Crust (2008) observed that mental toughness in endurance walkers increased adaptability and flexibility in coping skills, including, maintaining objectivity, and providing perspective. Mental toughness can be developed, both as a result of training and competition, environmental influences, and through social and personal support. It has been recognised that challenging experiences may provide development opportunities for psychological…
Read more
Motivation refers to an individual’s ability to focus, and energise behaviour over time (Ryan & Deci, 2017; Tsigilis, 2005), and is widely accepted as crucial to successful performance within sport, where success can be the result of an individual’s willingness to achieve excellence through both mental and physical effort. The ability of the ultra-marathoner to…
Read more
Stress is an adaptive response to an external action or event, mediated by characteristics including personality, age, fitness and mental toughness. Researchers to date have suggested that adaptations are largely specific to the stressor, and they assist a timely return to homeostasis. A protracted programme of endurance exercise training stresses the human body, often resulting in…
Read more
Physical endurance training and ultra-marathon competition require considerable commitment and provide a challenge to both human mental and physical capacities. Ultra-marathons are recognised as extremely difficult events to complete, and successful endurance runners typically undergo several years of dedicated training, and personal sacrifice, to enhance the physiological characteristics necessary to success in distance running events. Key psychological…
Read more
The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as the ‘state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter – the experience is so enjoyable that people will do it at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it’. If the ultra-marathoner didn’t love the immersion of running in the…
Read more
According to many researchers Mental Toughness is key to success in all sports. Defined by Crust and Clough (2005) as The 4 C’s, challenge, commitment, control and confidence. Mentally Tough individuals are said to: View negative experiences as challenges Be influential and control negative life experiences Be deeply involved and committed to achieving goals Be confident…
Read more
Recent Comments