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The Resilient Runner: Mental Toughness Training for Endurance Runners
Mental toughness is a must for success in endurance running. But who can afford to hire a sports psychologist to learn the fundamentals necessary to succeed? This book will help you uncover your mental skills and teach you techniques to strengthen your mental toughness. It contains detailed sections on motivation, performance anxiety, athletic pain, and race strategy. You will learn the mental skills necessary to better motivate yourself, overcome pain, perform better in races, and gain more enjoyment from running. In short, it will help you become the best runner you can be.
110 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2014
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642 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 11, 2016
The Resilient Runner, by William Peters, deals with the psychological aspects of running, and ways to deal with all its numerous challenges. He writes for beginners as well as advanced runners, and leaves nothing lacking in his advice.
I used to run before my allergies put a halt to it. Now I go biking and found that much of what William wrote in the book could apply to this as well. Some of his material could even be profitable in many other areas of life.
I found the writing style excellent, with no typos or other editing errors. William writes as if he is sitting down with you, having a conversational chat, yet filled to the brink with helpful advice, and all from page one. He writes from the standpoint of the encourager, like the one who would be cheering you on if you were running your own race.
You can tell William knows his material, as he speaks from both experience and exhaustive research to bring the reader the most up to date information and theories. His references are impressive.
There is so much material in this book that, if I were to take it up and really follow the steps, I would need to go back and carefully read through each section. There is that much material, and it is all very good.
If you are considering a career in running, or just thinking about starting for pleasure, be sure to read this first. For those of you already out there running, this book will certainly give you additional helpful advice.
I rate this book as five stars, and am happy to be able to provide this non-reciprocal review.
I used to run before my allergies put a halt to it. Now I go biking and found that much of what William wrote in the book could apply to this as well. Some of his material could even be profitable in many other areas of life.
I found the writing style excellent, with no typos or other editing errors. William writes as if he is sitting down with you, having a conversational chat, yet filled to the brink with helpful advice, and all from page one. He writes from the standpoint of the encourager, like the one who would be cheering you on if you were running your own race.
You can tell William knows his material, as he speaks from both experience and exhaustive research to bring the reader the most up to date information and theories. His references are impressive.
There is so much material in this book that, if I were to take it up and really follow the steps, I would need to go back and carefully read through each section. There is that much material, and it is all very good.
If you are considering a career in running, or just thinking about starting for pleasure, be sure to read this first. For those of you already out there running, this book will certainly give you additional helpful advice.
I rate this book as five stars, and am happy to be able to provide this non-reciprocal review.
January 7, 2016
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”- Jim Ryun
Indeed I never imagined the complexities of mind preparation for a simple task as running. In fact, I overly underestimated the importance of the mental aspect in this mammoth task I’ve always promised myself I will one day tackle (for the sake of losing weight!). This book develops the role the mind plays for the professional runner. It is the key that removes perceived limitations to achievement of goals.
William A. Peters talks of motivation, setting goals, rewarding self for achieving such goals, perseverance, stress management, keeping journals and much more. The book thus digs deep into every pertinent factor and details the journey to success – step by step. I would recommend this book to every professional runner.
In addition, I was amazed at the relevance of the book to every ambition one might have in life. Be it in running, a business or learning a new thing, every principle outlined in this book applies. Especially the part on mantras and focus. It is invaluable information.
I was given a copy for this book for an honest review.
Indeed I never imagined the complexities of mind preparation for a simple task as running. In fact, I overly underestimated the importance of the mental aspect in this mammoth task I’ve always promised myself I will one day tackle (for the sake of losing weight!). This book develops the role the mind plays for the professional runner. It is the key that removes perceived limitations to achievement of goals.
William A. Peters talks of motivation, setting goals, rewarding self for achieving such goals, perseverance, stress management, keeping journals and much more. The book thus digs deep into every pertinent factor and details the journey to success – step by step. I would recommend this book to every professional runner.
In addition, I was amazed at the relevance of the book to every ambition one might have in life. Be it in running, a business or learning a new thing, every principle outlined in this book applies. Especially the part on mantras and focus. It is invaluable information.
I was given a copy for this book for an honest review.
August 26, 2014
Although this book isn't relevant to me since I don't race, I think my kids (who do compete) could get helpful encouragement and insight from this book. I appreciated the quotes from different elite runners and thought the chapter "Make Friends with Pain" was especially good. Distance running is a punishing and difficult sport and since my son runs 60 miles a week I have seen him exhausted and uncomfortable. The chapter about pain states that pain is normal and suffering is critical to the success of runners. This is a good little book to have as a resource for anyone who is a serious competitive runner.
November 12, 2014
I received/won this book from the author as "first reads" book. It is concise and easy to read with many helpful ideas about dealing with the potential mental pitfalls that tend to occur while running long distances. Highly recommended.
September 26, 2014
This is a must-read for any real endurance runner, whether a world-class competitive racer, club or school runner, or a lone-running marathoner. In it Peters explains why the mental aspect of a runner's approach to training and running is as important, if not more important, than the physical aspect. He made me believe that a runner will never reach his or her potential without training the mind as much as the body.
He lays out the qualities of successful runners and then explains each one: motivation, journaling, goal setting, reward systems, anxiety, being mindful in running, visualization, pain, racing strategies, and more. In his explanations, Peters tells of wrong ways as well as good ways to deal with that part of the mental side.
Sometimes he gets a little wordy, but his purpose is to give the reader a complete explanation and have her believe that Peters has, indeed, thought through and run through what he is telling the reader to do. He certainly convinced me.
Peters never writes down a formula for runners to follow because each runner is different. It would be useful to have a formula-generating list or form at the end of the book to lead the reader through the creation of his individual formula. But any runner who is mindful enough to read and understand Peters' presentation will be sharp enough to create his formula by going back and pulling the elements from each chapter of the book.
And certainly, creating your own formula from the chapters in the book will force you to examine each element more closely. That should result in a more thorough understand of what Peters has presented.
All in all, it was a quick and convincing read that I heartily recommend to all runners, even those who call themselves "joggers."
He lays out the qualities of successful runners and then explains each one: motivation, journaling, goal setting, reward systems, anxiety, being mindful in running, visualization, pain, racing strategies, and more. In his explanations, Peters tells of wrong ways as well as good ways to deal with that part of the mental side.
Sometimes he gets a little wordy, but his purpose is to give the reader a complete explanation and have her believe that Peters has, indeed, thought through and run through what he is telling the reader to do. He certainly convinced me.
Peters never writes down a formula for runners to follow because each runner is different. It would be useful to have a formula-generating list or form at the end of the book to lead the reader through the creation of his individual formula. But any runner who is mindful enough to read and understand Peters' presentation will be sharp enough to create his formula by going back and pulling the elements from each chapter of the book.
And certainly, creating your own formula from the chapters in the book will force you to examine each element more closely. That should result in a more thorough understand of what Peters has presented.
All in all, it was a quick and convincing read that I heartily recommend to all runners, even those who call themselves "joggers."
September 4, 2015
I got this book for free on LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.
As a runner, I knew I had to read this book! I sleep, eat, and breathe running. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about running, and this book just helped fulfill my daily dose of reading about running.
This book offered many good tips on how to be a better runner- and not in the traditional fitness and exercising way. Most running books tell you to amp up your training or to do something based on the physical side of your body and not the mental side. Nearly the entire existence of running is based on your mental view of it. Your mentality is what keeps you going in a race and what pushes you to P.R. Without thinking positive thoughts, you aren't going to do well in any race or run. With this book, you can change around your mindset of running and even improve with simple thinking!
I would recommend this book to any runner or anybody who wants/ is thinking about running.
As a runner, I knew I had to read this book! I sleep, eat, and breathe running. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about running, and this book just helped fulfill my daily dose of reading about running.
This book offered many good tips on how to be a better runner- and not in the traditional fitness and exercising way. Most running books tell you to amp up your training or to do something based on the physical side of your body and not the mental side. Nearly the entire existence of running is based on your mental view of it. Your mentality is what keeps you going in a race and what pushes you to P.R. Without thinking positive thoughts, you aren't going to do well in any race or run. With this book, you can change around your mindset of running and even improve with simple thinking!
I would recommend this book to any runner or anybody who wants/ is thinking about running.
January 25, 2016
For any runner, this book feels like a must have. Actually, not being a runner, but a walker, I got alot out of the very solid, usable advice. In fact, the tips and hints of this book can apply to anyone wanting to improve their life. Truth be told, there are many days I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than get out there and exercise. And this books simple, yet approachable tips, like "How to Talk to Yourself About Running," which is all about encouraging ourselves to get out there and do what we know we need doing, even when we don't want to, were well founded and easy to use. The language of the book is simple and easy to follow and written by a runner who gets it. I recommend this book whole-heartedly.
August 28, 2014
I received/won this book from the author as "first reads" book. This was an excellent read. It was not a typical "how to become a better runner" book. The author took the inner aspect of running and broke it down for the reader - the inner aspect of running that I always assumed was natural or intrinsic. I always felt like an outsider in the running circle because it did not come naturally to me, and I always wondered how everyone else did it. The author explained how to be a runner within yourself and that it takes more than putting on fancy sneakers and signing up for races.
August 1, 2015
Good mental training. Great ideas on what to do while running a marathon and what to think about. Not sure I'll remember everything the book said to do but definitely think it will help!
August 22, 2018
An excellent starter to get you thinking about how you can use your mind to improve your running. Positive thinking, mind over matter, visualisation and various other methods to improve your mileage and durability.
Some parts are perhaps more focused towards the serious competitive runner but still plenty for those of us less likely to be race winners
Some parts are perhaps more focused towards the serious competitive runner but still plenty for those of us less likely to be race winners
June 12, 2018
A good book that talks you through mental pitfalls and strategies of a runner, a useful guide to help you work on beating the running demons and putting your mind in an appropriately positive state to succeed.
A worthwhile read!!
A worthwhile read!!
May 20, 2018
Great book about mental running strength.
Describes many different tactics and training methods of how to approach workouts and races. Simple, informative and structured.
Describes many different tactics and training methods of how to approach workouts and races. Simple, informative and structured.
June 23, 2018
I found The Resilient Runner a helpful guide to the mental aspect to running.
April 7, 2019
A good insight into how you can train your mind as well as your body for running.
March 9, 2020
A remarkable little book. Direct, to the point and a worthy supporting document for any runner.
April 26, 2021
Useful and thought provoking.
December 31, 2015
I am a sporadic runner with good intention and the ambition to run a half marathon one day (yes, not there yet!) This book couldn’t have been timelier in that sense. I always suspected that mental toughness was somehow more important than physical endurance and the book adds to that belief. As it says: "The gray matter between your ears is far more important to your success than your muscle fiber."
The book is a manual which outlines a logical way to build mental toughness while running. The methods and reasons behind them have been clearly articulated, reasonable and easy to understand. Despite having read most of them in some form or another in various running articles and interviews, I found it useful information in one place and well laid out. I believe one can use this book in areas beyond running i.e. in life situations as well. As the author rightly says: "Mental toughness is built by doing difficult tasks over and over again, especially when you don't feel like doing them. Our society has conditioned us to believe that there should be no discomfort, to stop when we are uncomfortable. But the discomfort we feel when we're doing a challenging workout is an important part of the strengthening process."
I would have liked more practical examples, probably from the author’s own experience or real life incidents like in the running classic 'Born to Run'. Occasionally also, instructions get repetitive with no clear way to remember them – something that could have been countered by using a mnemonic as some self-help books do. But overall, I think the book is very valuable for runners, especially for novices like me.
I am going to re-read the book occasionally to retrain my mind and motivate myself. A great short motivating read for anyone who wants to run seriously, have fun while doing it and excel in it.
Strongly recommended.
Note: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review.
The book is a manual which outlines a logical way to build mental toughness while running. The methods and reasons behind them have been clearly articulated, reasonable and easy to understand. Despite having read most of them in some form or another in various running articles and interviews, I found it useful information in one place and well laid out. I believe one can use this book in areas beyond running i.e. in life situations as well. As the author rightly says: "Mental toughness is built by doing difficult tasks over and over again, especially when you don't feel like doing them. Our society has conditioned us to believe that there should be no discomfort, to stop when we are uncomfortable. But the discomfort we feel when we're doing a challenging workout is an important part of the strengthening process."
I would have liked more practical examples, probably from the author’s own experience or real life incidents like in the running classic 'Born to Run'. Occasionally also, instructions get repetitive with no clear way to remember them – something that could have been countered by using a mnemonic as some self-help books do. But overall, I think the book is very valuable for runners, especially for novices like me.
I am going to re-read the book occasionally to retrain my mind and motivate myself. A great short motivating read for anyone who wants to run seriously, have fun while doing it and excel in it.
Strongly recommended.
Note: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review.
January 8, 2016
“The Resilient Runner,” by William Peters, sets out in a few chapters what other books on the topic of mental fitness take hundreds of pages to cover. But it seems like all the important facts about mental fitness are well summarized and would provide a good start for the beginning runner, as well as a good review for the advanced runner who wants ensure that he or she has all aspects of “mental training” covered.
I liked the way the book started, with the qualities of successful endurance runners laid out in Chapter 1 along with a short summary of each, as well as how the book expanded to offer more detail in the chapters that follow. I enjoyed the quotes from seasoned runners, especially those about setting and achieving goals, which I think would be useful in any endeavor one embarks on.
“Mind is everything. Muscle—just pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind.” - Paavo Nurmi.
“The trick is striving for the goal, but being grateful for the progress if you don’t happen to reach it... When I fall short, there is always something to be grateful for and it’s usually that I became stronger and healthier in the process.” - Deena Kastor
This is a positive book, filled with advice that is backed up by recent research, and the author clearly knows his topic. For me, a few more personal anecdotes about what advice worked for the author, what advice didn’t, or what the author had to change to improve his running might have been helpful. But then, we would not have as sleek and short reference book. As it is, the book achieves its goal of providing much useful advice to improve an athlete’s skills in running and life as well.
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
I liked the way the book started, with the qualities of successful endurance runners laid out in Chapter 1 along with a short summary of each, as well as how the book expanded to offer more detail in the chapters that follow. I enjoyed the quotes from seasoned runners, especially those about setting and achieving goals, which I think would be useful in any endeavor one embarks on.
“Mind is everything. Muscle—just pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind.” - Paavo Nurmi.
“The trick is striving for the goal, but being grateful for the progress if you don’t happen to reach it... When I fall short, there is always something to be grateful for and it’s usually that I became stronger and healthier in the process.” - Deena Kastor
This is a positive book, filled with advice that is backed up by recent research, and the author clearly knows his topic. For me, a few more personal anecdotes about what advice worked for the author, what advice didn’t, or what the author had to change to improve his running might have been helpful. But then, we would not have as sleek and short reference book. As it is, the book achieves its goal of providing much useful advice to improve an athlete’s skills in running and life as well.
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
July 10, 2016
First of all, I would like to mention that i won this book in a giveaway sponsored by author.
Thanks!
Book illustrates some good tips, tricks and techniques which can be implemented to discover the best runner lying inside everyone. This book will definitely help one to explore the runner inside you.
Author has restated the quotes by champion and popular runners, I liked that part.
Personally, i did not like the font style. apart from that book is good and helpful.
It will motivate and bring out the new zeal within the runners
Rating : 4/5
Thanks!
Book illustrates some good tips, tricks and techniques which can be implemented to discover the best runner lying inside everyone. This book will definitely help one to explore the runner inside you.
Author has restated the quotes by champion and popular runners, I liked that part.
Personally, i did not like the font style. apart from that book is good and helpful.
It will motivate and bring out the new zeal within the runners
Rating : 4/5
November 8, 2021
Amazing book about the physchology of running.
Me as a runner is a huge fanatic of this book, and it's detailed physhcological explanations helped a lot to improve my performance - not only physically but mainly mentally.
Me as a runner is a huge fanatic of this book, and it's detailed physhcological explanations helped a lot to improve my performance - not only physically but mainly mentally.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews