Life and Leadership Lessons From a 50 Mile Marathon
Last weekend, for my 50th birthday I ran the Grandmaster Ultra 50 Mile marathon. We ran through Arizona, Nevada and Utah all in the same day. It was an amazing adventure. Below are some leadership and life lessons that I have learned from running and from last weekend’s race.
You can do way more than you think you can do.
Too many of us settle for doing or achieving far less than we can actually do. This is true for you physically and in every other area of your life. David Goggins famously claims that the average person only does about 40% of what they can do. I couldn’t agree more.
Your body and your mind are amazingly strong and resilient. Push them. Or as Paul states it in 1 Cor 9 “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave.”
I’m guessing you have a big goal in your life (lose weight, start a business, conquer an addiction…). The people who achieve their goals are simply the ones willing to go after them consistently. You can do it!
For those of you who don’t know, I had my right hip completely replaced last January. I went back into the gym at day 6, ran/walked 4 miles at 4 weeks, ran/walked a half marathon at 2 months, ran 40 miles at 6 months and ran a 3:54 full marathon in September. All that to say, you can do far more than you think you can do.
Small goals add up to a large wins
In marathons I’ve learned to run in small segments, usually from one aid station to the the next one. (The race last weekend had 8 aid stations). Instead of running 50 miles it was really just running a bunch of little races. This helps immensely with the mental game.
The same is true for life and leadership. Small habits lead to reaching enormous goals (read James Clear’s book called “Atomic Habits”).
Some examples:
Reading the bible for at least 4 days a week (the majority of your days rather than the minority of your days) leads to you beginning to think biblically.
Eating less carbs and daily exercise will lead to weight loss…every single time.
Writing a page a day will eventually lead to a book.
Walking a mile a day will lead to running a mile, which will lead to running a 5k, which will lead to running a half marathon….you get the idea.
Listening to one podcast a day over a period of years will lead to enormous wisdom.
Keep going
How do you run an ultra marathon…in simple terms just keep going. Or as my friend Dave Dawson taught me: “Left. Right. Repeat.”
How do grow spiritually…keep going
How do you grow a family…keep going
How do you pay off debt…keep going.
How do you make a great marriage…keep going.
When you keep going towards a goal you will eventually get there. Don’t stop. Don’t quit.
Be adventurous
This race and the trip that came with it was a great adventure for Erica and I.
Wisdom is found in three ways. 1) Books you read 2) People you meet and 3) Experiences/Adventures
Adventure adds to life and adds to your wisdom.
And for a family, adventures are likely what you remember over all else.
One of the major faults of Christianity is that we label some activities as unacceptable and forget to replace them with good godly activities. In doing this we are erroneously teaching that Christianity is no fun. But Heaven will be fun. Your life here can be fun too.
Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption said, “get busy living or get busy dying.”
Be uncommon
If you want to live a life that is uncommon then you have to do uncommon things. Many think they live rebelliously but they aren’t. They are simply living like everyone else. Most settle for a common life. They have debt, average marriages, lackluster careers, are overweight, crippled by addictions, etc…
Don’t settle…be uncommon.
You need a crew
Last weekend’s race provided aid stations along the route but I took my own crew. Erica was my crew. Due to the rough terrain, she was only able to meet me at mile 38 and then at mile 45. She sat for a long time just waiting. But enjoying the Arizona sun in January. Seeing her after 38 miles was just the mental boost I needed…but I don’t think she enjoyed smelling me at that point :)
You need a crew too.
You need a church family
You need spiritual mentors
You need a small group
Your mind matters more than your body
Everything you accomplish begins with your mind. Everything you quit also begins in your mind
Of course your body matters when running an ultra marathon but your mentality is where the real race is won or lost. Never once in this race did I question myself or consider quitting (as many others did). This is the result of training my mind as well as my body.
Everything you quit in life begins with a thought in your mind. Your mind will get stronger as you consistently overcome those thoughts.
Everyone out there is a stud
Last weekends race had about 300 participants from all over the country. This wasn’t a group of weekend warriors. All of them were accomplished runners. It was fun to be in a group like that.
When it comes to running I give credit to anyone willing to get out there. I’ve ran 90+ races and have seen some very elderly and very obese people giving it a shot. They are all studs in my opinion.
The same is true for anyone trying to grow their faith, or anyone trying to achieve a goal. You are a stud for getting in the game!
Replace judgment with curiosity
Races have an oddly social element to them. Everyone I passed I stopped and talked to. I met people from all over the country, one guy from Ireland and one gal from England.
I’m a judgmental person. Except when it comes to races. No matter who you are I give you credit for getting out there. But running has taught me something about judging people that has helped me:
When I judge someone I am critiquing them based on their exterior. This makes us disdain each other.
When I get curious about someone I begin to learn about them from the inside. This helps us to love each other.
We are all born curious but as we grow older it fades. Stay curious.
Start with the end in mind
The goal of the race was 50 miles. The goal was not to see how close I could come to 50 miles. Funny thing, they mis-measured the race and it turned out to be 52 miles.
In your life always begin with the end goal and work backwards. Define what you want out of life and live for that.
Embrace the suck
In other words…do not avoid suffering.
I knew this race would hurt both during and afterwards. Legs hurt. My pinky toe hurts. Elbows hurt. And the sunburn hurts. But I love it all. Every long run makes my body and my mind stronger.
In life you will suffer. We don’t pursue suffering but we also aren’t supposed to live based on what will be the path of least resistance, the least conflict, least pain, least friction, least hardship, least suffering. This is why some self medicate, drink or shop.
In the bible, James says consider it pure joy when you suffer. You can’t grow without suffering. When it comes, embrace the suck.
I have a whole sermon on this topic: Click here to listen.
When will I hang it up?
At mile 25 I passed a guy who was doing a 100 miler. I stopped and talked with him for a bit. He was 71 years old and running his 90th 100 miler. He told me that 2 years ago he ran a 500 miler. (50 miles a day for 10 days in a row). Very impressive. But here’s the thing. He wasn’t running at all. He was limping alone with two hiking poles. Now I give him lots of credit but I could tell that running had deteriorated his body significantly. I don’t wanna be this guy.
When we got home on Sunday evening I watch Tom Brady win the super bowl (yes I am a TB12 fan). He’s 43 and planning to return next year. He’s got more in the tank. I wanna be like that.
