--- title: "Mind and Running: Mental States to Run Better" published: 2016-01-09 updated: 2026-08-04 category: "De todo un poco" source: "https://dev-abp.massivoai.com/en/articles/mente-y-correr-estados-mentales-para-correr-mejor" --- # Mind and Running: Mental States to Run Better **Have you ever wondered what you should think about while running? You have only two options: think about anything except what you're doing (anything except running), or concentrate on the activity you're performing, on how your body feels while running. Choosing one or the other can have great relevance to the final result.** In general, it is believed that elite athletes perform better when their mind is focused on the race (association). However, it seems that less experienced runners do better when they think about something else (dissociation). This is related to the level of experience, the ability to channel thoughts toward specific performance factors, and also the capacity to endure pain. When less experienced athletes begin to associate, and think about how their body hurts while running, they are more likely to stop running or slow down. In those cases, dissociation can be a better strategy. Have you ever realized that you were lost in ideas and thoughts that have nothing to do with running, and then you land back, and feel like you're waking up from a dream? If so, you were practicing dissociation. Your mind was somewhere else, perhaps on some work event, or thinking about the perfume you bought the other day, or whether there's milk in the refrigerator and you need to go shopping, or on the sea, or on the moon. Exactly, you were on the moon. That is dissociation. And when you realize it, perhaps you've already run several kilometers and "didn't feel them." **— RELATED: **[**FIVE TRICKS TO GET UP AND RUN NO MATTER WHAT**](../../../New/detail/25/cinco-trucos-para-levantarse-a-correr-si-o-si) Running in pleasant places and with different scenery favors dissociation. On the contrary, running in circles on a track or on a monotonous route will make it more difficult to think about anything else (pardon the expression, but I think I'm making myself understood). The intensity at which we run also directly influences what we think. As the intensity at which we run increases or when fatigue begins to accumulate, the brain naturally tends toward association, to concentrate on what we're doing, especially when the run is so long or so hard that pain overwhelms us. On the contrary, when we run at easier intensities, we naturally tend toward dissociation (to thinking about anything else, if you will). In part, that's why elite athletes tend more toward association: because of the very high intensity at which they run. Also, they know what to think about for their benefit: aspects of technique, they reinforce their mood with positive words, strategies to overcome their rivals, etc. But you don't need to be elite to benefit from association. All runners switch at some point during training or racing between types of thinking, sometimes consciously and sometimes "without meaning to." As you gain experience and experiment with pace changes, you will learn to naturally switch between dissociative and associative strategies for your benefit. You will also learn what works best for you at what point in your training and competition. **— RELATED: **[**THE ART OF RUNNING AT THE RIGHT PACE**](../../../New/detail/13/el-arte-de-cazar) Like everything, skill is gained through experience. Over time, you can also learn to better tolerate the pain and discomforts that arise when running longer distances or at greater intensities, and you will be able to benefit from associative thoughts during most of the course, just as elite athletes do. The next time you finish running, try to do a quick review of your thoughts during the session. Remember at what moments you felt better, when you maintained your best pace, and what you were thinking at that moment. Also experiment during higher intensity training sessions with which strategy works best for you, and that way you can apply what you've learned soon in races, for your benefit. No strategy is better than the other; both can benefit us at different times. The trick is to learn to identify when one could help us more than the other. **— RELATED: **[**NINE TIPS FOR 2016 TO BE YOUR BEST YEAR RUNNING**](../../../New/detail/38/nueve-consejos-para-que-el-2016-sea-tu-mejor-ano-corriendo) **By: Wendy Zúñiga, Bach. Psychology UCR for abuenpaso.cr.** A Buen Paso uses [Massivo](https://massivoai.com), the event-registration platform that powers this article.