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When Rachel Gersten fell short of her goal to set a personal best at the 2019 New York City Marathon, she let herself feel the disappointment. The licensed therapist and cofounder of Viva, a mental health and wellness company, took time off work and freed herself to do whatever she wanted for a couple of days. She also let her husband know how she was feeling, so he could give her the support she needed after running 4:09, 10 minutes slower than her goal of sub-4 hours. When she was ready, Gersten gradually returned to running without focusing on pace.
“Getting back to [running because I love running] was really helpful to shift the perspective from I’m going to wallow because this mattered to me, but then also I’m going to remind myself that this doesn’t really matter and you just love running, so just do that,” she told Runner's World.
After properly closing the chapter on the training cycle, Gersten was able to process the outcome. Two years later, she was ready to return to the goal with a renewed perspective. In pursuit of breaking 4:00, the five-time marathoner made several key adjustments in her training. At the 2021 NYC Marathon, she finally met her goal when she ran 3:55:38 in her hometown race.
“I think because I had tried and failed once, it was just that much better to say I could finally do it,” she said.
Now with many people in the back end of their first month of New Year’s resolutions, Gersten wants to offer recommendations to help runners create a sustainable goal-setting practice. The mental health expert shared her thoughts on the unhealthy amount of pressure that often surrounds goal setting, positive ways to approach the pursuit, and the importance of processing every outcome.  When Rachel Gersten fell short of her goal to set a personal best at the 2019 New York City Marathon, she let herself feel the disappointment. The licensed therapist and cofounder of Viva, a mental health and wellness company, took time off work and freed herself to do whatever she wanted for a couple of days. She also let her husband know how she was feeling, so he could give her the support she needed after running 4:09, 10 minutes slower than her goal of sub-4 hours. When she was ready, Gersten gradually returned to running without focusing on pace.
“Getting back to [running because I love running] was really helpful to shift the perspective from I’m going to wallow because this mattered to me, but then also I’m going to remind myself that this doesn’t really matter and you just love running, so just do that,” she told Runner's World.
After properly closing the chapter on the training cycle, Gersten was able to process the outcome. Two years later, she was ready to return to the goal with a renewed perspective. In pursuit of breaking 4:00, the five-time marathoner made several key adjustments in her training. At the 2021 NYC Marathon, she finally met her goal when she ran 3:55:38 in her hometown race.
“I think because I had tried and failed once, it was just that much better to say I could finally do it,” she said.
Now with many people in the back end of their first month of New Year’s resolutions, Gersten wants to offer recommendations to help runners create a sustainable goal-setting practice. The mental health expert shared her thoughts on the unhealthy amount of pressure that often surrounds goal setting, positive ways to approach the pursuit, and the importance of processing every outcome. |
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