Run Your Race: Coaching Young Athletes to Build Mental Toughness, Faith, and Consistency

1. The Comparison Trap in Youth Sport

Pierce’s message is clear: “Don’t compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter twenty.”

For many young athletes, comparison is one of the biggest threats to confidence. Platforms like Strava, YouTube and Instagram show other athletes’ highlight reels faster times, bigger lifts, better results.  It’s easy for young people to think they’re falling behind.

As a coach, it’s crucial to help your athletes recognise that everyone’s starting point is different. Encourage them to:

• Track their own progress over time.
• Reflect on how they’re improving, not just what they achieve.
• Use competition as inspiration, not comparison.

>> Related reading: How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others in Sport

By shifting focus inward, you help athletes build self-awareness  a foundation for long-term mental toughness.

2. Consistency Beats Motivation

Pierce’s achievement, running 153 consecutive half marathons, is a masterclass in consistency. His lesson? Motivation comes and goes, but consistency builds identity.

For young athletes, this means showing up to training, study, recovery, even on the days they don’t feel like it.  Many 17–21+ year-olds struggle with routine as they navigate independence and responsibility.

You can reinforce this by:

• Setting process goals rather than just outcome goals.
• Celebrating effort and attitude, not just results.
• Helping athletes understand that small, repeated actions lead to big progress.

Pierce said it perfectly: “You don’t have to get in shape if you stay in shape.” The same applies to mental training, staying disciplined prevents burnout and the “start-stop” cycle common in youth sport.

3. The Role of Faith, Values, and Purpose

For Pierce, faith plays a vital role in performance not in a religious sense alone, but as a source of identity and grounding.

When athletes define themselves solely by results or recognition, they risk experiencing a “post-goal crash.” After reaching a milestone, many young athletes feel lost, unsure of what’s next.

As a coach, you can help prevent this by encouraging athletes to:

• Explore why they play their sport.
• Anchor their motivation in values and purpose.
• Recognise that they are more than their sport.

This is especially important for those transitioning into senior competition or university-level sport. The more they understand who they are beyond the scoreboard, the stronger and more resilient they become.

• >> Further resource: Blog: How to Find Your Why

4. Mental Toughness Through Commitment, Not Perfection

Pierce shared an analogy many athletes can relate to, the boulder.

When he was half in, half out of training, he found it exhausting to restart momentum each week. But once he fully committed, progress became smoother and more sustainable.

For young athletes, the fear of failure often prevents commitment. They might think: “What if I give my all and it’s still not enough?”

Coaches can reshape this thinking by helping them:

• View setbacks as feedback, not failure.
• Build routines that reduce decision fatigue.
• Develop a “show up regardless” mentality.

As David Charlton often discusses in his work on grit and perseverance in sport, mental toughness isn’t about being fearless, it’s about facing discomfort with courage and consistency.

5. Building Identity Beyond Performance

One of the most powerful messages from this episode is the importance of identity beyond sport.

Pierce learned that when your self-worth depends on results, you’ll always chase the next win. But when you anchor your identity in something deeper purpose, faith or contribution performance pressure becomes lighter.

For young athletes, this can be life-changing. Coaches can help by:

• Encouraging balanced lifestyles (education, relationships, rest).
• Using reflection sessions to discuss personal growth.
• Promoting mental health awareness within training culture.

When athletes learn that they are enough, win or lose, they perform more freely and with less anxiety.

6. The Coach’s Role: Creating Environments That Encourage Growth

As a coach, you’re the bridge between potential and performance. The “Run Your Race” philosophy challenges you to create an environment that values progress over perfection, effort over ego, and consistency over comparison.

Try integrating these ideas into your coaching culture:

• Begin sessions with personal reflection questions, such as “What did I do better this week?”
• Encourage team discussions on challenges and growth, not just results.
• Celebrate resilience moments times when athletes showed up despite adversity.

When athletes feel supported in the ups and downs of their journey, they’re more likely to stick with sport long-term and enjoy it.

Final Thoughts: Helping Athletes Run Their Race

The 17–21+ age range is full of change physically, mentally, emotionally.  Athletes at this stage need more than tactical drills; they need mindset guidance, emotional balance, and clarity of purpose.

By helping them adopt the Run Your Race mindset, you’ll empower them to take ownership of their journey, build resilience, and find meaning beyond medals.

As Pierce Showe said:

“Focus on being better than you were yesterday. Run your race not anyone else’s.”

>> Recommended follow-up reading or listening:

• Motivation for Sport Quiz

• Blog: Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance including VALUES LIST

• Podcast – Why is knowing my WHY important?

>> Summary for Coaches

• Comparison kills confidence. Help athletes focus inward.
• Consistency builds resilience. Reward effort, not outcomes.
• Faith and purpose anchor identity. Sport is part of who they are, not all of it.
• Commitment beats perfection. Encourage courage over comfort.
• Coaching the whole person creates mentally tough, balanced performers.

>> To hear more of Pierce’s insights from the world of ultra running, listen to the full episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness here.

Blog: Run Your Race: Coaching Young Athletes to Build Mental Toughness, Faith, and Consistency