Why are you doing the Live tier of the Self-Belief Journal?
JAMES: For me, mindset coaching isn’t something you complete, it’s an ongoing journey.
Being present on the monthly calls keeps me aligned with where I’m heading. It sharpens my own thinking and gives me exposure to how others are navigating their challenges.
What month has been your favourite so far?
JAMES: Month 3-Master Your Inner Voice.
Backyard Ultras are long. We spend so many hours in our own head, so the ability to recognise which thoughts are useful and which aren’t serving us becomes critical.
It’s not about silencing the inner voice or the negative thoughts. It’s about managing it.
“Master this month and you are putting guardrails in place so you stay in the race, both physically and mentally, for as long as possible. This is a month I continue to revisit, especially in the lead up to events.”
Have you had any unexpected surprises as a result of the SBJ?
JAMES: You realise there’s no end point with mindset. You can revisit the same concept multiple times and still find something new, a different angle, a better way to apply it to what you’re currently facing.
“As you evolve, what worked for you in the past may no longer be relevant for you to succeed now. As you level up you face more advanced challenges and need an enhanced mindset to continue to make breakthroughs.”
What are some of the most significant wins you’ve experienced as a result of the SBJ?
JAMES: In the lead-up to Big’s Backyard Ultra (October 2025) I had surgery and the recovery time was longer than expected, shortening my useful training time to about six weeks.
“I had started to build a really negative narrative that could have easily derailed me performing at my best and to my true potential.”
But the August Live session introduced an exercise that gave me a completely different way to approach the situation, to how I was going to approach my training and the race with such a short prep time.
Although it wasn’t the perfect race I ended up with a PB on the Bigs course in Tennessee, running for 75 hours (505km) and finishing 22nd in the world out of 75 runners.
“The best thing that has come out of it is the self-belief and deep knowing of what I’m capable of executing.”
If you had to describe the Self-Belief Journal in 1-3 words, what would you say?
“Success is inevitable.” – James Blanton