We at the Marathon Mind have all been on the 2020 roller coaster right alongside you. Watching all the changes in our nation and throughout the world have given us the chance to adjust, reevaluate, and find new goals.

In many ways, this process of facing new challenges in 2020 has been a lot like what we train our athletes to do in their approach to fitness and training.  Circumstances outside of our control occur and throw a wrench in our perfect plans.  An injury flares up near the end of a great training block, threatening to derail the goal we had for an upcoming race.  We don’t hit the times we thought we should in a hard workout, causing us to doubt our fitness.  On race day, the weather doesn’t cooperate, or our stomach gets upset in the middle of the race, slowing us down from our target pace.

In each case, we reassess, deciding when to adjust our goals and expectations and when to stick to the plan.  We eschew panic in favor of finding a way to make the challenges become opportunities.  We find a new story that serves us.

It has been so impressive in 2020 to watch the running world adapt, running virtual races and setting different kinds of goals. We have remembered how to run for the love of running. We have learned that movement soothes the anxiety of an unknown future. We have become stronger, mentally and physically. We have become more adaptable, more understanding, and more sensitive through the changes of this year. 

We have learned new ways to dig deep, work hard, and believe harder.

We are grateful to ride the roller coaster with you.

Here’s to all the growth of 2020 and all the hope of 2021!