Deena Kastor: How To Train The Mental Side Of Running

There comes a point in a race where it stops being about fitness. Deena Kastor — Olympic marathon bronze medallist and American record holder for nineteen years — is unusually specific about what to do when that moment arrives. We cover where her mental training started under coach Joe Vigil, the hill where she changed the words in her own head, and the practices she kept for decades:a daily gratitude list, and building joy into the sessions she dreaded. She also explains what an easy run is supposed to feel like (her Kenyan teammates called it a massage), how she handles start-line nerves with three memorised reasons she should succeed, and what she does in the last third of a marathon when it starts to fall apart. She also pushes back on the usual line about comparison, and on what to prioritise when you get injured. 0:00 Intro 1:53 Who Deena Kastor is 5:22 Where the mental training started 10:57 What an easy run should feel like 16:09 Building joy into your week 27:02 Reframing disappointment 33:29 Start-line nerves 36:11 The last third of a race 44:01 Comparison 48:21 Injury 55:01 One takeaway Book: Let Your Mind Run. Instagram: @deenakastor Website: deena-kastor.com Coaching: pacebuddies.com