Most people are sharp enough to pick up on these life lessons without having to run absurdly long races, but I must be a little more thick-headed since that’s what it took for me.

Humility – We need to start with a ‘given’ – more than anything else long distances teach you humility. It doesn’t matter how fit or prepared you are for the big challenge – the distance will teach you humility. We all have races and even training runs we wish we could forget. For a variety of reasons (sometimes conditions, usually not running smart) it doesn’t go well and you are reminded that you must respect the distance. Just like in life, no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. But we often aren’t willing to forgive ourselves for these mistakes thinking that we are somehow immune to making them. In the work environment there are many opportunities to make mistakes and the perceived repercussions can be serious. But the flip side of mistakes is that there is no better way to learn than to mess up and figure out that you messed up. That’s a lesson learned that will not soon be forgotten.

Persistence – No matter what distance you’re running, if you’ve stretched yourself often enough you’ve had an almost magical experience. Logic would tell you that when you start hurting from effort the pain will just continue to build and build. But amazingly that’s not the reality. As you extend your effort, the pain builds, but then it recedes. Oh, it may come back again, but you’re now armed with the knowledge that it will go away again … and it does. That gives you a power over the pain and a confidence that you can continue. Being persistent pays off – it lets you persevere while others stop. You know that tough times won’t continue to get tougher, they’ll turn around and you’ll be ready to take on more challenge.

Patience – Amazingly, your performance the day of a marathon is usually preordained before you put your toes on the start line. It’s been determined by the miles put in to get there. Oh, there might be some extenuating circumstances that no one can control (rain, wind, temperature, etc.), but generally it’s the training. And that training takes an amazing amount of patience. You know you have to put in miles to get your body ready for the effort of the race, but you can’t jump out onto the road with 50 miles a week. You need to patiently work up to high miles or you’ll bring on injuries. It takes weeks to slowly prepare your body (and mind) by being on your feet for hours and hours. But that patience pays off in the end. The same goes for success in other areas of life. I heard someone say they were looking for an ‘entry level position in higher management’ without even realizing how absurd that was. Just like trying to start at 50 miles a week, it only leads to heartbreak. Better to pay your dues and realize that a patient building will pay off greater.

Replenishment is Critical – This is one of those lessons that slaps you upside of the head very quickly if you’re overextending yourself physically without proper rest and nutrition. But it can have just as serious repercussions in the other aspects of your life if it’s not a conscious effort to replenish. It’s tempting to push and push thinking that the body (or mind) will continue to adapt. But some of the best efforts are after stepping back from intense effort (talking physical effort here, but also work efforts) and recharging. That form of replenishment needs to be individual to your needs and interests, but should not be neglected.

Stretch yourself – The best way to find out your limits is to test those limits. I don’t know a person who hasn’t run a marathon who hasn’t wondered if they can do it. There are so many reasons that you can’t run 26.2 miles non-stop. But you’re not really doing that – you’re putting one foot in front of the other over and over. Most runners have mental tricks to help them get through the long races (“I’ll just focus on this next mile”; “it’s just a 10k to finish”’; etc.). The same can be said in life and work in general. By taking on a challenge that may appear insurmountable and accomplishing it you’ll be stretched and never return to your old limits.