The marathon training is so long and intense that it is easy to get mentally lost in the training and loose sight of the ultimate goal!

After increasing your endurance during the months of training, the last goal is to build your confidence. The key to a successful marathon is the mind. If the mind is not happy, it's almost impossible to run a good marathon. It's hardly ever the body that gives up, it's usually the mind! It is the mind that tells your body how tired you are, how impossible it appears what you are attempting - and your body is listening willingly.

Positive Thinking

Positive thinking is really the key to success. I think no other quote summarizes this better, than Henry Ford's famous "Whether you think you can or you think you can't you are probably right!". Only if you believe you can do it you will be able to.

I don't Need Problems, Give me Solutions

We all encountered obstacles during this training, let it be injuries that you overcame, or the setback of a bad run, that you somehow finished, or runs that you finished despite not feeling well, or runs that you did under less than ideal circumstances, or .. All in common is, you mastered the situation and are here today. As part of the positive thinking remember the solution to the problem, not the problem itself. Remember that you found a way.

Visualization

For many runners visualization is a strong tool. Imagine yourself running the course. Mentally practice your reactions and your impressions of different parts of the course. Of course, the highlight being, visualize yourself running along Pacific Blvd, passing under Cambie Bridge and listening to the cheering crowd, maybe picking out your friends in the crowd and then crossing the finish line. The more your "practice" the finish the more real it will feel to you on race day.

Breaking the Run into Smaller Sections

42.2k is a long way, too long for most of us to comprehend. It is much easier to handle shorter segments and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after having finished a section before tackling the next one. Break down the marathon into smaller sections, e.g. from the start to the turn around at Burrard St, then East Van, then .. You can even mentally set the next street corner or turn as the next milestone.

Me .. and Other Runners

You are not alone in the marathon. Other runners can be a great source of strength for you. If you like to hook on to people just slightly ahead of you and try catching up with them, visualize having a fishing rod and reeling them in. Alternatively, if you draw power from trying to avoid others to pass you, you can draw power from hearing footsteps behind you. A word of caution: don't get too hang up on this, there will be always faster people than you who you just can't keep up with. Let them go. Never try anything dramatic, marathon running is a race of patience, catch up with runners ahead of you slowly!!

Words of Power

A secret weapon is the use of magic words to convince yourself that you can do it. Telling yourself e.g. "I can do it", "I am strong" or similar actually helps to convince your mind that you still have something left in the tank. Don't worry about people next to use listening in, they might do the same.