The philosophy of running

You know I like to write articles, but this one is slightly different to my usual style. I want to talk about the importance of sport to work life balance, and about what running means to me. Why do so many people like running, to the point where they become dependent on it? Is it simply an issue associated with the famous addiction to running caused by chemical and hormonal factors that develop during the process, “syndrome of running high”, or is it much more? I have run throughout my life, and I have to say that running has always been a great companion. I recall that when I was around 14, I used to run from home to the nearby town, which was just a few kilometres away. I often played sports with my father and tried to imitate him (he was a former regional boxing champion). One day, I overtook him. I became faster, and I never stopped running from that moment on. My father was a great source of inspiration for me. In this article, I will attempt to explain why sport is vital to me for obtaining the right balance between my private and working life, and why it is so much more than just jogging. I like running, but I believe that the same principles apply to every discipline. I do not have any right answer, and I want to make it clear that I am neither an athlete nor the best runner on the planet. I am, however, passionate, determined and free. 

In recent years, running has come to involve increasing numbers of people, more of whom have become passionate about it than was the case in the past, possibly in part as a result of technological developments that have made the sport more entertaining and the results more tangible. I will occasionally talk to you in the first person in this article, but don't be alarmed: I just think it is more informal and more friendly. What do you think if we reflect for a moment on a marathon as your career pathway, or for the more philosophical among you, as your life path? Let's try to think about it for a moment. We can create certain parallels between what happens during a marathon and what happens during your career or life pathway. What are the essential elements a marathon requires? It needs preparation, discipline, strength, ambition, patience and enjoyment, as well as many other aspects that we will look at together in my article. A career needs exactly the same things. If they are properly integrated, all these elements can balance your professional and working life, the quality of your sleep, your diet and therefore your final performance. 

The countdown: 3 - 2 - 1 - And we're off! 

Km 1 to 10: At the beginning, at the start, and for the whole of the first 10 kilometres, you will feel fresh and full of energy. The same happens at the start of your career when you are young, doesn't it? If you start well you are halfway there, as we say where I come from, and if you start well and even only gain five minutes when you are fresh at the beginning of your pathway, you will feel the benefits at the end, and it will take you five minutes less to finish. It is just like when you are young, when you have the chance to acquire a certain number of abilities quickly and efficiently. When you are young, your brain is physically adapted to absorbing information better than it is when you are older, so press on while you can and do not miss your chance. There will not be a second chance to be young. Do not miss out on this precious period of time. Invest in yourself; it is the best investment you can make. Similarly, during a marathon, you give the best of yourself when you are fresh. Think, for example, how easy it is to learn a language when you are 20 compared with when you are 40. Do not waste your opportunity: run fast!

Km 10 to 20: You will probably be feeling pleased, safe in your comfort zone. You will have understood who you are, and you will have found the right rhythm and speed to keep up, but there is still a long way to go. The same applies to your career.

Km 20 to 30: You are making progress, but at 30 km you hit the so-called "wall of death". You will be very tired (older), and you will need to count on factors other than muscles and energy. You will depend on experience and patience. Having the right attitude while you wait is the secret of patience, and believe me, having the right mental attitude while you are running a marathon is essential.

Km 30 to 35: You are probably exhausted. Your body is just a vehicle; what carries you forward is your psychological strength. Physical preparation is important in a marathon, but it is your brain that plays 80% of the role. If you are going to continue, you will need to take yourself to a different place, one where there is no pain or fatigue, where you are not running, where you may be dancing ... Yes – dancing! As you approach the end of your career, physical energy and enthusiasm will probably give way to knowledge, awareness and psychological strength. You will appreciate the meaning of your work, and you will look at it differently, with the eyes of someone who appreciates the fruits of their labour.

Km 35 to 42.2: What is happening around you is no longer important. Your legs hurt, not to mention your knees and ankles, but you have to keep on running, or rather dancing. You cannot give up now. You have almost arrived. If you are intelligent, you will have delegated your work to someone else. During the marathon, in fact, you have probably entered a mental state in which you are no longer running. You detach yourself from reality and carry on dancing. You leave the most difficult part of your work to someone else, and carry on dancing. At the end of your career, physical tiredness and efforts have probably been "metabolised" and are no longer important: you are having fun. You cross the finish line, and this moment of a year of satisfaction and relief can give you the motivation to train and keep up a healthy lifestyle for a whole year.

Now that we have run this race together, I will list some of the common elements shared by our working lives and sport.

Preparation: years of studying to acquire knowledge and years of practice to gain experience, just as sport requires years of training to obtain both. 

Discipline: How can we prepare for an exam properly without establishing the discipline we need to revise and pass? How can we be successful at work without setting our alarm in the morning, or for those fortunate people who do not need to set their alarms, without fixing particular hours during the day to dedicate to working and keeping up their programme? It is the same with sport: without discipline you cannot get results.

Strength: Psychological strength and physical strength. I believe that the two complement each other, in work as in sport. If you are not psychologically strong, you cannot keep up the necessary effort to develop your physical strength over the long term, and if you are not physically strong, you will automatically be psychologically weak. Once again, in work as in sport, strength is needed.

Ambition: How can you get a promotion without wanting one? Similarly, how can you cross the finish line without wanting to? Ambition is what makes it possible for us to attain our objectives in work and in sport. It is that little light we can see in the distance, the one we are running towards to get as close to it as possible and grasp it.

Patience: The results will not arrive immediately. We need to wait: it takes time in work and in sport. Promotions will not arrive immediately, and good relationships in the work environment will not come instantly: we need to cultivate them. The same is true in sport: our muscles need time to develop, our physiques need time to adapt to training and our bodies need time to recover. We need patience.

Enjoyment: How can we do the same job for years without fun? Enjoyment is an essential component, and it is no coincidence that many successful leaders incorporate time and structures into the workplace to encourage enjoyment and well-being. Keep your rhythm up and have fun. During a marathon, the more fun you are having the easier it will be, and the same is true at work: why carry on if it is no longer enjoyable? Keep your rhythm up and have fun.

Meritocracy: By definition, a meritocracy is a system that recognises and rewards talent and hard work. Throughout your pathway, you will encounter friends and enemies, people who push you aside to pass in front of you, but there will also be people who encourage you, support you and believe in you. If you see someone who is on the point of giving up along the way, give them a little pat on the back, and they will probably start running again. If you can run faster than other people, do so, but without causing them harm. In a marathon, as at work, if you can accelerate, do so, but do it right. In the end, if you are really good, you will finish first.

I or we?: It will be long, and it will be really hard at a certain stage. You will be exhausted, and you will probably want to give up at a certain point, but you will be surrounded by 50,000 other people who are probably experiencing the same feelings and difficulties as you, and this will give you tremendous motivation. The same applies in the workplace: you are not alone – we are all in the same boat.

Concentration: Despite the number of people you have around you, your will to finish, your focus and your concentration must be maintained all along the route. The more you are able to connect with yourself, the more you will be able to connect with the people around you. It is the same in your career and your life.

Giving up: Some people give up halfway through. It happens in a marathon as well as on life's journey. You need acceptance and a profound understanding of yourself. It may be that you are more suited to other disciplines. As a great luminary once very wisely said: "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” - A.E. I am simply saying that if you realise at a certain point in your career that you are not made for dealing with customers and you are better at managing a team, or that you are better at financial analysis than you are at communicating, the earlier you understand this and take it into account, the better it will be. Stop with no regrets, and start investing in what you are good at, in sport as in your career.

Goals: Is the goal the finish line, or is it much simpler to run? If it is the finish line, you may want to reach it within a certain time. But what does ‘within a certain time’ mean? It could be very late for some people, or very soon for others. You are the only one who can decide it. You are the one who sets your goals for running and at work. No one else will set them for you. What time do you want to run? Who do you want to be? I have seen the difference between those who see the finish line for the entire 42.2 km and those who do not. It makes a world of difference. One of my teachers, whom I am very attached to, told me one day that planning your studying and work often requires more time than is needed to actually carry it out, but it is essential, and perhaps even more important. So what is your objective? This is the challenge you have set yourself, this and this is why you are doing what you are doing. No one will say it in your place. When you are running a marathon, in your career as in life, this needs to be clear to you in some way.

 Advantages: Some people have advantages: they may be taller, thinner or simply physically better suited for running, while others will be smaller and less agile. I have been impressed by the energy and strength of people who have entered and run in front of me during a marathon, despite serious physical problems, one of them without a leg! Once again, however, we are all in the same boat, and these people have fixed their objectives and have run to attain them. They will probably have finished last, but they have finished. Perhaps for them the mere fact of running the marathon was their objective, and it did not matter how much they put into it. It is the same at work: some people's native language may not be the same as yours, while others have had the opportunity to study at the world's most prestigious universities. Others may not have had any type of advantage, but they run anyway, and who knows, maybe they even finish first thanks to their sacrifice and effort. There will be highs and lows along the way, as there are in your career and life pathway: your legs will be lighter when you are running downhill, and heavier as you go uphill, when you will need to push much harder. No one can run in your place, anyway: you have decided to do it, and as we say in Italy, "you wanted a bicycle - now pedal", in a marathon as at work.

Dancing in the rain: I mentioned a number of factors in your workplace at the beginning of my article that come into play, and can be linked to what you come across during a marathon. There might be sunshine during your race, but it might also rain. You might feel in top form, or you might be injured after a long period of training. As someone said to me some time ago, the earlier you start appreciating the beauty of dancing in the rain, the sooner you will experience pure joy. The ideal factors and circumstances will never all intersect – or maybe they will, but not always – and you do not want to live in wait, right? We all run or live for a certain reason, and if you have not found that reason yet, look for it everywhere and in any way you can. Only you can decide. Despite difficulties and pain, what counts is that you enjoy the experience. Do not wait for time to pass by in order to enjoy life – learn to dance in the rain. Put an end to nebulous thoughts for a moment and look around you, during a marathon, during your working day, during your life. Smile, and be grateful.

Spread your energy: No rest is deserved unless you have earned it. It even rhymes. Those few seconds you spend at the finish line during the course of a year can give you the motivation to move and lead a healthy lifestyle. If you are not already doing so, put in your diary when you will be exercising and stick to your plan. Get moving and exercise, not just for exercise (which has an excellent outcome, anyway), but above all to feel good, to love yourself. The better you feel about yourself, the better the people around you will feel, and the better you will be able to love your family and your team at work.

I hope you have enjoyed my article.

Warmly,

Silvia

• 2015 Zurich City Run 10 Km - 00:57:00 min. 
• 2016 Geneva Half Marathon 21 Km - 2:07:02 min.
• Member of the 2018 Team Athletic Monaco
• 2018 New York Marathon 42.2 Km - 4:42:39 min.
• 2019 New York Marathon 42.2 Km - 4:25:01 min.

Proud to have contributed to sport for Children “Team for Kids” in 2018 and to have ran for the Oceans “The Animal Fund” in 2019. Proud my marathon is signatory of the UNFCCC’S Sports for climate action framework.

TAF - The Animal Fund - For the protection of our Oceans

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