Badwater is the world’s toughest race. The ultramarathon passes through Highway 190, which might as well be the Highway to Hell. The road gets so hot runners have to stay on the white stripe to prevent their shoes’ soles from melting.

SCOTT JUREK with Tarahumara runner Arnulfo Quimare in a race chronicled in the book "Born to Run." Jurek won the 2005 Badwater Ultramarathon despite collapsing on Mile 60. CLICK TO ENLARGE. (FROM THE FLICKR PHOTO PAGE OF WOLF GANG)

On mile 60 in that year’s race, Jurek collapsed, vomiting and shaky, after chasing the early leaders. Yet his wife and his friends, who served as his crew, let him be. They didn’t try to help him get up. “They knew there was no voice in the world more persuasive than the one inside Scott’s own mind,” Christopher McDougall said in Born To Run.

The book then documented Jurek’s internal dialogue:

“There’s no way, Scott told himself. You’re done. You’d have to do something totally sick to win this thing now.

Sick like what?

Like starting all over again. Like pretending you just woke up from a great night’s sleep and the race hasn’t even started yet. You’d have to run that next 80 miles as fast as you’ve ever run 80 miles in your life.”

After 10 minutes of lying on the road “like a corpse,” Jurek got up and won Badwater, setting a new record by finishing in 24 hours and 36 minutes.

The mind, ultra-runner Jonel Mendoza said in his talk to Cebu runners earlier this year, is a powerful thing. If you think it, you can probably do it.

Never mind the heart or the lungs (just yet). These two organs are generally able to immediately adapt to the added stress of running. Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy associate professor Miriam Nelson says your body immediately adapts to the stress and makes your organs and muscles fitter.

When starting out to run, don’t dwell too much on pace or finish times just yet.

Instead, strengthen your mind.

Before even lacing up your shoes, prepare your mind. Tell yourself, “Tomorrow, I will run. I know I will be groggy as I reach for the alarm clock but I will force myself out my bed, change into my running gear, get out the door and run!”
And when you run, push yourself to your mental limits. Will yourself to continue running.

It’s a trick even the top runners resort. Top American long-distance runner Kara Goucher says that she does “a lot of dreaming” when she runs.

“I can’t tell you how many state championships I won in my mind back in high school, how many NCAA titles I won in my fantasies at the University of Colorado, and how many Olympic medals and major marathons I’ve won in my head in the past few years,” she said.

It’s also something the head coach of Team Running USA drills into his athletes.

“Act as if you already are,” Terence Mahon is quoted as saying by the Runner’s World, “This is one of the many mantras that we employ when it comes time to go after a goal that is beyond what has already been accomplished.”

“Breaking new ground physically requires you to first break that mental barrier so that it can come into being.”

Jonel is right. The mind, indeed, is a powerful thing.

The New York Times article “The Human Body Is Built for Distance” says the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall “has reframed the debate about the wisdom of distance running.”

ELITE Kenyan runners lead the pack of the Smart Subic International Marathon 2009. The Kenyan runners look built for the sport with their thin frame and long, lean legs. Scientific studies have shown that humans evolved to become endurance runners. Click on photo to enlarge (PHOTO BY MARLEN LIMPAG)

In the book, Mc Dougall studies Tarahumara Indians, a tribe in Mexico known for running long distances wearing only thin-soled sandals.

Tara Parker Pope writes in her article:

“Mr. McDougall makes the case that running isn’t inherently risky. Instead, he argues that the commercialization of urban marathons encourages overzealous training, while the promotion of high-tech shoes has led to poor running form and a rash of injuries.”

The article said many runners get injured because most people only start running in adulthood. Poor form also causes and exacerbates injuries.

“What’s the solution? Slower, easier training over a long period would most likely help; so would brief walk breaks, which mimic the behavior of the persistence hunter. And running on a variety of surfaces and in simpler shoes with less cushioning can restore natural running form.”

While writing the book, McDougall, who has suffered running injuries, corrected his form and stopped using thickly cushioned shoes. He has been running without injury for three years.