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Meet your goals without finding yourself hating each run…

Many runners believe in a mindset that the harder they work the better they get. Often times though, a competition this is not won through fitness alone. While under-working is usually not an issue for the competitive runner, too slow of a pace will leave the athlete with an inefficient surplus of energy. However, too quick a pace and a runner can “red line” by expending all of their energy dramatically reducing their performance during a race. Training throughout the season can be compared to the races a runner competes in. While it is vitally important to stay fit and train hard, the human body is only able to handle so much physical abuse. An athlete’s worst fear is burning out before they are done with their season. Runners’ burnout can be caused by mentally and physically overwhelming the body causing a figurative death to a runner’s season, training, ect.

Burnout often times starts in the mind

Losing a competitive race mentality during a runners season can break the will to compete. Many coaches and athletes believe that athletics is “90% mental and 10% physical.” While it is ideal to be rested and nourished before a run, a mentally tough runner can run personal bests in any condition. While mentally draining, many runners have run perfect races even while sleep deprived, hungry, dehydrated or in bad weather conditions. However, there is a mental capacity for how much stress the mind can take. Running in itself creates a vast amount of mental fatigue. Too many races built into a season can mentally burn the competitive drive out of a runner. To many races close together can from further issues as an athlete has no time to mentally calm down and relax before preparing for the next race. This constant need for a race mentality will eventually drain the enjoyment out of the running in itself. Over racing can cause a dip in race performance and cause a sense of dread, boredom and the unwillingness to push through the pain of a race. Just as over racing can deplete a runner’s competitiveness, overtraining can also cause an athlete to succumb to runner’s burnout. Running too much aerobic mileage or doing too many anaerobic speed workouts can put physical stress on the mind to the point it refuses to push the body further. Analogous to the effects of over racing, overtraining can make running a chore and create a danger for injury.

Motivation according to the Incentive Theory of Motivation simply describes motivation as a positive reward to behavior that causes someone to feel it is in their interest to achieve that stimulus again. When a runner loses motivation he or she no longer perceives that the gain of running through the physical and mental pain is worth the reward of finishing their race and running well. Often times in both overracing and overtraining mental fatigue causes a runner to lose motivation and the willingness to put any more stress on their body. This lack mindset in an otherwise competitive runner can be shown through Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. While a runner can value esteem higher than temporary safety and homeostasis there is a certain line at which the human mind refuses to let the body take abuse. At this point due to massive fatigue the mind refuses to secrete adrenaline. The sympathetic nervous system then becomes unresponsive, stopping any runner cold. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs shows that a runner will, if presented a great physiological need, mentally burnout in order to achieve a more healthy lifestyle.

Overwhelming a body physically is a key component to runner’s burnout

While only 10% of runners’ burnout is caused by physical exhaustion it can be the determining factor in an athlete’s season. Racing and training cause strain on the body, pushing muscles, tendons and joints to their limits. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) causes the body to regenerate muscle fiber lost during physical activity. When a muscle is used it deteriorates and the body then adapts by regenerating the tissue and causing the muscle to become stronger. However, when a body is physically overwhelmed it no longer has the time to regenerate muscle fiber and a deficit is created. With time this can have many effects; the most obvious being a dramatic decrease in performance due to unhealed muscle. In addition, injury can be caused due to physically overwhelming the tendons, ligaments and muscles. Lastly, burnout through dehydration is another common problem in runners. Without water due to constant running and exertion the body lacks available hydrogen and oxygen. When not enough hydrogen ions are available the body cannot produce ATP; cell energy, quickly enough for the demand of a hard run.

In overall activities running is one of the most physically daunting tasks for a body to accomplish. With such a task it is vital that an athlete mentally and physically provide for themselves. Physical and mental stressors can overwhelm even olympic athletes causing a burnout and unwanted decrease in performance. Often times runners avoid this by creating variety in their workouts, staying healthy and resting periodically. However, it is impossible to truly fine tune the complex human organism in a way that altogether avoids becoming “burned out”. Burnout continues to be an unfortunate downfall in runners who have not yet found how to adequately provide for their bodies’ needs.