I noticed the obvious signs late in the season last year. It was my umpteenth time trying to finish Lead Challenge. I was starting to abhor Leadville. The vibe around the race series was getting under my skin. The people at the starting line of both the hundred-mile bike and hundred-mile run were grating... I was annoyed with everything about the race, the scene… besides the fact that on this last race I couldn’t sleep more than hour because of a screaming child in a campground.  I was going through the motions to get it done. I wanted to get it done, don’t get me wrong but I was going through the motions…I was starting to get burnt out. I may not have fully been there – there were pieces that were missing as you’ll see here - but I was definitely on track to burnout and I’m sure if I did another year of Leadville training, I’d be in it – deep.

When athletes get injured, everyone talks about rehab timelines.

Few people talk about the hit to identity.
The loss of control.
The quiet fear that whispers, What if I don’t come back the same?

Injury doesn’t just disrupt training.
It disrupts meaning.

For many endurance and mountain athletes, sport isn’t a hobby. It’s structure. It’s community. It’s self-trust. It’s how you regulate stress and feel competent in the world.

When that’s gone — even temporarily — it can feel destabilizing.

Here are six ways therapy helps athletes navigate injury and setbacks in a way that builds long-term resilience, not just a short-term comeback.

Staring across the bergschrund, a lump forms in my throat and my stomach churns. Before me lies a deep, dark blue void—a seemingly bottomless icy crevasse at the top of the glacier. The sight is both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Cold air surrounds me, and the sound of water dripping somewhere in the blackness below adds to the tension. When I peer into the darkness, a sense of dread overtakes me. The summit isn’t far from this point. We’re so close, but somehow, it doesn’t feel certain that I’ll ever reach it.