Overcoming Mental Hurdles in Running and Writing
Three things running and writing have in common.
1. Hard to Get Started
Staring at a pair of running shoes or a blank piece of paper, there’s a similar sensation of resistance whether you’re trying to start running, or writing. It happens almost every time, too!
If you’ve ever done either of these activities, you know the feeling. There’s a plan to go run a mile at 9am on Saturday. Saturday rolls around. Absolutely nothing stands in your way.
Then… It Happens.
Those running shoes start staring back at you, and you start ruminating on all the things you could be doing… should be doing… or forgot to do the day before. Sometimes, you give in. Now, it’s 11a and you’re standing at the sink doing the dishes. You glance at the shoes and think, “Ah, maybe tomorrow.”
Writing is the same way. Open a blank word document, or break out a fresh sheet of paper, and that blank white sheet of paper stares back at you like a dirty pair of running shoes. It doesn’t matter how many fleeting ideas you had leading up to that moment.
In that moment, whether running, or writing, that white sheet, and those shoes, will shatter all delusions of grandeur.
I’m not here to give you the solution. If I had the solution that would be the title of the article. I’m just revealing the discovery of a sensation, a feeling, that I found these two activities have in common.
2. Easy to Keep Going
As hard as it is to get started, both running and writing have this indescribable feeling when time seems to stop. Everything just flows. In running, after the first mile or two it becomes easy. You’re no longer out of breathe. Nothing hurts. You lock in and time stands still as miles click off almost effortlessly.
Writing is the same way. You can write and re-write the first two or three lines twenty or thirty times. Then something strange happens. Your thought processes start lining up and the page begins to fill up. Before you know it, you’re checking the word count to see if you’ve written too much or you’ve gone off on a tangent.
Both of these disciplines (and they are disciplines) have this in common. It’s very hard to describe to anyone who hasn’t done either of them. Try taking a new person on a run. They’ll huff and puff and maybe make it a mile. The distractions take over and before you know it you’re locking in, and they are giving up right at the moment it’s about to get effortless.
I remember being forced to learn to write in school. What an arduous task. Coming up with a topic, and doing all the research. My first research paper was on the Galapagos tortoise.
Ugh!
However, I also remember the feeling, after picking the topic and putting all the research together when the writing just fell onto the paper. It’s as if something happens internally when we’ve put in the work, and now we believe that we CAN complete the task. We see the finish line in the distance.
The hope of being done coupled with the satisfaction of accomplishing something difficult converge and give us energy to push through to the end.
A couple weeks ago I ran 16 miles. In the weeks prior, I had been running three and six mile runs. One day I laid out a route that would make me go 14.5 miles. A little further than a half marathon. On my first attempt, I had to quit early. I was running out of time, a stone in my shoe was aggravating me, and I hadn’t dressed appropriately for the colder gusts of wind I encountered.
After completing that 12 mile run, I needed a break. My legs were sore, and I hadn’t taken any electrolytes the whole way so I was dealing with cramps in my calves. I was, however, insistent that I complete at least a half marathon distance.
A couple days later I went for it again. I ran all the way up to the point where I had given up the day before. Once I pushed past that point I was off to the races. I looked at my watch as I completed my planned route. It indicated I was at 14.5 miles.
I wasn’t done. I could go further.
I proceeded to run an additional 2 miles. In total I ran just over 16 miles. That week I cleared 40 miles. By the end of the month I had run over 127 miles.
Again, I can’t explain how it works. All I can say is I get this same sense of timelessness and effortlessness once I get past the starting hump when I’m running, and when I’m writing.
3. It’s Worth It Long Term
For most people the mere thought of running or writing is repulsive. They wouldn’t think of doing either as a form of leisure, or as a form of self-discipline. I can assure you, though, that taking part in either of these activities is worth the effort long term.
As a runner, you’ll be shocked to find what your body is capable of as you consistently practice the habit of starting each day. The first time out you may only run a mile, or even a half mile. You may not even run. It may be a leisurely stroll. Before you know it, if you go out consistently, you’ll be running two miles, three miles, and then… a marathon?
As a writer, you’ll be equally surprised to find what your mind is capable of if you push past that first page or two. You’ll have a 500 word article, then a 1,000 word article, and then… a novel?
You may never find yourself running a marathon, or writing a novel, but you will find yourself on the other end with a load of self-confidence and mental fortitude that helps you every single day. At work, a boss may ask you to write a one paragraph review of a co-worker. A task that formerly would’ve caused you all kinds of stress will seem like light work.
A paragraph? If you’ve been consistently writing 1000–2000 word stories, articles, or blog posts a single paragraph will take you 10 minutes.
Maybe your boss needs you to carry some boxes across the street to a warehouse.
Across the street? If you’ve been running 2–3 miles (or more) every day, you’ll have no problem executing that task. It will require almost no mental or physical energy because you’ll have already built up the mental, and physical, muscles required for the task.
If you’re a practicing writer, or runner, you’re already working out those muscles that make you a stronger, more capable and more confident person over all. The first few moments of flexing those muscles can be tough — every single time.
If you push through that initial difficulty, there’s an indiscernible sense of ease waiting for you at the end of mile one, or at the end of page one. If you consistently push through over and over, you’ll find that you can run further, and write more than you ever thought possible.
Can you relate to this? Is there another activity where you’ve found this to be true? I’d love to hear about it!
The preceding article was first published on Medium.com on May 02, 2025
Music for voice over by Jeremusic70 on Pixabay.