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In the 2,728 miles she rode in 104 days, Jacky Hunt-Broersma learned a thing or two about mental toughness. The 46-year-old Arizona-based ultrarunner set a new world record on April 30 for most consecutive daily marathons, completing 104 runs of 26.2 miles in 104 days. The previous record was 101 marathons in 101 days.

Hunt-Broersma is no stranger to strenuous adventures on foot, however, as she is a seasoned ultrarunner. Even still, 104 marathons in 104 days challenged her in ways she didn’t think possible.

“This challenge really showed me how strong the human spirit can be,” says Hunt-Broersma. “I was juggling so many things – the kids, the chores around the house, our dogs – and [if I wasn’t] deliberate in the way I approached each day, I would never have achieved my goal.

Jacky Hunt-Broersma’s mental lessons from 104 marathons in 104 days

While most of us will never come close to running even a few marathons in consecutive days, the lessons of persistence and poise Hunt-Broersma learned over her miles are ones we can all apply to running. and to life.

The “why” drives everything

We often hear about the idea of ​​having a “why” behind our athletic endeavors. Our “why” is the most important reason for trying to overcome the challenge we are currently facing. For Hunt-Broersma, her “why” was to uphold the idea that anyone can do hard things and push their limits, no matter who they are.

“I wanted to show people that no matter who you are, you can do hard things,” she says. “Whatever you encounter in your life, you can overcome it through hard work and a strong mindset.”

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To add to his belief that people of all abilities can accomplish great things, Hunt-Broersma raised funds throughout his 104 marathons for Amputee Blade Runners, an organization that helps those who need prosthetics for activity. physical access to it at little or no cost. The ultrarunner has raised nearly $200,000 during his 104-day solo marathon. Knowing that his miles were helping others was a big part of Hunt-Broersma’s “why” every day.

There was the added motivation of knowing that a world record was also on the line. When the going got tough, Hunt-Broersma thought how nice it was going to be to be the new record holder.

“Around the 50 marathon, I woke up and thought, ‘Why don’t you stop now. Fifty is enough and everyone will always be impressed,” she says. “I had to remind myself: there is nothing physically wrong, there is a bigger goal on the line and I can reach the finish line by pushing.”

Staying rational and remembering why she attempted this trip in the first place kept Hunt-Broersma determined and grounded in her perseverance.

Know it’s gonna be hard

One of the most important things Hunt-Broermsa did to mentally prepare for her 104 marathons was to recognize from the start that this goal was going to be extremely difficult and even painful at times.

“Life can be tough, and this running challenge was no different from the tough situations we might face in life,” Hunt-Broersma said. “I had to deal with my own mind every day. This world record attempt was 90% mental and 10% physical.

For Hunt-Broersma, the hardest part of each day was mile 23. Knowing that she had already covered 23 miles, but still had 5 km to go, was a big mental block for her. But instead of breaking down or being frustrated at mile 23 every day, the ultrarunner would accept that the last 5 miles were going to be tough and knew she would have to work mentally at that point to get those last few miles.

For Hunt-Broersma, understanding her personal challenges, like the mile 23 mental block, helped her feel better prepared to handle them as they approached.

Her Boston Marathon experience (number 93 of 104) required her to train to mentally toughen up for another period of discomfort. Flying from Phoenix to Boston is a long day, and Hunt-Broersma still had to complete the 92 marathon, which she did after an overnight flight.

Then, the day after the Boston Marathon, when most participants were hobbling with sore legs and enjoying some rest and relaxation, Hunt-Broersma knocked out Marathon 94 before a red-eye return flight.

“The days leading up to and following Boston were uninterrupted,” she says. “I was so sleep deprived after Boston, but coming into Boston I knew this streak of days was going to be tough. I came prepared to expect them to be difficult and was able to focus on the task at hand [the marathons] and do it.

Recognizing and predicting stressful aspects of athletic endeavor or life can help alleviate how daunting they seem in the moment. Planning ahead and being graceful are some of the best ways to get through them.

Break it down and celebrate

With a goal like 104 marathons in 104 days, it’s easy to quickly get overwhelmed by the gargantuan size of the journey. Breaking every day and every marathon into bite-size pieces was a big mental trick used by Hunt-Broersma.

“Every day I was celebrating every mile,” she says. “I would say ‘OK, one thousand one! Let’s go!” and doing my best to continue with that positive attitude as I put in the miles.

The mum-of-two took each day as a fresh start and didn’t focus on all the miles that remained to be covered. Instead, she focused on just starting each day and getting that first mile step ticked off.

This can apply to any task in life or sport. Instead of taking a view from 30,000 feet and being intimidated by all the logistics that have to go into place for a goal to be achieved, focus on the “micro goals” instead. A mile. A step. Put on your running clothes. Fill your water bottle. Accomplishing these smaller tasks will allow you to eventually achieve the most important goal at hand.

It’s also helpful to have a support team to pass the miles with: Hunt-Broersma’s daughter (11) would join her for a few miles, making this 5k the best of the day and something the ultrarunner would look forward to in the middle of his daily 26.2. Local friends would also join in for miles here and there, making a daily marathon less daunting than just marinating in your own thoughts.

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Feel the emotions, but press

Running a single marathon is an emotional rollercoaster. Running 104 in a row is a theme park of emotions: elation, frustration, irritation, joy, the list goes on. Some of those feelings were welcome, but some were Hunt-Broersma’s brain rebelling against the exhaustion her body was storing, begging her to stop.

“It can be so easy to want to let those negative emotions take over the moment,” she says. “It’s a time when you really have to muster all your mental strength, remember your ‘why’, feel your emotions, and then commit to keep going.”

The key to Hunt-Broersma’s success in managing her emotions was to literally stay calm and carry on. She knew that no one else could cover the miles for her (to come back to her “why”) and that taking a few breaths or taking a short break on the side of the track was much better than giving in to the desires of his brain to shut down completely.

All athletes can benefit from such advice. It’s better to take a moment to self-regulate than to let a momentary feeling dictate how the rest of a day or race goes.

Hunt-Broersma’s lowest point was the day she ran two marathons, day 35. Yes, that’s right: 52.4 miles in one day, sandwiched between her other full marathon days.

“I ran a half marathon that morning and then had to take care of my kids and do some chores, so I ran another 13.1 miles after that,” she says. “Then I received notes on social media suggesting that the marathon would only count if the miles were all in one go. I didn’t want to ruin my world record chances, so I started again this afternoon to run 26.2 miles straight.

That night, Hunt-Broersma completed her second marathon of the day with minutes to spare before midnight.

She noted that the feelings of frustration and exhaustion that day were almost too much to bear. But it was by lowering her head, taking things step by step, stopping when she needed to, and acknowledging her emotions (but not giving in to them) that she overcame that low point of the day.

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And after?

Now that Hunt-Broersma is the new record holder for the most marathons run over consecutive days, she plans to celebrate her achievement with her family by her side.

“As endurance athletes, we tend to immediately think ‘What’s next?’ after I finish something,” she says. “I’m trying to extend my celebration of this challenge a little bit and I’ll be taking a well-deserved vacation to reconnect with my family in the weeks to come – they’ve been so supportive and this will be great to spend this time with them.”

Hunt-Broersma is far from done with her ultrarunning career: She plans to run the Moab 240 in October, which involves 240 miles and 29,000 feet of climbing through the trails of Canyonlands and Arches National Park .

Hunt-Broersma felt like running again on day three of her recovery from solo marathons. But she gets back into things, listens to her body, and celebrates what her spirit pushed her through.