Digital Mindset Intervention for Half Marathon Performance

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to test whether a brief digital mindset training program can improve performance among recreational runners training for a half marathon in New Zealand in 2025. The study will recruit healthy adult participants who are registered for an upcoming half-marathon event.

The study aims to answer two main questions:

1. Does the mindset training program - designed to reframe common physical symptoms like fatigue or muscle soreness as signs of progress - help more runners complete the race and improve their official times, compared to standard training advice? 2. Does it support better training (e.g., longer peak training weeks) and faster physical recovery after the race?

Researchers will compare participants who receive the mindset training program to those who receive widely followed half-marathon training content and a group who receive no study content, to see whether the mindset training leads to better half-marathon performance and training outcomes.

Participants will:

* Complete a brief online survey at the start of the study * Receive and engage with four pieces of digital content across nine weeks before the half-marathon race (if assigned to a training group) * Complete a follow-up survey after the half-marathon