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You're listening to a new 
episode of the Marathon Running 

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Podcast by a Marathon Journal. 
In this episode, we're going to 

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talk about the psychology of 
becoming a runner. 

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Welcome to the Marathon Running 
Podcast by Marathon Journal. 

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Join us every week for the 
insights and inspiration you 

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need to get from the starting 
line to the finish line and 

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beyond. 
Hey runners and welcome back to 

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the Marathon Running Podcast. 
My name is Letty and usually I 

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am Co hosting this podcast with 
my husband Ryan, but Ryan is 

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super busy right now. 
For that reason, I decided I'm 

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going to handle this episode all
by myself. 

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But I'm also joined today by 
Claire Boyce, who is also in the

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running space, who is going to 
walk with me through this 

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subject of how to become a 
runner or the psychology behind 

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becoming a runner. 
Quick disclaimer, Neil of US are

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psychologists, so this episode 
is going to be more about 

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practical advice. 
Than anything else. 

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So let's hop into this. 
I think every runner can relate 

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to this feeling of almost 
imposter syndrome. 

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Whether you're at the beginner 
level or experience level, you 

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deal with feelings of some kind 
of feeling not good enough. 

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You're not fast enough, you're 
not consistent enough, you are 

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not disciplined enough, you're 
not enough of a runner. 

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And that's what I liked about 
this conversation that we had, 

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that we didn't just talk about 
training plans or workouts. 

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We talked about the identity, 
the comparison issues, 

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confidence, consistency, even 
burnout in community and how 

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running changes the way we 
handle real life as well. 

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So this episode, again, is less 
of the usual traditional 

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interviews that I have with 
experts, but more of an open 

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conversation around the 
psychology of becoming a runner 

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and honesty. 
I think a lot of people are 

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going to relate to this and like
it. 

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All right, so I have Claire with
me here. 

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Claire, please do a brief 
introduction of what you do in 

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the running space. 
Yeah, I am so excited. 

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Thank you for the opportunity. 
It'll be great. 

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As you said, I'm Claire Boyce. 
I have been running, oh, my 

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gosh, my entire life. 
I started in elementary school 

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and I am 32 now, so I have been 
in it for the long haul. 

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I have not been very good for a 
long time up until recently, and

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I know that's defined by many 
different things, but I 

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currently work for upward 
running and we help runners who 

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are beginners go from the couch 
to crossing finish lines, and 

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I've been doing that for about 
two years. 

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All right, so one thing I wanted
to ask you about is the feeling 

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that a lot of runners have when 
they almost feel like impostors,

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meaning they don't feel like 
they deserve the title of runner

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unless they hit certain paces or
a certain amount of miles. 

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Honestly, I so I've been running
for a long, long time, but I've 

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never honestly identified myself
as a runner up until probably 

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the last three or four years. 
So it's been very recent. 

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Yeah, I went out and I would run
races and I would run 25 miles a

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week, but I never consider 
myself a runner because, oh, I'm

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not breaking these world 
records. 

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I'm not doing this. 
So am I really a runner? 

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And that's kind of what got 
pushed me to that. 

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No, girl, you are a runner. 
Like you're running, you are a 

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runner. 
So let's kind of dive into that 

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and lean into that a little bit.
If you are just starting out and

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you're a beginner runner and 
you're checking these workouts 

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off, you're still doing the 
work. 

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You are putting in the work. 
So recognize that I said a few 

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minutes ago, feel the feels. 
You know what it could have been

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10 months ago, You weren't doing
anything. 

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Look at how far you've gone. 
One thing that I love to do is 

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keep a, I'm so old school, don't
judge me, is keep a running 

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journal and you can write down 
what you ran that day and then 

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maybe a sentence or two of how 
you felt. 

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So on day one, start that and 
then when you have a hard day or

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you're getting some of that 
negative self talk, look back at

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the journal and see how far 
you've come. 

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I agree with you very much and I
actually think this is one of 

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the biggest problems that 
running has right now, mainly 

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for the younger generations 
because of social media, which 

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makes everybody feel like they 
were left behind. 

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You open Instagram or Strava and
somebody's posting a huge 

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workout or a marathon PR or a 20
mile long run or crazy mileage 

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ultras and suddenly your easy 
three mile run feels very 

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insignificant. 
But honestly, consistency 

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matters more than those 
highlight moments. 

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If you find yourself, oh wow, 
like she did really good or he 

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did really good. 
I'll never be that way. 

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Just take a break, put your 
phone down, recognize that 

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thought, and then immediately 
say something positive like 

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okay, well he might be hitting 
my fast time, but I just 

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completed my really hard workout
this week. 

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So figure out what kind of ticks
you and then take a step back 

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and think, OK, no, we need to 
stop that. 

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That is not true. 
So that is probably one of my #1

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pieces of advice. 
It has helped me so much. 

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Now, I'm not a pro at it. 
I still do find myself sometimes

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in that comparison trap, but 
hey, I'm human. 

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We all do it. 
Yes, yes. 

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And there's something to be said
about comparison being the thief

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of joy, because it really does 
that. 

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So maybe if you do find yourself
looking at certain runners, 

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that. 
Trigger. 

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You to feel less than. 
Maybe it's also time to unfollow

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them. 
Right, exactly. 

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And I guess we'll take another. 
Step. 

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Back and think. 
About the. 

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Starting line for those that are
newer runners or just starting 

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to run. 
There's a. 

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Lot of times the case. 
That we feel. 

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Like we are not fit enough or 
ready to do something, not ready

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to join that local run club. 
What is the? 

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Smallest possible step. 
That they can take to. 

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Bridge that gap. 
Between thinking about something

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and then actually doing it. 
Yeah, put your shoes on, get 

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dressed, hype yourself up. 
You can do this. 

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I honestly, it could be as 
simple as just getting dressed 

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and putting your shoes on 
because nine times out of 10, 

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once you're already ready for 
that, you're probably going to 

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follow through. 
Another piece of advice I would 

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give here is tell somebody what 
you're doing and help them hold 

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you kind of accountable. 
Now they don't necessarily have 

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to go with you, just say, hey, 
can you make sure that I've done

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XYZ and that has helped keep me 
accountable. 

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It's helped keep some of our 
other runners accountable. 

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It's just the accountability, 
the 200% accountability. 

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Hold yourself 100% accountable 
and then that person can hold 

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you 100% accountable. 
Yes. 

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And definitely kind of put it 
out there, right with whoever, 

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at least one person. 
I feel like that helps so much 

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because we are more likely to 
complete a task if we tell 

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somebody we are going to do 
something. 

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Because if we just tell 
ourselves, sometimes that's not 

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enough. 
Exactly. 

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And we can. 
Again, our brain is so powerful 

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we can talk ourselves out of it 
and we don't want to do that. 

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Yes. 
So, so as hard as it seems, put 

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your goals on there. 
I think the amount of people 

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that are going to come back to 
you and say, hey, Letty, you 

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really were going to run A320 
marathon, but you ran to 322. 

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I mean, I don't think that's 
going to happen. 

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No. 
And you know what, Even if that 

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does happen, it's more fuel in 
your fire to go out there and 

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get that 320 marathon. 
More people knowing your goals. 

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Oh, what can we do to make sure 
we reach that goal? 

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Yes, and those are exactly the 
people that you do want to 

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follow on socials and not the 
other ones that trigger you to 

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be unhappy with yourself. 
Yes, exactly. 

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Amen. 
But with all that said, I feel 

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like the pressure gets even 
harder once life becomes 

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chaotic. 
When life gets stressful with 

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work, family, burnout or 
injuries, I think a lot of 

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runners almost feel guilty when 
the training kind of slips. 

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How do you build an identity 
where missed workout doesn't 

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feel like a personal failure? 
Yeah, give yourself some grace. 

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What I found that works for me, 
and bear with me, this is going 

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to sound really nerdy, but 
sometimes I write myself a 

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letter. 
I'm like, hey, you have got 

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this. 
Like you were going through XYZ 

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at work or XYZ at home. 
You showed up, you woke up 

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today, you got out of bed. 
You did what you had to do again

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to survive per SE. 
Write yourself a letter, hype 

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yourself up and give yourself 
grace like you are not defined 

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by one single workout or one 
single run. 

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I love it. 
So that kind of goes back to 

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the. 
Whole positive self. 

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Talk. 
And I feel like we have to be 

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really careful with that, right?
Because a lot of times we are a 

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lot more rude to ourselves than 
we would ever be with another 

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person. 
Yes, exactly. 

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And I have caught myself, for 
example, in some hard track 

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workouts, I've caught myself 
thinking, oh, you're not going 

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to hit your split. 
And I immediately changed that. 

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I'm like, yes, I am, yes, I am, 
yes, I am. 

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And if I repeat it to myself as 
many times and eventually I'm 

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going to believe it. 
So repeat good self talk to 

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yourself and eventually you're 
going to trick your brain into 

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thinking, oh, I can do this 
because you can do it. 

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Yes, yes, I think runners 
sometimes accidentally tie their

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self worth to these perfect 
consistencies. 

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And the problem is that life 
changes constantly, right? 

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There are seasons in life that 
we all experience where life 

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gets overwhelming, work gets 
overwhelming actually, and kids 

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need more from you. 
The stress increases, your sleep

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suffers, your motivation drops, 
and if your identity only exists

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when training is perfect, then 
every interruption feels like a 

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failure. 
But honestly, the healthiest 

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runners are usually the ones 
that are most adaptable. 

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They know when to pivot, how to 
pivot without completely 

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abandoning themselves, and 
honestly I think that's part of 

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why running becomes emotional 
for people. 

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So. 
Let's talk about something else,

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translating the difficult things
that you learned during a 

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marathon to life. 
You know that Mile 22? 

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Where you're. 
Dying, but yet you're telling 

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yourself the last. 6K. 
Of this marathon are going to be

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my hardest one. 
And then you do it. 

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How does this translation 
process work? 

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Oh, if you can get through mile 
22 to 26th of a marathon, I'm 

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convinced you can do anything in
the world. 

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OK, There is nothing quite like 
it. 

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You have built resilience, you 
have built grits, you have built

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passion. 
And that translates to not just 

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work, but every aspect of your 
life. 

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So if you're having a hard day 
at work, you can get through 

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that because you have pushed 
your body past those limits. 

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So I would encourage people to 
hold on to that feeling and just

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know, hey, I can do this, I can 
do this. 

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Yeah, you just said something 
really important. 

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Hold on to that feeling. 
Or even, you know, do. 

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A little debrief. 
After your marathon and mentally

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go through it and recognize. 
That what we. 

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Did is not the norm, right? 
And then kind of, I don't know. 

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Bottle that up. 
So we can sprinkle it on. 

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Hard situations. 
That will happen later on. 

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Yeah, I love that. 
Bottle it up and sprinkle it 

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out. 
That's perfect. 

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If only we could do that, like 
physically, that'd be great. 

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That that really would be good, 
because that confidence is 

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something that I feel like a lot
of us fail to acknowledge 

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because everything seems to. 
Be so rushed. 

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Right. 
We are so nervous about the 

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marathon. 
Then we completed and then we 

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move on. 
We're re meeting with families 

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we celebrated. 
But we don't. 

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Really sit down and think this 
was really hard and. 

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I went through it and. 
There were so many times that I 

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was just like, why am I doing 
this to myself? 

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I can just run and not do 
marathons. 

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Right. 
I made probably one of my 

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biggest mistakes at the Chicago 
Marathon in 2024. 

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So it was my first world major 
marathon. 

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I ran the marathon and I flew 
home the same day. 

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I didn't soak in that feeling of
finishing. 

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I didn't soak in the atmosphere.
I literally hobbled to the hotel

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room, showered, packed really 
fast, and then headed to the 

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airport. 
Like, am I crazy? 

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Yes, that is the answer to that.
But don't do that. 

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I highly encourage you to soak 
it in because I regret that and 

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that was two years ago. 
And you probably did that 

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because you have family to go 
back. 

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To. 
Yep, and you, but at the same 

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time you know that you spend so 
many. 

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Hours away from. 
Them and all the training, like 

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what's another night? 
Right, I know it was again one 

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of my biggest regrets and I will
not do that again. 

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Mark my words. 
All of you listeners can help 

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hold me accountable. 200% 
accountability here. 

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I love it. 
People often say that running is

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their therapy, but I think 
there's a difference between 

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processing stress and just 
distracting yourself from it. 

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Yeah, I definitely think that 
running can be therapeutic, but 

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it can also be something that 
you can get addicted to, and 

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that's not kind of what we want 
to do in that sense. 

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So yes, running can be therapy 
and is therapy in a lot of ways,

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but it can be unhealthy if 
you're running and you're 

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stopping to think. 
Now, in some situations it could

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be extremely healthy, but if you
notice yourself running when 

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you're trying to not think about
something, I would encourage you

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to stop, feel that thought, feel
the feels, and then keep going. 

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So acknowledge the feeling that 
you're having and push forward. 

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Yes. 
And then obviously we know that 

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running is not a substitute. 
For therapy, therapy. 

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Is amazing. 
If you need it running, is a. 

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A great. 
Thing of getting your endorphins

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up and having that, and I think 
it'll overall help with mental 

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health, but it's not the only 
one thing to do right. 

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It's a tool. 
It could be a tool in your 

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toolbox, but please, yes, go to 
therapy. 

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I am a huge component and 
advocate for therapy. 

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I'm in therapy myself. 
Could not advocate for it more. 

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Yeah, honestly, I think there 
are two different kinds of runs.

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There are the runs that we do to
escape, and then there's runs 

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that we use to process. 
And sometimes you start a run 

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overwhelmed and your brain is 
all over the place. 

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And then somewhere in those 
miles doing the run, you start 

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untangling everything. 
And then suddenly you realize 

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what's actually bothering you, 
what decisions you. 

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Need to make. 
What conversations you've been 

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avoiding? 
And I think the repetitive 

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movement is actually what 
creates the space for that 

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clarity. 
And that's why running becomes 

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bigger than fitness for so many 
people. 

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Now let's talk about the running
community as a safety Nets, 

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because a lot of runners run by 
themselves and that solidarity 

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also does not. 
Help. 

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With the motivation to get out. 
The door. 

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What are your thoughts on 
running community and what that 

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does? 
What does? 

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That look like for a runner once
they start joining run clubs 

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etcetera. 
I have said this probably 100 

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times, if not more. 
There is absolutely no community

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like the runner community and 
I've been in several different 

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communities through my life, the
runners. 

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The community is so encouraging 
and uplifting. 

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It can be overwhelming to show 
up when you don't know anybody, 

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but I encourage you to do it 
anyway. 

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I have met so many friends 
through these running 

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communities and we are blessed 
to be in a time of life where 

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running is just kind of popping 
off. 

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So there's a lot of run clubs 
and communities around that you 

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can find probably searching 
online on Facebook run club near

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you. 
Now what I would do if you are 

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the type of person that is kind 
of shy and introverted, reach 

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out on the Facebook group and 
say, hey, I'm going to come. 

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Like, will you meet me so that 
you know somebody? 

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I like that, yeah. 
Especially. 

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For the introverts. 
And just to kind of. 

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Backpack or piggyback? 
On what you were backpack, just 

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to kind of piggyback on what you
were ESL, just to kind of 

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piggyback onto what you were 
saying with the community. 

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It is quite amazing. 
I'm not a religious person, but 

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if I were, I think. 
Church is. 

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Probably the best thing for you 
when you're moving somewhere 

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new. 
Because you will automatically 

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find. 
People in a completely different

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place that you have something in
common with and I feel like. 

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The running community. 
Does. 

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Exactly that for for us. 
So that's beautiful. 

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I completely agree. 
Again, there is no community 

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like the running community. 
I found that they show up for 

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each other, which is really fun 
to see. 

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Even at races that they're not 
racing. 

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I have had run club members come
and show up just because they 

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know that there's people in the 
club racing. 

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So I highly encourage you to 
give it a try. 

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You make so many friends through
that and it's a really beautiful

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way of making these friendships 
because you are showing up in 

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the dark. 
If you run in the morning, 

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you're wearing no makeup and 
you're. 

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Sharing the path. 
With someone next to you that 

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you don't know but you don't 
have. 

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To. 
Make eye contact so you're 

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probably over. 
Sharing, but then you get these.

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Beautiful, deep friendships out 
of it. 

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It's quite amazing. 
I completely agree with that. 

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It's beautiful, it really is. 
Now a lot of runners have a 

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cycle where they start, stop, 
restart, disappear, come back. 

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How does someone stop 
identifying as a quitter? 

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Again, The log can help with 
this wholeheartedly. 

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I believe the law can help with 
this because you are physically 

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seeing you tracking all the 
miles. 

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Now, sometimes you have to take 
a break and that is OK, but that

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does not define you. 
You're not defined by one word. 

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Like you said, air quotes, 
quitter, you're not defined by 

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that. 
So keep starting, keep showing 

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00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,400
up, keep telling yourself, oh, 
I'm going to do this, I'm going 

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to do this. 
Again, something that could help

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with this is just putting on 
your shoes. 

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And you know what? 
We're going to have good days. 

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We're going to have really bad 
days. 

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It's important to keep showing 
up on those bad days. 

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Even if you tell yourself, hey, 
I'm going to go for 10 minutes, 

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just 10 minutes and see how I 
feel, 9 times out of 10, you're 

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00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,760
going to keep going. 
Yeah. 

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00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:54,840
Yeah. 
Honestly, I think consistency 

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00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:56,720
gets misunderstood. 
Also. 

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People think consistency means 
never struggling, but I think 

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consistency actually means 
returning. 

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00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:07,680
It means coming back after bad 
races, after burnouts, after 

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00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,360
stress, after injury, life 
chaos. 

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So the people that succeed long 
term usually aren't perfect. 

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They just become people who 
always find their way back. 

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00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,040
And that finding your way back 
is what I truly believe is why 

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00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:25,400
running changes people. 
Because eventually it stops 

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00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,160
being about the pace. 
It becomes about resilience. 

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00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,640
It becomes about how you handle 
discomfort, how you respond when

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00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,480
things get difficult, how 
patient you can stay, how 

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00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,720
adaptable you become. 
And those lessons transfer 

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00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,280
directly into real life. 
The resilience you learn late in

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00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:44,960
the long run, the patience that 
you learn during marathon 

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00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,280
training, or even the emotional 
control that you learn during 

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00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,160
difficult workouts. 
Stuff follows you into 

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00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:55,600
everything in life, work, 
relationships, stressful seasons

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00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,680
of life. 
And I think that's why so many 

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00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,160
runners can stay connected to 
the sport for years because 

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00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,880
eventually it becomes less about
the fitness, but more about your

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00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:07,600
identity. 
And here we go. 

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00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,440
We've come full circle now. 
You are a runner. 

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00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,000
Claire, thank you so much for 
coming on and having this 

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00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,080
conversation. 
With me and to you guys, thank 

377
00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,000
you so much for listening to the
Marathon Running Podcast by 

378
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,440
Marathon Journal. 
And if you enjoy this episode, 

379
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,200
definitely share it with another
runner who might relate to this 

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00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,400
conversation. 
Please also be aware that as we 

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00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:31,400
have said last week, we are 
adding another segment to our 

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00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,200
podcast. 
So every Thursday we will have a

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00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,960
segment called Your Story, Your 
Why. 

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00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:40,760
When we talk to everyday runners
about what their why is why, 

385
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:42,680
Because we want to get inspired,
right? 

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00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,600
The training, the science, all 
that stuff that I love so much 

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00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,920
helps us so much. 
But what also helps is the human

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00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,800
stories, the stories other 
runners share, the struggles 

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00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,720
that we all go through and and 
find relatable. 

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00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,760
So all that stuff is awesome. 
I mean, it's not awesome that we

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00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,000
struggle, but it's awesome to 
share that, to build our 

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00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,520
community out a little bit more.
If you want to be part of this, 

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00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,200
if you want to be interviewed, 
if you are willing to Share your

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00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,040
story with us, please reach out.
My e-mail is 

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00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:16,960
letty@marathonjournal.com. 
I have about 15 interviews 

396
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,320
scheduled just for next week, 
which I'm bulking up, right? 

397
00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,640
I'm out of town during the 
summer, so I'm front loading 

398
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,760
everything. 
But that is the amount of people

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00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:26,120
that are willing to share their 
story. 

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00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:29,880
And I'm so excited to go through
all these interviews with them. 

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00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,280
So, yeah, reached out Letty at 
marathonjournal.com. 

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00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,480
Thank you so much for tuning in.
And until next week, have a 

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00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:41,640
great week of running. 
You've been listening to the 

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00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:43,720
Marathon Running Podcast by 
Marathon Journal. 

405
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,520
If you've enjoyed the show, 
check us out at 

406
00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,440
marathonjournal.com or follow us
on social media. 

407
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:50,520
Happy training.