Impact of mental toughness on performance
Consider a marathon runner. A marathon is 26.2 miles and some, like the Edinburgh Marathon, take place in May when the weather can be hot.
Many marathon runners often talk of hitting the wall
: a psychological barrier where their bodies seize up and they feel like they cannot go on. At this point, they need to be mentally tough and push themselves through the wall
if they are to complete the event.
Question
Using the 3-step process, how might mental toughness impact performance in a marathon?
An example answer could be...
- You need to be mentally tough when you
hit the wall
near the end of a marathon. - This means you need to keep pushing through and continue going even though your body is in pain and your mind is telling you to stop.
- This leads to you continuing in the event and completing it to achieve your targeted time.
It is essential for runners to be mentally tough near the end of a marathon. This photo shows Kenyan runner Japhet Koech running the Edinburgh Marathon in 2016.
More guides on this topic
- Factors impacting on performance - Introduction
- Impact of emotional factors on performance
- Impact of social factors on performance
- Impact of physical factors on performance - Fitness
- Impact of physical factors on performance - Skills
- Impact of physical factors on performance - Tactics
- How factor interaction impacts on performance