About six years ago, professional runner Jess McClain reached a breaking point during a workout of 1,000-meter repeats. She was pushing hard, yet every repetition was around 45 seconds slower than her target. After gradually losing motivation for competition, she told her coach she wanted to stop running professionally.
That break lasted about two years. During that time, McClain met her future husband, reconnected with friends and got married. Shortly after her honeymoon in 2022, she entered the Mesa Marathon in Arizona on a whim. She hoped simply to finish before a two-hour-and-45-minute playlist ended. Instead, she ran 2:32, won the race and rediscovered how much she enjoyed competing.
The result convinced McClain that she still had a competitive drive, but she returned to professional running with a different priority: preserving joy in the process. Since the Mesa Marathon, she has placed fourth at the Olympic Marathon Trials, set an American course record at the Boston Marathon with a 2:20:49, and finished second at the New York City Marathon in 2:24:42, becoming the first American woman to reach the race’s podium in eight years.
McClain says stepping away gave her perspective and helped her remember why she loved running. Sports psychologist Erin Ayala explains that voluntarily taking a break can restore motivation because athletes regain a sense of control over their identity and training. Time away can also help people reconnect with roles beyond sport, reducing their vulnerability to burnout, anxiety and low mood when running is not going well.
Burnout is more serious than ordinary training fatigue. Warning signs include exhaustion that does not improve with rest, declining motivation or accomplishment, losing connection with the reasons for training, dreading workouts, irritability, difficulty concentrating and repeatedly imagining quitting while feeling unable to do so.
Runners do not necessarily need to wait for burnout before making training more enjoyable. Ayala recommends revisiting the reasons that originally made running appealing. Coach Greg Laraia suggests repeatedly asking “why” behind a goal, such as setting a personal record, to determine whether it reflects a meaningful motivation or a superficial target.
Having choices can also protect motivation. Runners might include favorite workouts, join friends for a track session or participate in a local 5K, even when those activities do not precisely match a training plan. According to Ayala, greater agency can make training more rewarding and effective.
McClain has also shifted her attention away from outcomes and toward what she can control. Rather than becoming consumed by a missed split, she focuses on executing the day’s work and enjoying the overall build-up to a race. Process goals can serve the same purpose, whether that means focusing on race execution, encouraging other runners or creating a more memorable experience.
Celebrating smaller achievements is another part of her approach. McClain now values milestones such as fueling properly during a long run or getting up promptly for a summer workout, rather than measuring progress only through personal records or high-mileage weeks.
She also works against perfectionism by adapting workouts to how her body feels. Although she has a general structure of two hard days and roughly 82 to 85 miles per week, she adjusts pace or changes sessions when necessary. Ayala notes that perfectionists can be especially susceptible to burnout, while practicing flexibility can prepare runners for the unpredictable demands of racing.
Temporarily setting aside performance data may help some athletes decompress. Laraia suggests completing a workout without checking pace or heart rate, or occasionally running without starting a watch. Keeping notes about emotional state and perceived effort can also reveal patterns that numbers alone might miss, including a repeated mismatch between how a workout feels and how the body is performing.
McClain emphasizes fueling as another foundation of healthy training and enjoyment. Eating enough before and during runs, she says, has helped her stay healthy and perform consistently. She also makes room for activities beyond racing, including exploring destinations with her husband and enjoying race-related events rather than treating them as distractions.
Sometimes the most useful strategy is taking time off. Ayala describes taking two months away from cycling after a difficult period and setting a personal record within eight weeks of returning. Laraia says a break can also be shorter, such as dropping a hard workout, reducing mileage or taking an additional rest day.
McClain’s comeback suggests that stepping away does not necessarily mean losing ambition. For some runners, reducing pressure and recovering their sense of choice can make training enjoyable again—and create the conditions for stronger performances.
Sources: Runner's World.