Amateur Running Psychology

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Session Notes The Leader
Addressing:

The Wall

That devastating moment in long races when your mind goes to war with your body, typically around mile 20 in a marathon, where every step feels impossible and your brain screams to quit while negative thoughts flood in uncontrollably

How The Leader Can Break Through The Wall in Amateur Running

Posted on December 19, 2025 ~ min read
📋
For: The Leader athletes in Amateur Running
Focus: Session Notes - The Wall
Read Time: ~9 min
Session Notes December 19, 2025
Profile: The Leader
Sport: Amateur Running
Challenge: The Wall

In amateur running, The Wall is the sudden, catastrophic collapse of mental and physical resources that typically strikes around mile 20 of a marathon. Your legs turn to concrete. Your brain floods with reasons to stop. Every step becomes a negotiation with yourself about whether to keep moving.

The myth says this happens because you undertrained. More miles, more tempo runs, more long runs would have prevented it. But for The Leader iconThe Leader (IOTC) athletes, this explanation misses the point entirely. Your personality type creates a unique vulnerability to The Wall that has nothing to do with fitness.

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Vladimir Novkov

M.A. Social Psychology | ISSA Elite Trainer | Expert in Sport Psychology for Athlete Development

My mission is to bridge the gap between mind and body, helping athletes and performers achieve a state of synergy where peak performance becomes a natural outcome of who they are.

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