Injured, Not Broken: The Mental Side of Running Injuries Nobody Prepares You For

Episode: S6E10 | Guest: Cindy Kuzma and Carrie Jackson, co-hosts of The Injured Athletes Club | Aired April 2, 2026 | 1 hr 12 min

Author: Nick Klastava

Podcast Hosts: Nick Klastava & Amanda Katz

Listen: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Being injured is not just a physical setback, it is an emotional one, and almost nobody prepares runners for that part. For my first-ever solo episode, I sat down with journalist Cindy Kuzma and mental performance coach Carrie Jackson, co-hosts of The Injured Athletes Club podcast and co-authors of Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, to unpack what actually happens in your head when your body stops cooperating.

Key Takeaways

•             Relief is a normal, if surprising, emotion after an injury, especially if you already sensed something was off before it happened.

•             Injury exists on a spectrum, not a clean line between “injured” and “not injured,” which makes it harder to know when to pull back.

•             A high athletic identity means an injury can trigger genuine grief, and that grief deserves to be taken seriously, whatever your pace or mileage.

•             Comparing your recovery timeline to someone else’s is one of the biggest traps injured runners fall into.

•             Labeling your emotions (affect labeling) measurably reduces the stress response, and it is one of the simplest mental tools available.

•             Coaches should stay engaged during an athlete’s injury, logging rehab work instead of leaving the training log blank.

Relief Is a Real, Normal Reaction to Injury

One of the most surprising points in this episode: relief is a common emotional response to getting injured, especially for runners who felt something was already off, whether that was training load or life stress, before the injury showed up. That relief sits alongside frustration and grief, not instead of them, and Cindy and Carrie both stressed that having a complicated mix of emotions after an injury is completely normal, not a sign something is wrong with you.

Injury Is a Spectrum, Not a Line

Runners tend to think in binary terms: injured or not injured but there is the mental side of running injuries. Carrie and Cindy pushed back on that framing hard. There is a wide gray area between fully healthy and sidelined, and a lot of runners get stuck there, unsure whether to keep training through something or pull back completely. That uncertainty is exactly why it helps to work with a professional who can help you read your specific situation instead of guessing.

Why Injury Hits Identity So Hard

If running is your stress outlet, your social life, and a meaningful part of how you see yourself, an injury takes more than your mileage away. Carrie explained that a high athletic identity means an injury can register as a genuine threat, triggering something close to grief. And it does not matter if running is not your job or your income. Cindy pointed out that non-runners who are deeply invested in another craft, musicians, knitters, anyone with a serious hobby, experience the same thing when that outlet gets taken away. The lesson: you do not need to justify how upset you are about an injury based on your pace.

The Comparison Trap

One of the clearest red flags Carrie and Cindy named is comparing your recovery timeline to someone else’s, or clinging too rigidly to a timeline a provider gave you as if it were carved in stone. Timelines are guidelines, not contracts, and your body, not your calendar, should be steering the pace of your return. Measuring your progress against where you started, instead of the distance left to where you want to be, is a much healthier and more accurate way to track recovery.

Mental Side of Running Injuries & Tools You Can Use Right Now

Carrie’s go-to tool is affect labeling: simply naming the emotion you are feeling in the moment. It sounds small, but it measurably reduces activation in the amygdala, the brain’s stress-response center. Cindy shared the story of Deena Kastor breaking her cuboid bone four months before winning the 2005 Chicago Marathon, and how reframing that setback (with help from her coach) as an opportunity to build fitness in the pool, rather than as a disaster, was part of what got her to the start line strong. Reframing does not require fake positivity. You can still be upset about an injury while also working the mental skill of finding what it is teaching you.

Staying Connected to Your Identity Without Running

Carrie and Cindy’s core message from their book Rebound: you are still an athlete, your recovery is just your sport right now. That reframe lets you put the same energy you were putting into training into your rehab, your mental training, and even into your training log, which Carrie recommends coaches keep active during an injury instead of leaving blank. Volunteering at a race, spectating for a friend, or supporting someone else’s goal are also powerful ways to stay connected to the sport and the community while your body heals.

What Coaches Owe Injured Athletes

I want to flag this directly for any coaches reading: do not disappear when your athlete gets hurt. It is easy to feel guilty and pull back, but your athlete still wants and needs you there. Keep logging their rehab work, even a two-mile walk, so the log does not sit empty and does not silently pressure them toward mileage they are not ready for.

Guest Bios

Carrie Jackson is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant listed in the USOPC Mental Performance Directory, author of On Top of Your Game: Mental Skills to Maximize Your Athletic Performance, and co-author of Rebound. She co-hosts The Injured Athletes Club podcast.

Cindy Kuzma is a freelance journalist with bylines in Runner’s World, SELF, and The New York Times, and co-author of Breakthrough Women’s Running and Rebound. She co-hosts The Injured Athletes Club podcast and sits on the leadership team of Starting Line 1928.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do runners feel grief when they get injured? A running injury can take away more than mileage. It can remove your stress outlet, your social community, and a meaningful piece of your identity all at once. That combination of losses is why an injury can trigger a real grief response, regardless of your pace or experience level.

Is it normal to feel relief when you get injured? Yes. Many athletes report a surprising sense of relief alongside frustration when they get injured, especially if they sensed something was already off with their training or stress load. Having mixed or contradictory emotions after an injury is a normal part of the process.

What is a red flag that an injured runner’s mindset is turning unhealthy? Comparing your recovery timeline to someone else’s, treating a provider’s timeline as a fixed deadline instead of a guideline, and either overtraining through pain or under-adhering to cleared activity out of fear are all signs it is time to slow down and reassess with your care team.

How can runners stay connected to running while injured? Treat your recovery as your current sport: log your rehab work the way you would log a run, use mental training tools like visualization and breathing, and look for other ways to stay in the community, like volunteering at a race or supporting a training partner’s goal.