Question: what do people think about when they are running?

Noel Brick answered on 13 Jun 2018:

Oh, so many things!
Ok, so we can put all these thoughts into four broad categories:
1. Bodily sensations: you focus on any bodily sensation, like breathing, how you feel, body temperature, etc. You don’t want to focus on these too much – it can make a run feel harder!

2. Outward monitoring: focusing on things like other runners, the route like an upcoming hill, or a pothole to avoid!).

3. Distractions: daydreaming (I do this a lot!!), thinking over your day, conversing with a running buddy, listening to music, and anything else to take your mind off running. If you live in a nice area, take in the views! Distractions can help make running feel easier, but you might slow down a little!

4. Strategies to help you run faster: keeping relaxed, saying motivational statements to yourself (like “Keep going!” or “I can do this!”), focusing on your running technique, etc., focusing on your pace. These things really can help you perform better!

These are only some examples. Some of these thoughts are helpful. Repeating motivational statements can really help. A recent study showed that people who repeated motivational statements to themselves kept cycling at a set intensity 18% longer than people who didn’t! That’s pretty amazing and shows how powerful our thoughts can be.
At our lab we recently asked people to focus on smiling while the ran. It sounds silly, but actually smiling during a run helped to make the run feel easier and helped runners to relax. People tended to think more positive thoughts when smiling. So try it on your next run. If you are starting to feel tired, smile! Let me know how it works for you!