Summary of Joan Benoit Samuelson’s Masterclass on the Runner’s Mindset

11 key takeaways from an Olympic gold medalist and world-record breaking marathoner

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1. Achieve greatness while finding balance. Mind, body, and spirit all need to come together in harmony if you are to go far in both running and in life. Balance activity with rest and no need to feel guilty about it. Incorporate both passive and active recovery as well as proper hydration, nutrition, and stress management.
2. Set practical, sensible, and joyful goals. To achieve success, set goals that make you happy and break them down into achievable milestones. For example, a short-term goal to do a speedy walk tomorrow, an intermediate goal to run twice a week, and a long-term goal to run a marathon next year. Don’t try to go from 0 to 100 real quick. You’ll hurt yourself. Know your body and work upon yourself slowly and steadily.
3. Use setbacks to spring forward. Joan originally dreamed of being a ski racer, but a bad ski crash when she was a teenager left her with a broken leg and a broken dream. Yet, it was that very setback that sprung into action her six-decades-long career as one of the greatest runners of all time.
4. Follow your passion. After physical rehabilitation, she started running, and realized her strong passion for it. Running gave her a feeling of…