When your body wants to quit, most athletes fight it or give in to it. There’s a third option.

You’re not undertrained. You’re underprepared for what happens in your head.

You’ve done the miles. You’ve followed the plan. But at some point in every hard effort, somewhere between the halfway point and the finish line, something shifts.

The discomfort becomes loud. Doubt creeps in. Your pace drops, not because your legs can’t hold it, but because something in your mind decides it’s had enough.

Most athletes respond in one of two ways: they fight it (which uses energy and makes it worse) or they try to ignore it (which doesn’t work for long). Neither approach addresses what’s actually happening.

There’s a third way.

Work with me

The urge to quit is not a command. It’s information, and you get to choose what to do with it.

My approach is built on research I conducted during my PhD into self-control and endurance performance, combined with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), one of the most evidence-based psychological frameworks available.

The core idea is this: discomfort, fatigue, and self-doubt are a normal part of endurance sport. Trying to eliminate them doesn’t work, but you can develop a different relationship with them, a relationship where you notice them, accept they’re there, and still choose to move forward anyway.

Not because you’re tougher. Because you’ve developed the psychological skills to respond rather than react.

Work with me

The Endurance Psychology Package — six sessions built around your performance

This isn’t a generic mental skills programme. Every session is built around you — your sport, your goals, the specific moments where your psychology is getting in the way of your performance.

Across six sessions, we’ll work on:

• Understanding exactly what happens in your mind during hard efforts — and why

• Developing a healthier relationship with discomfort, doubt, and the urge to quit

• Building the psychological flexibility to respond to pressure rather than react to it

• Creating a practical, personalised approach you can use in training and on race day

Sessions are 50 minutes, delivered online, and tailored entirely to you.

Work with me

Who I am

Dr. Chris Gunn. Chartered Psychologist (BPS), Senior Lecturer in Psychology, PhD in Sport & Exercise Psychology.

I’ve spent my career at the intersection of research and practice, studying specifically how endurance athletes respond to discomfort, fatigue, and the psychological demands of sustained effort. I work with athletes completing my applied accreditation through the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Science (CASES), meaning all my practice is supervised to the highest professional standards.

Based in Loughborough, working online with athletes anywhere.

Ready to close the gap between your fitness and your performance?

I work with a small number of athletes at any one time. If you’re serious about developing the psychological side of your endurance performance, I’d love to have a conversation.