Chris Mayne wants to run harder for longer in the upcoming 2013 season.

How?

Apart from sweating it out on the training track and in the gym, he’s picturing it happening.

The 24-year-old was the beneficiary of mental imagery sessions with Freo psychologist Kim Mercer in 2012, which saw vast improvements in his goal kicking accuracy.

Now, Mayne is using those same techniques to help him reach his aim of building his endurance ahead of the 2013 season.

“I really want to improve my running to be able to give me a little more options of playing in different types of roles,” he said.

Mayne is a firm believer in mental imagery after registering 39.7 in front of the big sticks last season.

“It’s a tool that can really get stronger the more you practice it,” he said.

“It’s something that you’ve got to keep doing because it’s proven to work and it’s proven to keep the mental bucket full.

“We can only do so much physically with weights, running and training.”

Mayne approached Mercer and asked her how he could use the knowledge he had gained to help him achieve his new goals.

“We came up with a few scenarios of what’s expected when you run 3km, for example,” he said.

“You know it’s going to be tough; it’s one of those max tests.

“To be able to cope with something like that and be able to push through is something that I’m really going to have to work on and mentally get my head around.

“We’ve only started a few sessions now but if you keep going it will definitely improve.”

Mayne has already seen significant improvements in his first 3km time trial of the pre-season.

“To be able to beat your best time by 20-odd seconds on day one was a significant achievement,” he said.

“We’ve included running in the imagery sessions now and you really feel that if It keeps going, it will continue to improve.”

A man who has based his career, and life, on meditation and mental imagery is new Freo assistant coach Brett Kirk.

Mayne didn’t waste any time introducing himself to the former Sydney Swans premiership star.

“It’s good to see how he approaches everyday life and hear how he approached his football and what he strongly believes in,” Mayne said.

“He says he doesn’t only use it for sport; he uses it for everything that he wants to achieve in his everyday goals.”

That lesson is one Mayne has taken on board.

“It’s something that you really have to keep practicing,” Mayne said.

“You can’t expect it’s something that you’ve done well for one year and it’s going to be there for the rest of your life.

“It’s something that you’ve got to keep doing now and keep working on.”