When it comes to running, we’re quick to talk about finish lines, medals earned, rave runs in inspiring locations and workouts that make us feel like we’re on top of the world. We love when running creates personal moments that can fill our Instagram feeds with race day PR photos, snapshots of a Garmin reflecting a strong pace and candid pictures with our favorite workout partners. But far too often, there are dark and challenging moments that take over our runs – sometimes more frequently than the moments that bring joy and triumph.

You know what I’m talking about: The last few miles of a marathon or half marathon when you literally have to talk yourself into continuing. Races where you know from the first mile that it isn’t going to be your day. Dark patches in training runs where the will to give up overpowers the will to continue … like when the humidity is 90 percent or you can’t hit a tempo pace to save your life.

But no matter how many challenges running gives us, we are equally equipped to fight back.

Legendary ultra runner and Brooks Running athlete Scott Jurek recently wrote about the 15 things that got him through his 2,189-mile run across the entire Appalachian Trail. {Next time I complain about a dark patch in my running, maybe I’ll just be thankful I’m not running for 46 days, 8 hours and 7 minutes alone through the woods. Right?} Although he talked mostly about the gear that got him through this record-breaking journey, his words got me thinking: how do I survive the most challenging parts of a run or race? What can we do to keep propelling ourselves forward instead of giving up?

Sure, there are countless physical items, gear and gadgets that I never want to run without and that sometimes help save the day, but what we really need comes from the inside. Here are the 10 strategies for how to get through a hard run I use to turn dark moments into reasons to continue.

How to Get through a Hard Run: 10 Things to Remember 

1. Have mental and physical mantras.
Where our mind goes is often where our body goes. There can be power in positive thinking and re-framing our mindsets when a run gets especially hard. Having a few positive reminders you can use in times of struggle can help keep you moving forward. For me, I consistently turn to:

• I’m stronger than I think.
• I own this race. I choose the outcome.
• Breathe in strength. Breathe out weakness. (A favorite I stole from Amy Hastings)

You can see more race day mantras here (one for every mile, in fact!).

To take this a step further, I find it is even more powerful to physically remind yourself of these mantras. I like to write them on my forearm and hands the morning of a big goal race. I literally look down at them when I’m beginning to doubt myself to provide visual reminders that I can do this. I WILL do this. Try it. It may sound silly, but I promise it works.

2. Visualize the finish line.
Whenever I’m struggling during a race, I think about the moment when I cross the finish line and have the medal draped around my neck. I think about how wonderful it feels to know I accomplished something really hard. Every single time it is one of the most empowering feelings in the world. Just keep thinking about how you will feel when you cross that finish line and get that medal. I visualize this during a hard training run too and often pretend I’m in the last three miles of a race.

3. Focus on a previous victory.
As someone who lived in Atlanta for 10 years, I went to a lot of Braves baseball games. Whenever we were down in the ninth inning, they would always show a video on the big screen of past games where the Braves won in the bottom of the ninth – walk-off home runs and crowd-piling celebrations. The words I soon knew by heart would appear: “We did it then. We can do it again.”

The exact same holds true for running. When you are in the middle of a race and are in a moment of darkness, think about a race or run you conquered in the past. Think about an extremely hard tempo run you knocked out with precision or a hard race where you exceeded your goal. You’ve done it before and you can do it again. I typically think about when I finished the Beach2Battleship Half Iron Triathlon. I crossed the finish line more than 10 minutes faster than I had anticipated. Joy was an understatement. All I could think about was how much all the training and sacrifices had been worth it. I picture that moment every time I’m struggling during a race to remind myself I want that again and I can make it possible.

4. Break the moments into achievable milestones.
The mental strategy I use most during hard runs is to tell myself that I can do anything for 10 more minutes, 20 more minutes, 30 more minutes. Just a 5K left. Just 8 more minutes. Breaking the hard moment into more achievable milestones helps me talk myself into the fact that I can do it. Likewise, breaking an entire race or long run into smaller chunks may help prevent it from seeming so overwhelming, especially when we’re struggling early. Just make it to 5 miles. Now all I have to do is get to the 10-mile marker. Get to 15 and reassess. Only single digit miles to go. Etc. Just like the old saying goes, you eat an elephant one bite at a time {don’t eat elephants people!}, take each bite – each moment – one at a time. One step. Then another. Then another. You can do anything for ….

5. Nail a killer playlist.
If I could only choose one thing to keep me going during a challenging run, it would be having great music to keep me motivated. Unless music is banned or I’m running a short run with someone I haven’t seen in a while, I always run with music. I envy others who like the noise of their own thoughts and feet hitting the pavement, but that is not me. A playlist with an upbeat tempo and inspiring lyrics really keeps me energized and keeps my mind off the pain (at least somewhat). You can see my regular running mix on Spotify here.

6. Channel an inspiring story.
When I’m running and start to hate everything around me – the weather, my legs, my lungs, etc., I think about a person or a story that brings back my perspective and ensures I continue with the mental thoughts and performance that would honor them. I often think about a woman I know who has been battling cancer for more than 10 years and has undergone multiple brain surgeries. I think of families I know who are living with devastating muscle-debilitating diseases that take away their ability to move and accomplish basic everyday functions, including the ability to walk and run. I think about how blessed I am to do this and how much harder their life is than this run. And I keep going in their honor. Find the person or story that inspires you and call on it when you are losing your perspective.

7. Run with a friend – real or imaginary.
I find that I can consistently do more when I’m running with a friend than when I’m running alone, especially if I’m not feeling my best. Long training runs and tough workouts are always better with friends. If you can race with a partner who is your same pace, that is great. I typically race alone, but that doesn’t prevent me from pretending my best running friends are with me. During the Chicago Marathon last year, whenever I’d run close to another woman, I’d tell myself it was my good friend Elizabeth and we were just on a weekend training run together. I’d pretend she was the person next to me running stride for stride. Stupid? Perhaps. Effective? I say try whatever you can.

8. Prioritize spectators.
In a race setting, there have literally been times I have propelled my body forward, simply because I knew I would soon see someone I cared about on the course. This is such a powerful tool for helping get through tough times during a big race. Check out these tips for honing your spectator strategy and using them to your advantage: How to Be the World’s Greatest Spectator and The 10 Commandments of Spectating

9. Remember why you set your goal.
Whether you’re struggling through speed intervals or find self-doubt creeping in during the second half of a marathon, choose to keep going because you said you wanted this. Remember the goal you set for yourself, but most importantly, remember WHY you set that goal. Think about how hard you have worked and that it will all be worth it if you keep pushing forward. Refocus on why you’re doing this, and don’t forget you can do this.

10. When all else fails, keep smiling.
It’s really that simple. I can’t promise smiling will save the day, but it’s better than frowning or crying, right?

Happy running my friends.

I am a Brooks Running Run Happy Ambassador. This post was inspired by my relationship with Brooks Running and the incredibly talented runners they sponsor like Scott Jurek. All posts that include any mention about a company, including Brooks Running, are my personal, uncensored opinions and are never biased by my connection to a brand.

What strategies do you use to get you through a dark moment of a run or race? What are your favorite running songs right now?