision-making. Lay out your kit the night before. Know what you are eating for breakfast. Have your race plan written down so you do not have to hold it all in your head.
When the mind is anxious, it needs less to think about, not more. Simplify your environment and your routine. Get off social media. Do not spend hours reading race reports from people who did the event in conditions nothing like yours.
Sleep if you can. If you cannot sleep, rest. Horizontal with your eyes closed is still useful even if you do not drop off. Your body knows how to perform even on imperfect sleep before a race.
TRAIL NOTE 04
On the start line
The start line is one of the most charged moments in trail running. Hundreds of people, music, announcements, the particular light of early morning, the smell of sunscreen and nerves. Your heart will be going. That is correct.
Find your breath. Not a deep performative breath, just your natural breathing, and slow it slightly. This tells your nervous system you are not in danger. It does not remove the nerves. It puts them in the right gear.
Do not look at what other runners are doing. Do not try to figure out who is fast. Your race is yours. Run the plan you came with for as long as it serves you.
HER TRAILS COACHING CUE
You are not going to the start line to perform for anyone. You are going to run your race. That is the only job. One foot in front of the other, for as long as it takes.
TRAIL NOTE 05
After the race, whatever happens
Whether you run your best race or your hardest one, the anxiety you felt before was still part of it. It was not a malfunction. It was you caring.
The runners who do not feel anything before a race are rare. Most of us feel it, and most of us run anyway. That is the whole thing.
Reflection Prompt: What story are you telling yourself about what the nerves mean? What would change if you told a different one?
WRITTEN BY THE HER TRAILS COACHING TEAM
