Mind over Miles: Resilience is the Trait of the Great

Mind Over Miles: Week One Howdy, Vibrant Fam 🌞

As part of this ongoing journey toward the World Marathon Majors, I’m introducing something a little more reflective: Mind Over Miles. Every other Wednesday, we’ll dive into topics like mental resilience, burnout, what keeps us going, impostor syndrome, and more. This is our space to get real and personal.

This week, we’re starting with one of the most essential traits of distance running—and life in general: resilience.

What Is Resilience, Really?

Resilience can mean different things to different people. For me, it’s the ability to bounce back—and to keep bouncing back, no matter the outcome. It’s strength, it’s grit, it’s tenacity. And while some people seem to come by it naturally, for most of us, it’s something we learn—often the hard way.

Distance running demands resilience. Either you have it, or you develop it real quick. Because in this sport, you don’t just battle sore legs—you battle your own mind.

Your brain is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that it will scream at you to stop when your body starts hurting. It’ll remind you of every excuse to quit. Learning how to talk back to that voice—to tell yourself that you can and will keep going—is the real training.

So Why Do It?

Let’s be honest: some runs are downright miserable. There are days you’ll hate every single dang mile. And no, it’s not all rainbows and medals. But what makes it worth it?

The sense of achievement.

Whether it’s your first mile, your first 5K, your first marathon—it doesn’t matter. When you push through the doubt, the discomfort, and everything inside you screaming “STOP,” you come out stronger. You cross that finish line with a medal, sure—but more importantly, with a deeper belief in yourself.

Where Resilience Really Shines

The wildest part? The moment you finish one race and… immediately sign up for another. 😅No matter how hard it was, how many times you said “never again”—you hit that register button like it never even happened. That’s resilience in action. And maybe a little bit of runner madness.

Final Thought

Whether you’re running races or just navigating life, you’ve already proven resilient. You’ve bounced back from things that were hard. You’ve shown up again after failures. You’ve kept going when it would’ve been easier to stop.

That’s something to be proud of. You’re a badass—and resilience looks damn good on you.

Short Note:

🏃‍♂️ I'm running the 2025 NYC Marathon & 2026 Tokyo Marathon as a charity runner for Tackle Kids Cancer and the American Cancer Society. If you’d like to support the cause, you can donate here:

American Cancer Society | Tackle Kids Cancer

 Thank you for being part of this journey 💛