On long drives it feels natural to turn on the radio and listen to music, podcasts or even audiobooks as one travels the road.
Yet, what can be done when playing any audio of choice is not an option, but there are still miles to cover?
Cross-country races consist of an athlete running a 5K, often alone, on various courses. While athletes sometimes run in a pack, or as a group to pace, this is not always the case. When it comes down to the solo parts, what exactly is on a runner's mind?
For the BYU women’s cross-country team, there is an emphasis on having mental cues to use during specific parts of the race, particularly during difficult stretches or moments when athletes feel like they are struggling to push through.
“We normally have a team meeting to kind of talk about overall goals with the race, what we want to accomplish, some mental cues that we want to have in our mind while we’re racing,” BYU runner Jenna Hutchins said. “I feel like it can be really helpful if you get to a part in a race that’s really difficult, if you have a specific cue that you can tell yourself to just get through the hard part.”
While it may seem normal to for people to let their minds wander while doing tasks, these athletes remain focused on what they’re doing to participate in their sport to the best of their abilities. This effort is intentional.
“Preparing ahead of time what I’m going to be focusing on during those uncomfortable moments has helped me a lot. So I write down cues for different chunks I break the race or the workout into, and that is the only thing that I’m thinking about during that rep,” said Taylor Rohatinsky, another BYU women’s cross-country athlete. “My mind still strays, but I always refocus it back on this cue, and when I’m on a different part of the workout and that cue shifts to a different chunk of what I need to tell myself, it’s like, ‘OK, I have something else to focus on.’”
Hutchins said these cues can “be like telling yourself to stay calm and smooth or any sort of mantra that resonates with you. It can be different depending on the person.”
Although the cues might change for each athlete, both Hutchins and Rohatinsky said a big one for them is “calm and smooth.” Rohatinsky said she sometimes adds “engaged” into the cue, telling herself “calm, smooth and engaged” throughout parts of races she runs.
Ultimately, what may look like silence from the outside is anything but quiet for these athletes. Inside the race, their minds work with intention, turning over cues, mantras and reminders that keep them grounded in the moment.
Just like a driver on a long stretch of road reaching for the radio, runners need something to keep them focused as the miles pass beneath them. They just can’t rely on sound. Out on the course, there is no radio, no playlist, no podcast to fill the miles — only breath, footsteps and the steady repetition of a chosen phrase.
Those quiet mental cues become the rhythm they move to; those small, repeated phrases become a kind of internal soundtrack, guiding each runner through the most grueling parts of the course.
So while spectators may hear nothing but the wind and the crowd, each runner is listening to something else entirely: the small but steady voice pushing them to keep going.
Calm, smooth and engaged.