What's Happening in Cougar Country

Over the past year, Sean Fee (’12) has been focused on personal growth and pushing his limits—both mentally and physically.

Drawing on his professional background as a mental performance coach, he set out to challenge himself in a new way.

 So, he ran the Boston Marathon.  

“I have always leaned on exercise as being the foundation of my mental health, but when I was faced with the challenges that life has recently thrown at me, I needed something bigger,” Fee said. “I needed a goal that would fuel me to continue being the best version of myself and that would force some self-discovery along the way. So, when the thought came to me of running a marathon, I figured I might as well do the toughest, most famous one in the world.”

This past Monday, April 21, he started and finished the 129th Boston Marathon.

Fee, who was a wrestler during his time at Lake Catholic, has since become a Mental Performance Coach for athletes and coaches. He is currently the Director of Mental Performance for The Golf Room, working with athletes and coaches from all sports on topics such as stress and adrenaline management, growth mindset, acceptance, routine, visualization, goal-setting, body language, mental toughness, optimism, rewiring an anxious brain, postseason prep, and much more.

He's worked with both the Lake Catholic wrestling and swimming & diving teams over the past few years.

He’s also the host of The WellSport Podcast, which has reached the top 10% of all video podcasts as he’s interviewed Olympians, National Champions, Sport Psychologists, Major League Baseball Mental Performance Coaches, and even Michael Jordan’s Mental Coach - George Mumford.

All of this proved helpful while preparing for, and then finally running, the grueling 26.2 miles.

“I chose Boston for this very reason. It is the most mentally challenging sanctioned marathon that exists, and I wanted to put all my mental tools to the test - and they made all the difference,” he said. “What I think helped most was the ways I tested my mental game before the race by doing weekly challenges designed to purely test my mental resilience. So, I did things like running a half-marathon with a 20-pound weighted vest on, so when race day came, not having to deal with that was a luxury.”

Fee, who said prior to training for the marathon he would typically not run more than three miles at a time, said he trained heavily for about 6 months for the race, and although it was tough to train during the winter, he said it gave him a reason to get outside when he felt cooped up. 

“Those long runs all winter also made me appreciate the 60-degree and sunny race-day weather in Boston that much more,” he said.

Again, though, on race day, it was his mental preparation that had him more ready despite all the running he had been doing.

“There is a study I always cite in my mental performance work that I do where, if you accept the fact that you have a challenge ahead of you, you are more likely to overcome that challenge,” he said. “So that’s what I did. I knew it was going to be incredibly difficult, and it sure was. That said, I don't think anything besides running the actual course can truly prepare you for the rolling hills of the entire course.”

Fee said he didn’t have a specific goal time in mind, but he just wanted to run as hard as he could but ended up being very pleased with how he ran and his ultimate time. He averaged 9 ½-minute miles and finished in around 4 hours and 10 minutes.

“What I'll say is that Marathon Monday in Boston isn't actually about the competitiveness of the race. People cheer just as hard for the fastest runners in the world as they do for the people finishing in six hours. It is about the stories behind the people running and what they have gone through to get there. Most are running because they've dealt with some adversity, and the marathon is a way to heal. It is a beautiful thing to witness and something I encourage anyone, whether a fan of sports or not, to one day see in person.”