Developing My Mental Strength As A Distance Runner

Mental Strength is the most valuable strength in a survival situation because it can not be lost or taken away from someone. According to Caroline Alexander’s article “The Voyage of the James Caird” the crew of the James Caird needed mental strength to survive the dangerous journey. In the article she writes “Worsley, despite the rank discomfort, was in his element. He was conscious of being in the midst of a great adventure---which had been his life’s ambition”(Alexander 185). Here it is shown that despite the physical challenges Worsley was still able to maintain his mental strength which kept him going. Similar to the crew of the James Caird Sherpas that climb Mt. Everest to transport goods also need mental strength to make it through their job. In the article “The Value of the Sherpa Life” by Grayson Schaffer it states “And perhaps most significantly, the amount of time that Sherpas spend making laps through the deadly Khumbu Icefall and up the Lhotse Face”(Schaffer 218). Schaffer explains that despite the physically grueling laps their mental strength which kept them going was maintained. Similar to the Sherpas of Mt. Everest and the crew of the James Caird in Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night he needed mental strength to survive in the concentration camps of World War II. In the book it says “An icy wind was blowing violently. But we marched without faltering”(Wiesel 85). Shown here is that even when the physical conditions were anything but pleasant Eliezer

Cross Country is a sport that is more about your mental strength than physical strength. It's all about whether you can keep running even if your exhausted. Cross Country strategy is very simple but it's hard to accomplish because not many people are willing to push themselves to finish the strategy.

Just about everything I’ve read about mental toughness makes perfect sense. I understand individual differences apply to include the type sport. Since I’m a recreational rock climber who is striving to grow and improve in a sport requiring a balance in both physical and mental toughness, I have taken the best of a variety of sources to include textbooks, self-help books, and evidenced-based journal articles to write this discussion and reflection. The end result has been my own mental toughness model that I may able to use in my rock climbing training and or in the future as a sport psychology

All too often we do not think about our personal strength until a situation arises that causes us to use this natural attribute that we know as strength.

Mahatma Gandhi once said “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” A person’s will is the key to survival. While physical strength is an advantage, a person needs the mental capacity to problem solve. Survival is attainable only when a person uses brain power to avoid panic situations. Most people desire physical strength, but mental strength is the most valuable in a survival situation.

Strength is a quality that continues to carry mankind through existence. Without this attribute, humans would fail to carry on living. One can show physical strength by being able to push hefty objects, or mental strength by being able to endure the most unfavorable conundrums. For a person to survive any conditions, this toughness is an absolutely necessary trait that they must have. The Most Dangerous Game, a short fictional story by Richard Connell, and Who Understands Me But Me, a poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca, are both examples of how in any situation, it is possible to survive with forms of resilience. Characters from both of these stories are able to sustain themselves with their strength, whether it be physically or mentally.

Bro constantly gave me a little motivational saying before each match simply saying, “Nobody works as hard as you, you are in better condition, you are sure as hell tougher, now go kick some ass.” Something along those lines at least. These little saying that bro would give me before each match are what helped build up my mental toughness. An athlete that has gone through what Bro and I have gone through, relies on mental toughness to keep them going when the feeling of breaking appears both mentally and physically. In an article Rainer Wieser and Haymo Thiel explain the same idea of mental toughness allowing for factors like achieving or failing in the process of attempting to accomplish a goal. Wieser and thiel explain when someone has reached their final limits “The only difference for their success could depend on psychological components.” I thought I had reached this point of my limits when I lost the wrestling match in about thirty seconds. Once I gained motivation and reorganized my state of mind, I realized I had not reached my limits. Thanks to my Bro, I had gotten my proper motivation that got me back on track for success. I am both physically and mentally a badass.

Does sports performance depend as much on mental strength and agility as physical power ?After reading “What Could Be Better Than a Touchdown” by Kelefa Sanneh and Why We Run by Bernd Heinrich, I say- mental strength and agility are just as important as physical power in sports. It may be true that physical power is more than mental power in sports. However physical power and mental strength are equally important.

Have you ever thought about how important mental strength is? Mental strength is very important in all sports and in every athlete. Mental strength is a key component in all sports. Mental strength is not only believing in yourself,but it is also knowing what to do in a certain situation in that sport.

My psychological strength is perseverance to attain worthy goals, to stay focused in the moment when it counts, to get the job done regardless of the setbacks, to remain true to myself and my team, to walk the talk, to be humble when attaining success and to remain dedicated, determined, and disciplined when experiencing setback, obstacles, and mistakes.

In cross country you must learn to never give up. You could be learning this in a cross country race or even during practice. If you learn not to give up and to push through the agonizing pain, then you would become more likely to do the same in a real-life situation. Cross country is a perfect place to develop the strength

Mental toughness starts with letting nothing get to you. My favorite saying is, “ If you stop moving, you die.” And I learned this at a young age. That if you are constantly doing something or keeping your mind thinking and constantly keeping your mind in motion, apart of your body dies, because there comes a point where your body is literally falling apart , because you aren't doing anything. I believe that this not true for me, because I am constantly at sports, doing homework, or just with friends. No one can tell me no. Once my mind is attracted to something, there is no way of stopping me. You better get out the way or join the train.

In high school, distance running has improved not only my physical strength but also my mental toughness, and it has benefited various aspects of my life. By running seven miles per day consistently, I learned to persevere regardless of the difficulties and setbacks, and perseverance also enabled me to accomplish boring and complicated tasks such as spending hours finding and fixing one single unnoticeable bug in my program. Moreover, I became accustomed to challenging myself after I pushed my limits by ordering my legs to move in great pain during every race; accordingly, I would proactively seek academic challenges by taking courses at which I am relatively weak. As for the longest run, my life, I will keep running forward with the same spirit, never stopping self-improvement. Therefore, I will keep distance running in college.

In cross country I believe in me working hard and finishing strong. I never walk or stop to catch my breath because I go hard from the start to finish. I may not be the strongest or the fastest but I will be working the hardest. “Cross country teaches us to challenge our self. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we couldn't go. It helps us find what we are made of.” When I run I always start fast and end faster. When I see people walking at practice I say, “Stop walking, start running!” Then they will start to run. My coach always said, “Tell your body no!” that means the more you stop the more your body will want to stop.

Strength can come from many things in life, but mostly the experience comes from pressure. For example in “Going to Run All Night,” (476) the audience sees that Kernel Nilson shows his strength by running through the enemy lines, to his people on the other side. In the story for strength it says “He felt sheepish, and in the darkness his mouth twisted into a half grin. Then he began to run. Almost