Elite Runners on Failure: How 6 Pro Runners Deal with Disappointment

Growth Mindset

Embracing a growth mindset is crucial for elite runners to view failure as an opportunity for improvement. Travis Macy reflects on his early running career, where a fixed mindset hindered his progress, emphasizing the importance of seeing each step as part of a process rather than a test of worth 1. Devon Yanko shares her approach to failure, focusing on extracting lessons rather than dwelling on setbacks, which she believes is a skill developed over time 2. Brandy Erholtz highlights how her persistent failures in road racing led to her success in mountain running, illustrating that when one door closes, another opens 3.

Let me take the value out of this. I already feel like crap. How about I just take the lessons from this and not just dwell on it, take what you can and leave the rest.

--- Devon Yanko

This mindset shift allows runners to improve over time, turning failures into stepping stones for future success.

   

Viewing Failure

Viewing failure positively is essential for maintaining motivation and continuing improvement in running. Nick Symmonds and Alexi Pappas emphasize perseverance and learning from setbacks as key elements in reaching one's potential 4. Mike Wardian discusses the importance of listening to one's body while balancing it with mental determination, highlighting that failure can be a powerful learning tool 5. Jason Fitzgerald notes that elite runners, like recreational ones, experience failures but use them to develop a more positive mindset and change their running trajectory for the better 6.

Perseverance believing in your ability, just doing the work, and how you have to learn from your failures to become you.

--- Alexi Pappas

This perspective helps runners to see failures as integral parts of their journey, ultimately contributing to their growth and success.