On marathon running and Silos

Dear Dave,

Thanks for mentioning what you did about the slower runners; sometimes I get intimidated by all the talk of Boston qualifiers and personal bests and I don't feel I belong among the speedy runners.

Signed First Timer,

Dear FT,

You know, in my talks across North America I speak about the concept of "silos". We tend to classify other people and put them in silos or catagories and that limits us in many ways.

We see a fast runner and characterize them as "elite". We see someone going for a personal best and we rationalize "I could never do that, they must be intense."

This tendency is reinforced by our desire to stick with people who look, sound and run at the same speed. That's why 4:30 marathoners tend to stick together and 3:45 marathoners have the same inclination (it's no different in society, just look at how people form religions, political parties, sports teams and then classify others because they are ...different).

In a marathon class (as in business and life ), I define courage as someone who perseveres through adversity.

I admire "a speedy runner" because (independent of their natural talent and genetics) they have stuck to a plan, watched their nutrition and spent a lot of lonely hours on their own running towards a goal. For example, did you know it took one of our runners 5 marathons to qualify for Boston and that she is always astonished when she hears someone refer to her as an "elite"?

I admire a first time marathon runner for exactly the same reason: they are chasing a goal. And for one more reason as well. Did you know that a lot of faster runners cannot physically run for the length of time some of you can? Did you hear Joe's comments when he had to lead the 4 hour pace group on a long run? It was very difficult on his body to run at that pace for such a long period of time. When a 3:15 marathoners comes across the finishing line, they are very tired. But some of you will be running for another 2-3 hours as well! They literally cannot do what some of you will be doing.

The people I truly admire the most are the people who resist the silo mentality. They have the spirit to run towards a dream but they take the time to speak with the people just starting their own dream. Their speed AND their empathy are the reasons they inspire you. I call them "good guys."

One last thought for all of you. As you get faster, fitter and firmer, you will be tempted to hang around others who are even more fast, fit and firmer.

You'll start to build your own silo. Others will be reluctant to speak with you... they'll classify you as an elite and then they will start to judge you.

So don't just hang around your one or two friends. Make an effort to speak to people ourside your group. And whether they are in another pace group, are of another age, a religion or a nationality...I'll bet you will find you have more in common that you reaize.

You just need to make the effort.