With Steeplechase only beginning for athletes in their collegiate year, competition is fierce and intense. It isn’t an event that athletes do for fun but based on talent, training, and mental strength.
Steeplechaser, Emma Coburn made an astounding wave across the media; even to society outside of running, for her World Athletics Championships London win in 2017. She was the athlete with the famous image with her former boyfriend, now husband post race.
“One of the reasons Coburn is such a great racer is that she shows up with a plan and probably uses visualization to actualize it. And visualization is a powerful tool to motivate, excite, and prepare ourselves to respond to adversity. I advise my athletes to make sure they practice visualization of all of their senses (seeing, tasting, feeling, smelling, and hearing) to create both ideal and difficult scenarios and learn how to overcome them ahead of time, thus paving the way for success” (Frerichs 2017). \
Steeplechasing involves so much mental strength to visualize the race, push through the barriers, believe in your endurance, and racing competitors at the end when its the last fifty meter foot race.