Movement Mindset Shift

WH's executive health and fitness director explores why runners are particularly prone to imposter syndrome-and learns how to flip the internal script.

- Jacqueline Andriakos

On a recent bus ride to upstate New York with a group of about 20 runners of all different levels, I had somewhat of a running epiphany: Imposter syndrome is crashing runs for too many of us. Rude! Let me back up. We were en route to a two-day running camp, hosted by Nike, where we got to explore our individual relationships with running, test our technical skills on dirt and gravel trails, cheer each other on during multiple group runs, and more. But when Chris Bennett, Nike Running global head coach (who is pretty much a real-life Ted Lasso), asked each of us, as an icebreaker, to describe our relationship with running, the answers were pretty much all laced with self-doubt and second-guessing. "Well, I just did a half-marathon, but I'm definitely not, like, a real runner." "I am really bad at running and will probably be walking a lot." "I signed up for a race in a few months, but I'm definitely not a runner like [insert another person or athlete's name here]." And so on

Nearly every single one of us-despite our various backgrounds as joggers, marathoners, walk-runners, 5-K participants-still did not believe we were actually...runners.

Running, it seems, is a unique challenge that causes more people than I realized to feel insecure, self-deprecating, and inadequate.

I wondered, How can we change the narrative to squeeze more joy out of the sport? If you relate (*raises hand*), keep reading for expert advice on how to improve your running self-talk, quit the comparison game, and infuse every single run with confidence and satisfaction.

WHERE RUNNER IMPOSTER SYNDROME COMES FROM