Unfortunately, burnout is particularly relevant for trail and ultramarathon athletes due to the intense physical and psychological demands of their training and racing schedules. One of the key signs of burnout is emotional and physical exhaustion. Athletes can experience an overwhelming fatigue that isn’t alleviated by the usual amount of rest. This can lead to a significant drop in performance and motivation for both training and races. They may also show signs of increased anxiety, irritability, and even physical symptoms like general tightness and disrupted sleep. They may also experience a reduced sense of accomplishment, where they feel that no matter how hard they train or how well they perform, it’s never good enough. They might even begin to feel detached from the sport, where the interest and enjoyment of running is diminished; they may even withdraw from you and other runners and consider quitting running altogether.
We want to catch signs of burnout early, rather than let it reach the point where athletes want to stop running altogether. Regularly checking in with your athletes is important and you should look for changes in how they’re describing the way they feel in general about both life and running. Watch out for signs of general increased stress levels, diminished enjoyment, or constantly feeling physically unwell and sleeping poorly, as these are the early warning signs of burnout.
Burnout in runners can be influenced by a variety of factors such as excessive training load, high general stress levels, unrealistic goals or expectations, inadequate fueling, and insufficient sleep. There can also be feedback cycles within this. For example, if an athlete isn’t fuelling well enough, then they might not sleep well. Not sleeping well might diminish their performance in training and at work. This, in turn, can increase stress levels, which then further reduces sleep. And so, the vicious cycle goes on!
Most of the runners you work with probably won’t be full-time athletes. So, their training may not be the main source of stress in their lives. Work, family, and general life commitments may contribute far more to their overall allostatic load. However, as a coach, you will have the most control over their training load, and it is probably the aspect of their life in which they have the highest degree of control as well (e.g., they may not have much control over when things get busy at work or at home). Even if their training load doesn’t seem excessive relative to what they’ve handled before, if external stresses are much higher than previously, then that same training load may be excessive for their current situation. So, the first thing we should consider is whether we need to adjust their training load to reduce overall stress and increase recovery time.
Unrealistic goals may lead to feelings of inadequacy and increased stress. Athletes may also be experiencing impostor syndrome, as it is quite common in high performers. In the ‘goal setting’ section, we will discuss how to set appropriate goals in more detail. But, even if an athlete’s agreed-upon goals seem realistic, it is still worth checking in with them to see if they have any other internal or external expectations being placed on them. If so, we may need to bring them back to focusing on more realistic and healthy goals.
In the ‘motivation’ section, we also discussed how to build intrinsic motivation. If an athlete’s basic psychological needs are not being met, then that will also increase the likelihood of burnout. So, I refer to that section for tips on how to build healthy intrinsic motivation. The techniques outlined in the ‘mindfulness and ACT’ section are also very beneficial for managing stress and burnout.
Supportive relationships can really help athletes cope with stress and reduce the severity of burnout symptoms. You form part of athletes’ support network, but it may be worth checking in to see if they feel they are getting adequate support from colleagues, friends, and family, etc., as well. Discuss with them whether there are ways they could spend more quality time with those closest to them to help create a more supportive environment.
If training levels seem realistic and stress levels are okay, then sleep and diet may be worth investigating. If an athlete isn’t getting sufficient sleep, they could look at their sleep hygiene. Are they waking up at the same time every day? Are they reducing exposure to blue light through screens in the hour before they go to sleep? Are they giving themselves adequate time for sleep (the sleep needs of all individuals will vary; on average, women tend to require more sleep than men, particularly during menstruation)? Are they sleeping in a cool, dark, and quiet room? While people may not have control over all these factors, they should do their best to control the ones they can. Everyone’s nutritional needs will vary as well, and if you suspect an athlete is not getting sufficient nutrition, it may be worth referring them to a sports dietitian.
Hopefully, this section has given you some ideas on how to recognise, avoid, and manage signs of burnout. Prevention is better than a cure though, so ideally, try to implement healthy strategies with your athletes from the very start!
Key takeaways
1. Burnout is characterised by emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, increased stress, detachment from running, poor sleep, and reduced performance
2. Training load, external stress, internal pressures and goals, sleep, and diet are key contributors to burnout
3. Training load is usually the easiest factor to manage
4. Consider an athlete’s social support networks, goal setting, and intrinsic motivation
5. Mindfulness and meditation may help with burnout
6. Implement good sleep hygiene
7. Ensure adequate fuelling