There have been countless stories of runners going that extra mile in honour of a lost loved one, for a cause close to the heart, but what about driven by rage, fear, abandon? Each of the aforementioned emotions breeds fuel for a passionate run, but according to Sports psychologist Ralph Vernacchia, Ph.D., author of Inner Strength, not just one emotion is appropriate for all athletes at all times.
Do we run every race for Joe or for fear of losing, or to deal with passed aggressors, for the pure excitement, or perhaps we have been told that the ‘warrior mentality’ is the ultimate drive to coming in first at the Finish Line.
While there is anecdotal evidence to back up the belief that race-day rage works, Vernacchia states “Each athlete has a certain amount of emotional energy that they can spend and channel into their performance because the issue is really energy management and distribution.”
Each runner knows why she runs around the park or city block, but what flames our desire to finish that marathon? To beat our own record, to pass the neighbour, to raise money; and if that is the why…what pushes us to endure the journey? Are encouraging faces on the sidelines enough to push us those last six miles over rough terrain in the rain/heat/snow?
Vernacchia advises that you must “Run your race emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.” It seems, as other therapeutic outlets (which your run may already be) such as writing and art, that running a race could be just the place to work it out, whatever it may be.’ Rage,’ however, tends to carry a violent connotation and in recent times is associated with abusive automobile drivers i.e. ‘road rage.’ So if in fact, anger has proven to be a powerful motivator in finishing the race lets hope we can keep it all in our heads leaving others to freely fuel their emotional drive+
