It’s news to no one that running a marathon is incredibly challenging. But the physical effort is only one part of the battle. Mastering the marathon mindset can be just as difficult—and it can make a huge difference in the outcome of your race.

“The mind is the engine that makes everything else go,” says licensed clinical psychologist Justin Ross, PsyD, who specializes in athlete mental health and performance. “The mental side is our decision-maker in terms of slowing down or speeding up. It’s our motivator in connecting to how important the finish line is. It’s our appraiser of how much discomfort we're feeling. And it’s all of these decisions that happen over the course of 26.2 miles that make or break how much you push your body.”

And when racing a marathon, there will inevitably be times when you really want to stop pushing. As Olympian and Boston Marathon champion Des Linden tells us, “That’s part of the marathon. You’re going to have ups and downs.” 

We spoke to Linden, sport psychologists like Ross, and Peloton instructor Alex Karwoski about how to mentally prepare for a marathon. Keep reading for all their marathon mindset tips to remember throughout training all the way to race day.

At the Start of Training

To get in the best marathon mindset possible on race day, it’s smart to start mentally preparing as soon as you start physically training.from the first week of your training plan.

Decide Which Workouts Will Be Most Important

As soon as he’s selected a training program to follow (like Peloton’s 18-week Road to 26.2), Alex says he’ll map out the runs he’ll deliberately use to prepare his mind for marathon day. Many runners, for instance, like to treat long runs as a rehearsal for the real thing. “Knowing which workouts should be treated with more importance is a simple way to start to prepare your mind to handle the increased stress of performing on the day,” he says. 

Assess Your Current Mental Game

Ross often tells athletes: “You can’t change what you’re not aware of.” In the case of marathon mindset prep, that means you need to assess what kind of self-talk naturally crops up when you’re running. “Once you get a sense of the common habits, then you’re able to use some skills in managing those areas effectively,” he says.

For example, maybe you regularly criticize yourself after a slow split or doubt your ability to make it to the finish. “Then recognize, well, how does that impact how you feel, how you perform?” Ross says. “Being overly critical and judgmental almost never encourages performance.” 

Create a Marathon Mantra

You can neutralize inner negativity by focusing on more positive self-talk. But since thinking through lengthy positive affirmations can sometimes use up excess mental energy, it helps to develop a quick marathon mantra (or two). 

“A mantra is a really cool thing to focus you on one word that’s going to help you push,” Linden says. For instance, she famously repeats to herself, “calm, calm, calm, relax, relax, relax,” when she finds herself struggling. 

Use your training runs to test out what feels authentic and effective for you. Ross says mantras work best when they’re short and punchy, and something that’s personally meaningful.

Figure Out When You Need Distraction and When You Need to Lock In

Sometimes when running feels tough, it’s helpful to focus on your form and breath. Other times, you just need to stop thinking about running altogether in order to make it to the next mile. This is when Alex says he’ll start to distract himself by paying attention to other runners or landmarks he’s passing.

Figure out which approach works best for you and when. When is it useful to turn on a motivational playlist or talk to other runners to get your mind off the effort? On the other hand, when does your body respond best to dialing into your pace and the power of your stride?

Study Your ‘Bad’ Training Runs

Not every workout will go well—and that’s a good thing. After particularly brutal sessions, Alex recommends thinking back on what went wrong (did you underfuel, get bad sleep, or start too fast?) and whether your reaction was helpful once things went off the rails. “I've found great solace in identifying and recognizing where my weaknesses are early on, and then having time to address those,” Alex says.

He compares marathon training to the process of building something big, like a bridge: “The finished product takes time, planning, and so many little parts put together strategically. And each of those individual parts has been stress-tested over and over,” he says. “Better to find out in the design/training phase that something isn't quite right than to throw it into the ‘final product’ and have it fail!”

Remind yourself, too, that challenging runs are all part of mentally preparing for race day. “Once you’ve overcome some of those, you’ll feel confident in your ability to handle whatever might come your way during the marathon,” Alex says. “Plus, the spectators and other runners that will be alongside you during the race will help pull you out of those moments.”

Find Your ‘Why’

Marathon training isn’t easy. So ask yourself: “What’s the real reason I’m putting in all this work?” 

“The more personal your ‘why’ is to you and the more meaningful it is, the more likely you will be to lean into moments of fatigue or discomfort in order to see a goal through,” Ross says. 

A Month Before the Race

In those last few weeks before your marathon, you’ll want to zero in on your strategy and rehearse it mentally. Here’s how. 

Study the Course 

Even if you’ve already read up on the course, do a deep dive about a month out. Are there tough hills near the end? Long stretches without any spectators? Multiple loops that become mind-numbing? Official course info, vlogs from previous participants, and race reviews can offer helpful insights.

That said, it’s possible to go down an overwhelming rabbit hole online. Alex finds it’s more helpful for him to chat with runners who’ve done the race before. “Reading about the Queensboro Bridge and how quiet it will be [during the TCS New York City Marathon] is very different than having someone say, ‘The sudden silence as you climb the bridge makes that hill feel steeper than it actually is, so be prepared!’” he says. 

By the way, you can get an up-close look at the TCS New York City Marathon course with Peloton’s NYRR Collection, which includes a Scenic run led by Peloton instructor Becs Gentry featuring Linden as a special guest.

Write Down Your Pacing Strategy

Once you’ve got a good sense of where your fitness stands, write down how you plan to approach your pacing through each section of the race. “I break the course down by mileage markers,” Alex says. “If nothing else, this gives me a good mental marker.” 

He recommends having three pace strategies: “Your ‘no matter what’ pacing, your goal pace, and best-case scenario.” This way, you’ll have a range of options, no matter whether everything goes wrong or right on race day.  

Visualize the Race

Take some time to imagine yourself running through each section of the course. This can activate your brain’s motor cortex and prefrontal cortex to help you perform better on marathon day since your brain will think you’ve been there before. 

“Visualize how you’ll feel, what you’re seeing around you, and then really visualize yourself finishing successfully, being happy with your time,” says sports psychiatrist Brook Choulet, MD, president of the American Board of Sports and Performance Psychiatry. “Every sort of sensory experience you can [call on] during visualization is helpful.”

The Week Before

Although you won’t gain any additional fitness in the final week, you can still refine your mental game.

Control What You Can Control

Instead of spiraling out over last-minute what-ifs, focus on what you can control, Alex says. For instance, you can’t change the forecast, but you can make sure you have weather-appropriate clothes. 

Minimize stress where possible, and make time to stretch and relax—and sleep. “You’re going to want to focus on sleep before you get too nervous and anxious a couple days before, so make that a priority,” Linden says. 

Dial In the Details

In addition to reading over your pacing and fueling plans, Linden recommends nailing down logistical details like exactly what you’ll need to bring with you to the start line, how you’ll get there (and how long that’ll take), where any loved ones will be spectating, and how you’ll meet up with them afterwards.

“Get your gear ready, get your game plan ready, have all that stuff figured out with your family so you’re not thinking about those the night before, and you can wake up in the morning [with] no worries, no stress, because you’ve done it the week prior,” Linden says. 

Revisit Your Training Log

Ross recommends looking back over your training plan, whether you’ve kept a running journal or tracked your runs with Peloton. “Look at all the time and energy and the miles that you've put in,” he says. 

This is a technique Linden personally uses to prepare for a race. “I would look back at my training log, kind of see where I started, how fit I’ve gotten, and just remind myself that I've put in the work and trust that work to get me through the finish,” she says.

Think, too, about the obstacles you overcame, like “the moment of doubt and that long training run where you weren’t sure you were going to finish, but you did it anyway,” Ross says. This can be a major confidence builder.  

Don’t Try Anything New 

It’s common advice not to try anything new on race day, but Alex suggests applying this to the entire week before the marathon. 

“The final lead up can be anxiety-provoking, but only if you let it,” he says. “Instead, try sticking to what has worked well.” Even as your legs feel fresher thanks to your taper, follow the paces and distances outlined in your training plan. “Focus on your breathing, your cadence, and all of the other ‘little’ things that have been so crucial to your success,” he says. 

On Race Day

Now is the time to put these marathon mindset tips into action. 

Reframe Your Nerves

It’s normal to be nervous at the start line. But that extra energy can be useful: If you reframe those nerves as excitement, you can channel them to fuel a great race. “Leverage that anxiety to understand that you care a lot about this event,” Ross says. (Just remember not to let adrenaline push you too fast at the start.)

That said, if anxiety is making you uncomfortably jittery, Dr. Choulet recommends using grounding techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or a guided meditation to get in the right headspace. (The Peloton App has thousands of meditation and breathwork classes guided by expert instructors that can help you find calm.)

Don’t Let Low Points Throw You Off

It’s unlikely that any runner has ever gotten through a marathon without feeling crummy at some point. “One thing that gets people into trouble is believing that maybe this time it's not going to be so bad,” Ross says. “And the bigger the gap between the expectation and the reality, the bigger the pain.” 

Expect tough times, knowing that you’re prepared for them and that they won’t necessarily last until the finish line. “You’ve experienced it in your long runs and hard runs, and you’ve made those strategies along the way so you have tools to get you through,” Linden says. “It’s a normal part of the marathon: There’s highs and there’s lows and they’re always kind of rotating, so it's not going to be there for too long—just stick with it.” 

Embrace the Difficulty

Alex points out that there are many ways to get instant gratification today, but running a marathon isn’t one of them—and that’s one reason why so many runners love racing this distance. “The quicker or easier something is to get, the faster that sense of accomplishment tends to dissipate,” he says. “Training for and competing in a marathon takes time. It takes effort. It takes physical and mental exertion. For weeks. Months. Years! Enjoy what that means and embrace the difficulty. It will stay with you for a very long time.”