The Toughest Runner Alive: Courtney Dauwalter

"The woman who outruns the men, 200 miles at a time" (NYT)

Here's her unbreakable mindset in 7 lessons for you to adopt:

Who is Courtney Dauwalter?

• Former science teacher

• 2x ultra runner of the year

• Won Moab 240mile race with 10hr lead

• Broke the Tahoe 200 female record by 18+ hrs

• Top 50 Fittest Athletes in the World (Sports Illustrated)

Let's dive in:

1. The “Pain cave”

Courtney used to try and avoid pain.

But her true growth lies in the pain cave.

So instead of just surviving it, she now runs towards pain.

How did she make that transition?

Courtney says it's all about telling yourself a bigger story.

Now she visualises having a chisel and making the pain cave bigger. It's "where we go to work".

Where is your pain cave?

2. Listen to your intuition

Courtney doesn't have: • a coach • a workout plan • a heartrate monitor

Instead, Courtney bases her training on how her body and mind feel every morning.

How could you listen more to your intuition?

3. Have fun to stay motivated

Courtney loves what she's doing and won't let temporary pain stand in the way.

Watch any video of Courtney and you'll see her smiling.

The fun keeps her coming back for more.

How can you foster fun for motivation?

4. Build a team to make you look less crazy

Running a 4-mile loop every hour until no one can finish, is crazy.

Doing it with people around you, you look less crazy.

Courtney ran 280+miles over 70+ hrs like this.

Do you have a team to push your limits?

5. Robot-mode

When you do what you’re supposed to be doing, be present.

Especially when it is hard, don’t think ahead.

Imagine you're a robot.

Right foot, left foot.

Repeat.

6. Don’t ask me how I’m doing

At mile 178 Courtney's legs are hurting, but telling her crew won't help her race.

Letting outside pressures (sponsors, fans) influence her running doesn't help.

Giving in to temporary discomfort would prevent her from finishing.

When you step into your arena, be prepared for discomfort.

Keep going and let your body & mind adapt.

The pain will go away, don't overthink it.

How are you stopping external and internal influences from pushing you off your path?

7. What else can I do?

Courtney thought she wouldn’t finish her first marathon, but then she did.

She flipped a switch:

“If I can finish something I thought was too hard, what else can I do tomorrow that I think is too hard today?”

When are you flipping that switch?

Courtney Dauwalter's winning mindset:

• Embrace and seek pain to grow

• Have fun to stay motivated

• Build a team around you

• Listen to your intuition

• Don't overthink

• Robot-mode

And after you reach your next goal, ask yourself what else can I do?