What Elite Athletes Know About Mental Training (That You Don't)

Yesterday we released a new episode of Human Endurance. This time we sat down with Stuart Holliday, a chartered sports psychologist who’s spent over a decade working with GB Olympic swimmers, archers, and endurance athletes at every level.

In a conversation that ranged from pre-race panic to post-Olympic depression, Stu shared insights that reframe how we should think about mental training. Turns out mental toughness is as trainable as your VO2 max - if you’re willing to put in the work.

Here are some of the key takeaways from this episode.

You’re Only Tracking Half Your Training

Most of us meticulously log every run, ride, and swim. We know exactly what our splits looked like in week 1 versus week 12.

But here’s Stu’s question: How was your mentality in week 1 compared to week 12?

It’s hard to answer, isn’t it.

Turns out we can learn from elite athletes here by keeping a mental diary next to our training plan. Not motivational quotes, but structured reflections after key sessions analyzing thinking, confidence, and how one worked through challenges. This way, when taper time hits and the phantom niggles appear, you have objective data showing your mental progression to support you.

As Stu puts it: if you’re doing a 14-week training block and can’t remember how you mentally handled week 1 when you’re in week 12, you’re leaving “rich data” on the table that would be invaluable for managing pre-race anxiety.

The “Pity Party” That Separates Pros from Amateurs

One of the starkest differences between elite and amateur athletes?

Amateur mindset: One bad training session → “The whole cycle is ruined, I’m not going to have a good race.”

Elite mindset: “That was a sucky session. I need to park that performance, get to bed, and start again tomorrow.”

No pity party that lasts a week. No catastrophizing. Just: noted, moving on.

Stu notes that coach Mario Fraioli actually worries when an athlete has a flawless training block—because they haven’t practiced mentally working through adversity. When something goes wrong in the race, they have no evidence to draw on that they can push through and come out the other side.

So next time you have a bad session: embrace it! It’s part of training.

Nerves vs. Excitement: It’s All Interpretation

I recently worked with a runner who had a great training block but faced race nerves a week before their marathon, and the race went terribly.

“How to best coach athletes in this situation?” I asked Stu.

He said “nerves” needed reframing into “excitment“.

According to Stu, elite athletes reframe those exact same sensations as excitement—your body preparing for something significant. The physiological response is identical: sweaty palms, elevated heart rate, rushing thoughts. The interpretation changes everything.

The goal isn’t to eliminate those feelings. You’ll still feel them on the start line (there’s a reason they put lots of toilets at the start of races). But you’re working with them, not against them.

One Mental Skill to Take Home

If Stu could teach an athlete just one mental skill before their biggest race: stay calm.

Not control. Not confidence. Just: before you hit the panic button, stay calm.

Pre-taper, pre-race, in-race—whatever happens that you weren’t expecting, your first response is to stay as calm as possible before making any decisions.

How do you actually do this? Everyone’s recipe is unique, but it starts with practicing in training. Knowing your triggers. Priming yourself before sessions. Understanding what sets you off and changing focus from exploding and panicking to taking a more measured approach.

Like everything else: you don’t learn to stay calm on race day. You train it.

Listen to the Full Episode

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