It works best for you if it only works for you

Last year, I did something I never thought I would.

We've been working with the wonderful people at On for a few years, and a campaign we were involved with had a profound effect on Sabine Harnau and me:

We discovered that running could be for us.

Skip forward a few months and a few bumps, and I am now 2/3 on my way to run 5K - and I have never felt better in my body.

Thank you, marketing!

The bumps, you may ask?

Starting to run triggered a bout of severe ankle pain that meant I was unable to exercise for weeks. This coincided with familiar lower back pain that meant I could no longer sleep or sit. I was incredibly frustrated that being active forced me to be less active.

My orthopaedic surgeon came back with the clear diagnosis that my physio did not spot in 2 years: My left foot is flat. My left leg is 8mm shorter. As a result, there's a lot of strain on my ankle and lower back.

No running shoe type can compensate this, but one build for overpronation is an important start. Generic insoles I got in my running shop helped a bit, but not enough. In the end, only custom orthopaedic insoles made the difference. And the result was profound: After only a few days, walking and running felt completely different. My back pain is also gone.

Another bump: I struggled to find the right earphones. In-ear models don’t fit into my ear canal. Over-ear models are heavy and get sweaty. Running without music is not an option for me. In the end, I had custom silicone tips made (for less than €100) that I can attach to a pair of AirPods Pro. So I have a perfect, workout-proof fit that is super comfortable and also works for video calls when I'm out and about.

Those two custom products - intimately shaped to my own body - made the single biggest difference to my running, my health and my life over the last 12 months.

Yes, the custom approach required an extra investment of money and time. But customised solutions put my own individual needs at the centre of the offering. They do not fit other people – and that's the point. They can only perform the best for me if they are designed to only work for me.

Only solutions this bespoke can have such unexpected positive ripple effects throughout a system – like addressing the back pain I suffered from for many years.

I’m sure there is a business analogy in there somewhere…