How do you combat the anxiety of racing at a high level?

Sounds like you have to much time in races thinking about stuff.

Run faster and that goes away.

Ask Shacarri.

Hey man just relax on the line, and run. You know what to do. Go get some!

You were out of your comfort zone because of the presence of faster runners. Your desire to dominate was an impossible dream and this triggered your panic attack.

You just have to accept that in these types of races you aren't there to win, but to do the best you can without the anxiety and frustration.

I’ll repeat the advice I gave another youngster a few months back:

1. Stay Loose (mentally). Bill Murray is the king of staying loose. He is attempting to be present at every moment. I advise you to watch every Bill Murray movie you can (seriously) especially the "good" ones like Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers, the Razor's Edge, Groundhog's Day etc AND REALLY PAY ATTENTION to how he moves through the world and deals with people. On race day (or every day of your life, really) you are attempting to be Bill Murray on the last day of Groundhog's Day: totally relaxed, confident, humble, compassionate, radiating with the holy spirit.

2. Stay loose (physically). Do a shake-out "function run" the morning of, or several hours before your race. Even 1 mile is enough. Slow jogging, feeling the good feelings of your limbs moving easily. End this run by declaring to yourself, "Damm, I feel GOOD"--even if you don't!

3. Stay dumb. This is especially for highly intelligent folks who tend to over-analyze and over-think. If you feel anxiety or nerves rising, take a deep breath, and in whatever dumb accent/voice you choose, say something like "Hyuk, I'm a gonna run like the wind today."

Side note: this also works wonders for virginal intelligent nervous types who struggle with performance deflation during physical intimacy. Stop thinking! Literally tell yourself, "Hur-dur, I'm a gonna love this puzzy." It works!

4. SMiLe and laugh. In the hours before the race, either listen to positive music that is good for your spirit (like Brian Wilson's SMiLE album) on your headphones. Or talk and joke with your teammates. Laugh freely. DO NOT BE SO SERIOUS. Go watch old footage of Haile Gebreselassie on the start line of his races--he is grinning from ear to ear. And that is at the very top of the world elite, before he rips the balls off his competitors. Your HS race is nothing in comparison to the Olympics. But even if it WAS the Olympics, you should be smiling from ear to ear. Seriously try it. Tell yourself on the start line, "I feel GREAT. I WANT to be here. This is going to be FUN."

5. Pray and give thanks for the ability to run. In the last few minutes before the gun goes off, take a moment to think of kids in wheelchairs and pediatric cancer wards. Get down on your knees either literally or mentally and give thanks that you can RUN. Think of those poor wheelchair kids and run like the wind, in an almost ecstatic physical manifestation of thanksgiving.

I'm not joking about any of the above. Take my advice, conquer your nerves, and enjoy your racing (and the rest of your life, if you're wise enough to extrapolate these concepts).

https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=10474150#10474185

You just need to run more races and get more experience.

Don’t think about big names you won’t beat.

Focus on running your own best race. You can only control how YOU run anyway.

Comfort comes from repetition. You'll get better out there by just racing more and simply gaining experience. In the short term, another poster touched on something I've always used in my mental prep for cross, not focusing on the win too seriously. I'm a mid d guy so XC has never been my strong suit or focus, this means that I was often outclassed when I got to even a midsized event. Winning was pretty much impossible so I just focused on my race within the race. Beat the guys who I know I should beat, try and catch those just ahead, run the pace I've been training to run and just staying as relaxed as possible. This might not work, but imo your biggest thing is gaining experience and that can only come with time. You'll get there eventually.

Maybe they really are legal, but stay away from those caffeine pills.

The Karsten Warholm routine seems to work...try it out.

Read up on some people's accounts of performance anxiety, stage fright, and fear of public appearances. Might make your symptoms pale by comparison. Hell, you don't even say you throw up or pass out!

Star wrote:

You just need to run more races and get more experience.

Don’t think about big names you won’t beat.

Focus on running your own best race. You can only control how YOU run anyway.

That was my thought. Do your best.

At the end of the day you are doing something simple, going out and running. Just leave it at that. Who cares what others think.

I think it's important to remind yourself it's just running. It's just a fun thing you choose to do, basically just a very dedicated hobby. You probably don't have the talent to make a living at it, so just relax and do your best and try to enjoy yourself.

In other words, don't put pressure on yourself. I had similar stuff happen when I was younger because I put too much pressure on myself and I built up the moment and importance of the race too much in my head.

Basically just do your best and have fun. It's simple but it works. When I changed to that mindset I saw a huge improvement in my racing. I was able to consistently run great races more often and much more often walked away from races knowing I gave it everything I had. It's very satisfying when you finish a race and look bad at it and realize you could not have run even 0.01 seconds faster because you legitimately have your best. It's pretty fun when that happens. Just do your best and have fun and whatever happens happens.

Hurno wrote:

The Karsten Warholm routine seems to work...try it out.

warholm is a puny little dweeb who needs to be slapping himself 10x harder if he wants to look cool

@john_james where u at bro

Easy for me: I never race at a high level.

Relatively speaking, you probably don't either. Maybe you could try thinking of it that way.

What are the real expectations of you anyway? Aren't you an underdog who would surprise people if you really did well anyway?

This book is relevant:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Bad-You-Want-Psychology/dp/1937715418

It's your first collegiate race, I wouldn't be sweating it. A few more races and it'll feel like any other race you did in high school.