Sports Improvement

Ely Runfest – Hypnotherapy for Running

by Dan Regan | Oct 6, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Ely Runfest – Hypnotherapy for Running

This past weekend, I ran the half marathon at the Ely Runfest event.

Being Welsh, I’m not always a fan of running in the Fens, especially on a blustery day like the one of the race. I’d rather a few hills along the way, or at least my legs seem to prefer it. However, I really enjoyed this race.

I’ve completed the Ely Runfest marathon on two occasions in the past. We are quite lucky to have it on the doorstep here in Ely with the start/finish located right outside the awesome Ely Cathedral. As always, it was a well organised event with friendly and supportive marshals along the route. The fantastic organisation is a real credit to Ely Tri Club who host the event. And the medal is among the best I’ve ever received for completing a race.

I wrote a while back about how I was planning to run the marathon at the Runfest. Sadly, life got in the way of that. Thankfully, the organisers kindly let me drop down to the half marathon so I could still take part (thanks so much again!).

I’ve written plenty of times about the mental health benefits of exercise and activity. It can help with issues such as anxiety, stress and depression. It’s certainly not a ‘fix-all’ but all the research and evidence shows it helps.

When it comes to running (and all sports), your mindset is key to how well you perform. Hypnotherapy can help with so many of the psychological and emotional aspects around running and sport. If you want to perform to the best of your capability, then hypnotherapy can help you to get there.

Hypnotherapy for HYROX Performance

by Dan Regan | Oct 1, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Hypnotherapy for Hyrox Performance: Boosting Mental Strength for Race Day

Recently I’ve been helping many people with hypnotherapy sessions to boost their Hyrox performance. Like any sport, there is always the mental side alongside all the physical training. Hypnotherapy can help you to successfully prepare your thoughts and feelings so that you have all the mental strength you need to perform at your peak on race day.

For those new to it, Hyrox is a unique fitness race combining running and functional strength training. There are wall balls, sled pushes, burpees long jumps and a load of other workout stations. It’s one of the hottest things in the fitness world right now and it’s almost certain that there is a gym offering it somewhere not too far from you. Near me, there is a Hyrox gym in Ely and another in Newmarket and it is incredibly popular. So much so that competitors can even struggle to get a place when entries open for events. At events, you complete eight rounds of a one kilometre, each followed by one of the workout stations.

Hyrox is high intensity and high skill. Athletes train hard to perform well and technique is key. However, it is also high stress once you leave the comfort of our own gym and step into the competition arena. It’s about intensity, endurance….and mindset. Because whilst most athletes spend hours training and refining their technique, many leave their mindset and psychology to chance.

I’ve worked with Hyrox athletes who struggle with pre race nerves and then fall apart on the day. There can be that little negative inner voice when you get fatigued that saps you further and stops you pushing on. Your anxiety can lead you to speed through the early stages, only to find you blow up later on. And for others, performance anxiety, self-doubt and overthinking become barriers to performing at your best.

And that’s where hypnotherapy for Hyrox performance comes in to help you stay calm, composed and confident under pressure.

Hypnosis For Golf

by Dan Regan | Sep 11, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Hypnosis For Golf – Dan Regan Hypnotherapy Ely & Newmarket

Could hypnosis for golf help you to play better?

You’ve invested in your clubs and kit. You’ve worked on your technique, read about the strategies of the great players and maybe even had some golf coaching. However, if your mindset is not in the right place then you probably find that things still unravel out on the course.

It could be some nerves that derail your playing when the pressure is on, in competition or around certain other players. Perhaps you find that one bad shot leads to more and more wayward playing and your performance tanks for a few holes. It could be that you choke when faced with a tough shot or putt. Maybe you feel a fear of failure or even a fear of success. And any other number of negative thoughts and feelings, before or during a game, can stop you relaxing, enjoying your game and performing to your best when you want to.

It may not even always be golf related thoughts and feelings that interfere with your game. General life stress and busyness, overthinking, self criticism, self doubt and just about anything else can follow you out onto the course. And, of course, you have plenty of time between shots and while waiting for others, for a stray thought or distracting idea to take root and grow within your awareness.

The end result is the frustration of failing to play as well as you know you are capable of playing. The psychology around the game is the difference between performing to your best and getting better, or finding that your enjoyment, performances and confidence drain away.

Hypnosis for golf can help you to boost performance by taking charge of your thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions in ways that help you to play to your potential.

Hypnotherapy for Running: Back in Marathon Training

by Dan Regan | Aug 22, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Hypnotherapy for Running: Back in marathon training

After a tough year personally, I’m very pleased to be back in training for my next marathon in the autumn. It feels like an age since I completed my last ultra marathon back in May last year so I’m super pleased to be building up the mileage again. This next one will be part of my training to get back into the ultras later this year and into next year.

There’s a wealth of research supporting how exercise can help support your mental health. Certainly I feel better after a run and it helps me to get out and take some time to process my own thinking. Yet there are still many psychological aspects required to support your running or other exercise.

As with all sports, there is always a psychological element to running. There are the thoughts you have, helpful or otherwise, before you run, as you run and then afterwards when you think back. Some thoughts before a run may seek to derail you from even getting your trainers on. There are those negative thoughts that creep in during a run, especially when you are tired, that seem to encourage you to stop or that negatively focus on your performance and ability. And there can be those thoughts where you are self critical and tell yourself you aren’t good enough or where you negatively compare yourself to others and worry what they think about you.

Before training and competition, there is plenty of time and scope for your thoughts to limit you and hold you back. Or instead, you can use your mindset to allow you to build and to run to the best of your capability.

Hypnotherapy for Cricket

by Dan Regan | Jun 20, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Hypnotherapy for Cricket

Hypnotherapy for cricket can help you to perform at your best on the field so that you play better and enjoy your game even more.

Cricket season is well and truly upon us. England have just finished a series with the West Indies and are about to face India. The Championship is in full swing and the Vitality Blast is up and running. With summer here, cricket takes over as the main event.

With the season up and running, it’s the time of year where I work with a lot of cricketers on their performance. Sometimes their season hasn’t got started as they would like and for others, it’s about pushing on to the next level that they know they are capable of. As with all sports, your mindset is key when playing. Whether it is your batting performance, your bowling consistency or even both, you need to have focus, concentration, calmness and confidence. You need to be in the zone so that all your training instinctively comes to the fore and where you are making good decisions and handling any challenges.

Perhaps only like golf, during cricket there can be a lot of time for thinking. There is the time when your team is batting and you are just waiting to go in. There will be times between innings for your mind to wander. In the field it can be easy to switch off if you aren’t being called upon to do much. When batting or bowling you need to be making multiple decisions, handling whatever comes up, dealing with pressure and staying focused on the next shot or ball and managing the time between each action. If you make a mistake you need to be able to move on quickly rather than letting it linger. Even when you take a wicket or play a great shot, you need to quickly and effectively refocus and engage for what comes next.

Sometimes players get anxious, nervous and lack belief before and during a match. Those thoughts and feelings lead to tension, negative self talk, a lack of trust in your playing and poor decisions. This can have a knock on effect into your next game as you worry about playing poorly again. That then leads to even more lack of belief and anxiety. Sometimes you know you have more to give yet somehow you keep getting in your own way.

Hypnotherapy for cricket can help you to take control over your thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions when you play. You can feel calm, focused and confident and keep your mind and attention in the game. Hypnotherapy boosts your self belief and a belief in your own capability has been strongly linked with best performance.

Hypnosis For Running

by Dan Regan | Jun 19, 2025 | Sports Improvement

Hypnosis For Running: Marathon Running Mindset

The sun is shining and there are many, many running races taking place every week, which makes this a great time for talking about hypnosis for running.

If you’ve been reading my articles for a while, you’ll know that running is my passion. I love getting out and getting some miles in, especially when the sun is shining and I can get down along the river and into the areas of nature around Ely. Running and exercise are key parts of how I manage my physical and mental health and well-being. I’ve been pretty inspired by some of the stories that I’ve been hearing recently from people who have come for hypnosis for running sessions. It’s got me online and eagerly checking out what Autumn marathons may be happening nearby.

Every runner knows that you have to get out and get the training done. Whether on your own or with others, you want a mix of shorter and longer runs and at faster and slower paces. Yet one area of training that is so often overlooked, and that can be the difference between running well or crashing out, is the mental side of your performance.

Sometimes it can be about the negative thoughts and excuses that stop you even lacing up your trainers to get out and run. It could be elements of self sabotage or a lack of belief in your own capability to do more or go faster. You may struggle with anxiety and self-doubt about running and racing. And when you do run and you start to get tired, you definitely need to know how you can counter that nagging little voice in your head that is telling you to slow down or stop.

Your mindset is important for your training and racing. You need to have the focus, confidence, motivation and self belief to get in the zone and consistently do what you are capable of doing.

For inspiration, here is what one of my clients, Steve, had to say after his hypnosis for running sessions that helped him absolutely smash his marathon:

Confidence Playing Football – Hypnotherapy Ely and Newmarket

by Dan Regan | Mar 9, 2025 | Confidence and Self Esteem, Sports Improvement

Confidence Playing Football – Hypnotherapy Ely and Newmarket

Has your confidence playing football taken a dip? Or maybe you know you have more to give on the pitch but your confidence when playing football isn’t where you want it to be.

Anyone who plays football knows that where your head is at before and during a game will affect how you play. It could be day to day anxiety and stress that you carry with you onto the pitch. Maybe your general confidence and self-esteem levels aren’t as high as you would like them to be and this plays out in your game. And for many players, their own tendency to worry about being judged negatively or to be overly harsh and self-critical towards themselves, can impact on performance.

I’ve worked with players who make one mistake on the pitch and then their thoughts are stuck on that moment even when the game has moved on. Something shouted at you from someone on the side of the pitch can get in your head and you start playing with doubt and nerves. You miss a tackle, get booked, mess up a shot a goal, make an error and you concede or any other number of perceived or actual mistakes and mishaps that can be part of a game.

You start to dwell upon your performance and what you think you did, or didn’t, do well in the game. Instead of playing naturally you overthink and force things. You start to feel more nervous and anxious in the warm up and even in training. You start to think that you aren’t good enough. Your head can drop and you spend large parts of the game more focused in your own imagination and negative self-talk rather than responding to what is going on around you. Your performance suffers and you feel even worse.

When your confidence levels while playing football are good, everything just flows. You respond instinctively, your concentration levels are good, things just click and you are in the zone where you play at your best. Your thoughts, feelings, ability and performance all come together for you in these moments. Yet when your confidence levels dip, everything becomes harder. You don’t play to your best, things just seem a bit off for you and you can even start to lose the joy for the game that you once had. That’s where football confidence hypnotherapy can step in so that you can step up.

Hypnotherapy for Football Performance

by Dan Regan | Jun 18, 2024 | Sports Improvement

Hypnotherapy for Football Performance

The Euros have kicked off and the group games are advancing at pace. Sadly Wales aren’t there this time but I’m loving watching as many of the games as I can. There have been some tight games, at least one big shock and plenty of goals have been flying in. It’s always fun watching teams who I don’t normally get to watch and playing in a competition where the fans are excited and every game means something.

If you play football then you’ll already know that your mindset is just as important as your skill levels and physical fitness. If you want to perform at your best you need to be focused and confident. You need to manage your thoughts, feelings and emotions before kick off and through to the final whistle.

No matter what level you play at, all sorts of things can get in the way of your performance on the field. General life stress and anxiety, and other things off the pitch, can affect how you play. You may struggle with injury and getting back into playing because of the fear of another injury occurring. There can be setbacks after you make a mistake or if your team are on a losing streak. You may doubt yourself if you aren’t in the first team consistently. There can be comments from coaches, team mates, opposition players or spectators that get into your head and lead to doubt, negativity and indecision. And a host of other negative thoughts and feelings can damage your self belief, lead to negative self talk and interfere with your ability to perform at your best.

You can probably think back over times you’ve performed well and been pleased with your playing. You know you can play well, yet psychological issues can seemingly block you from drawing upon that capability consistently. It can become a negative habit that stops you playing well and can even ruin your enjoyment of the game. Things can happen during a game that adversely impact upon you. You want to be able to go into a game knowing you can perform to the best of your capability, manage your own self-talk and thinking, and remain resilient enough to handle whatever comes your way.

Hypnotherapy for football performance can help you to boost your performance, strengthen your confidence and be in control over you thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions on and off the field.

Huntingdon Ultramarathon Result – Thanks for all your support!

by Dan Regan | Apr 15, 2024 | Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and NLP, Sports Improvement

Huntingdon Ultramarathon Result – Thanks for all your support!

The great Huntingdon Ultramarathon has now been and I’m pleased to say I survived it!

Yesterday I headed over to Huntingdon on a warm Sunday morning and I’m pleased to report that I achieved my goal of nine laps of the course. I completed 29.5 miles in 5 hours and 23 minutes. I’m pretty pleased with that as the last lap was a bit of an ordeal! Huge thanks to my friend, Matt, who came up from Windsor to support me and to hold my water and fruit pastilles.

The event, by Zig Zag racing, was well organised and relaxed and everyone seemed to enjoy the day. Hinchingbrooke Park was a lovely venue, even with the deep, damp mud that lurked throughout the woodland part of the course.

A massive thank you to everyone who sent me good luck messages before the event. And a massive thanks to everyone who sponsored me to help me raise a bit for MacMillan Cancer Support (if you can spare a pound or two there is still time to sponsor me and help this great cause: https://www.justgiving.com/page/dan-regan-huntingdon-challenge – thank so much!).

Here I am before the start, that bit where you have no idea what is in store for you!

Running For Macmillan Cancer Support

by Dan Regan | Feb 20, 2024 | Dan's Blog, Sports Improvement

Running For Macmillan Cancer Support

I’ve been busy with my running training and I’m delighted to confirm that I’m going to be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support when I take part in my next event in April.

For those of you who have been following me for a long time, you may just about remember that I’ve run to help Macmillan before. Way back in about 2013, while my Dad was very poorly with cancer but still with us, I headed back to my home town of Cardiff to take part in the half marathon there. The whole event was outstanding, especially the start where I got to hang around inside the castle for a while before heading to the start line and heading off. A crazy, enjoyable, busy event that helped me to raise a few hundred pounds for such a great cause.

And so Macmillan are a cause close to my heart. They were there when my Dad had cancer to provide advice, information and support. More recently, they have provided help while my father in law has been going through his battle with cancer and his treatment.

Last time it was a half marathon and this time I’m making it more of a challenge for myself. I’ll be heading to Huntingdon in April to do as many laps as I can of a looped course within the six hour time limit. Fingers crossed, I’ll get beyond a marathon and somewhere around the 50k mark. Based on my return to long distance running last year, I’m expecting it to be pretty tough. Yet every penny for Macmillan matters so if you can spare some change then I’d be massively grateful, it’ll help me to persist on the day and it will help Macmillan to help more people who are going through the tough challenge of facing cancer.

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