Runners

JULY 2018 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK 075BODY+MINDYo u ’ll f e e l l e s sstressed``````People who supportothers have lessactivity in brain areasassociated with stressthan those who receivesupport, accordingto a study publishedin PsychosomaticMedicine. Stress isa burden and it canafect performance: astudy published in TheJournal of Strengthand ConditioningResearch found thatcollege athletes werenearly twice as likelyto develop injuriesduring stressful schoolweeks (such as inals)``````as they were duringperiods of minimalacademic stress.``````You’ll learn fromeveryone``````Spectating allows youto see racers you missas a participant, andthere’s something toglean from each pacegroup. ‘If you’re usuallyat the front, you mightthink running is allabout competing; ifyou’re in the back, younever see how theelites glide,’ saysKamphof. Spectatingallows you to take noteof the form and focusof the pros, whilegaining inspirationfrom the grit of theback of the pack.``````You’ll know whatto expect``````‘Taking in the exactsurroundings andseeing other peoplemodel the courseis a powerful thing,’says Kamphof. Let’ssay you stood on a hillsection of a marathonyou were planning torun and saw a varietyof runners struggling- elites, athletes withdisabilities, those whorun at your pace. Theexperience would helpyou develop innerstrength for when youtackle the hill yourself.‘They’re modelling theexperience for you,so you know what toexpect and can feelmore conident inyour own abilitieswhen the time comes,’says Kamphof.CROWD SOURCEWhy cheering for other runners can boost your performanceYOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO BELIEVEYOU CAN ACCOMPLISH SOMETHINGWHEN YOU SEE OTHERS DOING ITRAISE YOUR HAND if a spectatorhas given you a boostduring a race – if some jellybabies saved your soul atmile 20 or a stranger’s high ive putmore oomph in your steps. Now,keep that hand up if you’ve been asolid spectator yourself. Still up? Itshould be. It turns out that cheeringfor other people might help makeyou a better runner.The reason is what psychologistscall ‘self-eicacy by vicariousexperiences’, a fancy way of sayingyou’re more likely to believe you canaccomplish something when you seeothers doing it. ‘You think, “If theycan do it, I can, too,”’ says CindraKamphof, a professor of sportspsychology and author of Beyond Grit:Ten Powerful Practices to Gain theHigh-Performance Edge (Wise Ink).Believing you can do somethingcan be powerful. For one, you’re morelikely to stick with a commitment``````when things get tough. For example,researchers at Penn State University,US, looked at people with kneeosteoarthritis and found those whowere more conident in their physicalabilities early in the day were moreactive throughout the day, despitepain. And in a study by the Universityof Illinois, US, people with an ‘I-can-do-it’ attitude were more likely to stickto exercise regimes in the long term.Kamphof, also a competitiverunner, saw this efect at irst handwhile watching the US OlympicMarathon Trials. ‘I never saw myselfas an Olympic runner, but my pacewas similar to some of the people inthe back,’ she says. ‘So I imaginedmyself in their shoes, and it gave memore motivation in my training.’Kamphof’s renewed commitmentto her running helped her win theOmaha Marathon a few years later.Here are three other ways spectatingcan boost your performance.``````LOUD HAILERSMembers of the ParisRunning Club setthe standardWORDS: KIERA AARON CARTER. PHOTOGRAPH: VIRGILE GUINARD (PARIS RUNNING CLUB)