Why I Run

As many of the readers of this blog know, I am a runner. I run at least five times a week. I am an average runner and run between 20 and 25 miles a week (unless training for a marathon). While finishing four marathons (Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Prague, and Copenhagen), I still enjoy running.

I get asked why run? Is this for health, weight control?

When I think about I run for many reasons, but all of them for me . . . running is a great sport because you run against yourself.

1. It provides patience. When a crisis or major decision needs to be made, I try to go for a run, at is settles the mind and helps think through the best approach to take, i.e., It prevents me from making hasty and unnecessary mistakes.

2. It is something that I do for me . . . so often as a leader, your role is to help others succeed . . . I find running is something that I can do for myself and it is my time (no cell, blackberry, PC, office)

3. Running provides me humility, i.e., I dont take myself to serious. There will always be a faster runner, someone who can go longer, someone in better shape, etc. Also, when I have a bad day running, it resets my clock. Running teaches me that, even after I stumble, you can get back up and start running again.


I definitely have my good days and bad days running but either way, I know tomorrow is another day. For those saying, I could never be a runner or finish a marathon, well, that is what I said . . . I remember leaving the hosptial after surgery in 2003, I could barely walk 100 steps. I had never ran more than 3 miles at a time. My first "run" was a walk of 100 steps . . . starting slow but began to go longer distances . . . until I ran a mile, then two, then three, then five, etc. until I finished a marathon (six months after major surgery), and I have not stopped since . . . if you would like to run, the biggest hurdle is that first step, the rest is "all downhill". Enjoy Life, live it to the fullest!