The Mindset to Not Quit
The stories that Sally McRae shared with me stuck in my memory. When I thought of what conversations I could share as a “best-of the show” episode, this conversation was the first one I thought of.
Sally McRae’s path to being a professional ultramarathon runner was unconventional. As a teenager, she had her hopes set on being a professional soccer player. And the mindset she developed that led her to become a competitive ultramarathon runner started when she was young.
She was drawn to gymnastics from watching the Olympics. But, when her mother looked into the cost of training, it wasn’t in their budget. When Sally said, “That’s not fair!” Her mother responded, “Complaining won’t do anything. You can try to raise the money yourself.”
So Sally started babysitting, and worked to be the best she could be. Her clients came home to find the house cleaned, dishes done, along with the kids asleep in their beds. She was able to get enough money to enroll in gymnastics.
But she soon discovered that she also needed to pay for an additional class: dance. She had to give up on her gymnastics dream. Instead of crushing her spirit, this experience drove her to work hard in every new opportunity she had. She developed a winning mindset.
Sally’s mindset practice starts with taking hold of the day with gratitude and prayer. She says this also helps her stay focused on the big picture of what she is working for.
This mindset served her well in her race at Badwater. She had trained hard, working to adapt her body to the heat and discomfort she knew she would face. She knew she was strong. The challenge that came was her stomach. At only 14 miles into the race she began to have problems keeping food down. But she chose to focus on what was working, her legs felt good, and she kept going.
Her closing comments about her mindset at Badwater come close to being a super-power. She went into this race with the mindset to feel and experience all the difficulty and struggle. Rather than put on a tough persona to convince others, and herself, that she is better and stronger than any challenge in the race, she accepted the discomfort and pain as part of the experience. And kept going anyway.
Besides being a professional runner, Sally is a coach, and she is working on a fitness app that combines strength training and mindset training. Connect with her through the links below to find out more.
Connect with Sally:
Website: https://sallymcrae.com/
Instagram: @yellowrunnerFacebook: @yellowrunner
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