October Meeting

OPRC General Meeting Summary
10-2-2012
Psychology of Running

Our October Monthly meeting, “The Psychology of Running” presented by long time OPRC member Bob O’Connor focused on stories. Bob’s specialty is the 800 meters but he has run all distances. His focus is on Master’s Track and Field which he calls, “the alternate universe” to distance running. He’s a certified psychologist here in Oak Park who teaches at Dominican University and frequently gives talks about sports psychology. “Running stupid” is his theme for running without letting your preconceived limitations or negative self-talk get in your way. When we think we have limitations, we often abide by them thus denying ourselves the opportunity for greatness. It’s so easy to get psyched out or let our fears get in our way rather than staying open to what may be our untapped possibilities. Knowing yourself first is key to understanding yourself as a runner. For example, what is your comfort level with risk? Do you like to start a race more conservatively or do you like to put it all out there? How much do you listen to your body when training and racing? Sometimes we need to ignore the body when it wants to quit during a race, but other times we need to stop to avoid injury. Understanding our own personality traits and how these traits inform our running lives are key to helping expand our vision of what is possible. Fellow OPRC members had great questions and comments which added to the overall discussion. Bob shared some tools such as learning to relax, visualize success, and make affirmations which can help manage the psychologically difficult aspects of running. All runners share the positive qualities of resilience, perseverance, and heartiness makes the running community a great place to belong! Thanks Bob!