In this article you will find below a Interview with sports psychologist Paul Schlütter.
The six phases of a bike marathon
Shortness of breath, muscle pain and sometimes despair - it is anything but easy for outsiders to understand what drives mountain bikers to take part in a MTB marathon race or MTB stage race to participate. Behind the fascination lie peculiar tricks of the psyche and basic biological instincts. On an experiential level, the marathon experience can be divided into six phases.
1. goose bumps
The excitement starts as soon as you click on the registration button for the marathon. This is the starting signal for a project that often lasts for months and is sometimes begins with a searchsometimes with a crazy idea. The closer the starting shot comes, the hotter the stage fright burns. Despite some last-minute relaxation exercises, the body tightens up on the morning of the race and the heart pounds. On the starting grid of the race, it becomes clear: there's no turning back now. Sweaty hands accompany the first start.
2. community
The field of riders rolls into the race as a group. Scrutinising eyes scan form and material. One Marathon makes everyone the same. Everyone has to cross the same mountains, everyone looks the same (good) after a mud shower. But the community shares more than the route. It is shared passion and shared suffering. When you look at the face of the person next to you, you can recognise the same experience that your own head is going through - whether on the nasty ramp or under the finish arch.
3. adrenalin
It's tight right from the start. The pace in the marathon is high, everyone is fighting for a bit of space. The stress hormones drown out the pain in your legs and boost your performance. Ambition flares up and the increased alertness releases previously unknown reserves of energy. Then on the trail descent: tunnel vision. Now the riding technique has to be right. The brain is in a state of maximum concentration and every muscle is under tension. When the body, flooded with adrenalin, merges with the bike to form a single unit, all other emotions are faded out.
4th landscape
Whether dense forest in the low mountain range or rugged rock faces in the alpine terrain: the landscape offers the mind a distraction from the exertions of the marathon. The red of the sunrise and a breathtaking panorama form the backdrop for the great marathon cinema. Pedalling over the mountains on a mountain bike for several hours is out of the ordinary for most people. Only a thin layer of fabric covers the body running at full speed as it races through nature. Time and again, the idyllic scenery is in stark contrast to the physical torture, creating experiences that will stay with you forever.
5. doubt
During an endurance race, doubts are expressed most strongly in self-questions. Have I chosen the right equipment? Will my training be enough? When the body feels like an old balloon that has been deflated, the mind also puts it in a headlock. Short rest periods, hunger and over-acidified muscles guarantee a bitter cocktail of emotions. Looking at the elevation profile, the onset of rain and faster riders constantly erode your self-confidence during the marathon. It is not uncommon for a small fall or a defect to deal a fatal blow to your motivation. If you want to master the challenge of the marathon, you have to use little tricks to overcome the staccato of worries.
6. triumph
The last few metres through the finishing arch seem like something out of a dream. Crossing this line is a victory. Fellow competitors and families cheer along with strangers and hug each other. Then it slowly seeps into your consciousness that you have achieved what you weren't sure about. The tension subsides and gives way to an exciting mixture of happiness and disbelief. The goal has been reached, the project completed, the heroic story written. If you want to know what complete exhaustion and euphoria feel like at the same time, you have to run a marathon.
Ready for a marathon challenge for 2023? Then take a look here:
Interview with sports psychologist Paul Schlütter
Paul Schlütter is an association psychologist at the German Cycling Federation. The sports psychology expert explains to us what goes on in the mind and body during a marathon.
BIKE: The challenges of a marathon seem pretty daunting to outsiders at first. Why do people do something like this anyway?
Paul Schlütter: One of the most obvious motivations is to push the limits of your own body. People love that! They want to prove to themselves and others that they have what it takes to survive a marathon. At a certain level, a mountain bike marathon is a battle of wills in which athletes can honestly face themselves. It is an experience that is very rare elsewhere.
What moments during a mountain bike marathon give you goosebumps and what does that do to the athletes?
Not only external stimuli, such as cold, but also internal conditions can result in physical signals. The perception of this arousal varies from person to person. At the start of a marathon, goose bumps can be the reaction to strong emotions. Triggers are often beautiful moments, such as the presence of friends and family. However, when the hairs on the back of the neck stand up, it is sometimes also a shock reaction or the result of a feeling of pressure. The body ramps up its basic activation and prepares itself for the task ahead. In principle, this upregulation of available resources is a positive signal. When the body is screaming for the end of the exertion in a race, overcoming the physical signals can be a very fulfilling feeling. Especially in the context of self-optimisation processes, overcoming the challenges of a marathon leads to strong positive joy.
In which moments of a bike marathon is the sense of community strongest?
Feelings of community can already arise during the preparation for a particular competition - often intensified by social media. These emotions are particularly strong in the large group at the start of a marathon. The starting line is usually a colourful bunch in the truest sense of the word. Everyone rides for themselves and yet all together. You support each other, pull others along and are pulled along. This experience welds you together and is the birth of many a biker friendship. The field of riders has a wide range of different levels of preparation and yet a similar goal. Even if each participant brings different resources to a marathon, they are all united by the challenge. This is fundamentally different from beating each other up in a boxing ring. The thought of the common task allows the marathon participant to arrive in the here and now. Such moments are highlights in human existence, the cherry on top of the cream of life. During the race, groups form at a common pace. You share the rhythm and the movement. The feeling of belonging to the group has a performance-enhancing effect. Such feelings of community are inspiring and beautiful.
In which race situations does adrenalin play a role in the marathon?
Under the influence of adrenalin, a marathon may be perceived as a threat rather than a challenge. Flight or fight? Sweating hands, racing thoughts, stomach problems. A marathon is less threatening than a fight for survival in the jungle, but it is the perception of danger that allows you to test your limits and perform feats that you previously thought impossible. Some people are really absorbed by this feeling.
What does the landscape do to the participants of a marathon?
In a marathon, you don't drive through the city in an SUV, but through the countryside on a mountain bike. This offers the opportunity to get a little closer to the planet on which you are travelling. The closeness to nature of the marathon sport can be a strong motive for participation. Anyone who starts a marathon with the aim of "enjoying nature" can celebrate personal successes in the race from a sport psychology perspective. Especially wide views of mountainous landscapes and beautiful forests offer variety and relaxation for the eyes. But landscapes can also seem threatening. This is especially true when you are travelling on a slippery slope in bad weather during a competition. The perception of danger releases adrenalin. The physical strain of the marathon is independent of the beauty of the landscape. Nevertheless, this can have positive effects, release feelings of happiness and reduce the subjective perception of the effort.
What doubts are typical on the marathon course?
Can I still do this? Pain and doubt are quite normal in endurance sports. You have to be able to endure a bit of both. Doubts are initially just thoughts as a result of stress. They do not necessarily determine how a person will act. If you can't put any distance between yourself and these thoughts, your performance starts to weaken. An escape reaction seems tempting. You can learn how to deal positively with doubts through sports psychology training. Those who master this in the marathon prove their own and others' dominance. People love to master challenges. If the comparison of required and available resources is negative, doubts are inevitable. Those who master the flight response have an opportunity to prove themselves in the marathon.
What are the most important moments of triumph in a marathon race?
As a rule, people enter the marathon situation with a self-perception in which they have the necessary resources to overcome the challenge. Whether at the finish line or at the start: from a sports psychology perspective, triumphs depend entirely on individual goals. Each participant is completely free in this respect. This can be placement, further development as an athlete or simply participation. At the centre is always the will to prove one's ability. Triumph can be perceived as joy or redemption. The combination of physical and mental strain is almost unique to sport. Some give success a strong expression, others celebrate it quietly and for themselves.
Jan Timmermann
Editor
