Runners often struggle with mindset blocks, so let’s tackle them together.
Ian Sharman is the founder of Sharman Ultra Coaching, a team of elite running coaches. He ran his personal best marathon of 2:21 at age 43, and a half marathon PR of 1:03 at age 44. Ian’s won over 50 marathon+ races with at least one win every year for 19 (and counting) consecutive years.
Ian also holds the fastest time in a trail 100-mile race by a Brit at 12h44m, boasts the record for the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning (69h49m), has won the USATF 100-mile trail championship twice, and is a four-time Leadville Trail 100 Champion.
Runners often let themselves become their own biggest enemy. I’ve experienced this firsthand. Over the years, I’ve been particularly good at getting in my own way, sabotaging my hard-earned fitness, and undermining my goals.
I wanted to chat with Ian about when we might be letting our ego cloud our decision-making ability, so that we can make wiser training decisions and become better runners.
And if you want to act on that and improve your mindset in 2025, you’ll want to join Strength Running’s live mental toughness training. If you have a winter or spring goal race and want to improve your mindset to help you perform, attend to collect strategies, plan ahead, and ask questions. Get on the interest list here.
Ian Sharman on Mindset Tips You Can Use Today
In this episode, Ian Sharman and I talk about:
- Ian’s training approach for his recent half marathon personal best
- Running by feel and adapting to race conditions
- Balancing ego and process in training
- Comparison’s impact on training and performance
- Racing mindset strategies
- Handling pre-race excitement and execution
Send this episode to a friend who has a 2025 race so they can improve their mindset for it!
Subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.
Links & Resources from the Show:
- Ian on Instagram
- Follow @sharmanian on Threads, Bluesky and X
- Ian’s website: sharmanultra.com
- Join to my upcoming live mental toughness training.
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