LET YOUR MIND RUN

“As an athlete I’ve found aside from hard work, the greatest tools for success are optimism and gratitude. These practices have led to happiness and the routine pause to realize I’m living the life I love and dreamed of.” – Deena Kastor

When Deena Kastor was a senior at the University of Arkansas, she assumed her running career was over. She was frequently injured, psychologically burned out, and far more interested in what she was making in the kitchen than anything outside. But she wasn’t finished: when her coach encouraged her to give it one more try, she realized she’d had it all wrong: she was running on talent – something finite and unsustainable – and not running on physical, emotional, and psychological strength. Fast forward twenty years and Deena Kastor amassed 15 national titles in cross-country, track and marathon. She is the only athlete to hold every American record from 5K to the marathon and the only American woman to break the sub-2:20 barrier in the marathon. She also won the bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

What she learned, and what applies to every single one of us, is that the difference between positive and negative thinking is the difference between finishing (dare I say winning) the race and never making it to the course. RUNNING ON HAPPY by Deena Kastor and Michelle Hamilton is Deena’s story of how she found and built an entire life around positive psychology. This is an inspiration to runners everywhere, and applicable to anyone wishing to usher in more positive thoughts. Deena challenges us to look up, consider our surroundings, and dare ourselves to think better.

Deena Kastor has been on the cover of Runner’s World, Running Times, and Competitor magazines; featured in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and multiple other publications. She’s appeared on morning shows, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, Weather with Al Rocker on the Weather Channel, KTLA, WGN-Chicago, and ABC7 Chicago. She also served as a commentator for the national broadcast of the New York City Marathon and local coverage of the Chicago and Los Angeles Marathons. She is sponsored by ASICS and Fleet Feet, and runs the ASICS Mammoth Track Club with her husband, Andrew Kastor. They live in Mammoth, CA.

Michelle Hamilton is a veteran health and fitness journalist and a contributing editor at Runner’s World magazine.