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15 Ways marathon training can help your business

As a regular runner of marathons and long distance races I have found that running has benefited my approach to our businesses. Here are 15 ways I think that I think marathon training can improve your business.

Time and space away from your business

With all of my business and personal commitments life can feel pretty full at times and it's easy to forget to take time out for yourself. If you don't do this nobody will do it for you and you won't be at best for those that need you. Sometimes you can be too close to things to really make the best decisions and take the best actions. I find that training clears my head and gives me the space to refocus.

Don't over do it

Marathon training doesn't have actually have to be that fast or stressful on your body. In fact you tend to get better results and reduce injuries when you start slow and keep your long runs steady. There are thousands of people who train for marathons each year for the first time. Most of them start their journey by walking. I've found slowing down and taking the steady approach with my business by delegating more to my team and supporting them has had profound effects on our sales and productivity.

Everything has its season

Top athletes don't just grind out the same work week in week out all year round and either should businesses. Runners have seasons and train in different ways at different times of the year. Faster track work tends to be done in warmer months to avoid to risk of injury by overworking cold muscles during the winter. When you think about it, business has its seasons too. At the moment we are in a winter period and need to act accordingly before preparing ourselves for Spring again.

Make it a 'Must' instead of a 'should'

If you have a specific goal for a set date like a marathon then you know that you can't cram for it last minute like you might have done at school on certain tests. A marathon is a distance that cannot be taken lightly and requires regular training and focus. It's a lot easier to get out of bed and get on with your day when you have a goal that you are passionate about and can't back out of easily. I always race with friends at marathons and raise money for charity so that getting out of bed in the morning is a 'must' for me rather than a 'should'. You can do this with your business. For example, we create goals by booking a trade show which means that we have to create a new range to launch.

Getting Going

I get up at 06:30 most mornings to fit the training into my busy schedule and interestingly the running is never the hardest part of doing this (even when it's raining). The most difficult stage is getting from my bed to the outside of my front door. It's actually not that far and what's needed is momentum. You have to push against the part that is offering you the most resistance. To get most things moving, one requires a larger amount of focussed energy at the start. The easiest way to deal with this is to get to it without hesitating. Once you are out the door the running is easy.

You are more than just your head

Our bodies are more than just vehicles for their heads to move around on. We spend a lot of time in our heads. I find this especially true with our business. There's a lot to think about and I spend a lot of my time at desks and sitting down. We are meant to move. If we don't our muscles tighten and our backs ache with inactivity. When I started running I found I connected with a more complete version of myself, a physical and mental self. My relationship with nature and space completely changed. For example, when I run a beautiful cliff top run along the south coast of England I feel at one with the space in a way that I don't when I drive to the same spot and sit and look at it in my car. This sense of oneness with the world and the confidence I have with my fitter body brings a different sense of purpose and balance to my company. It's active, it's energetic and inspiring.

Keep your base strong and healthy

It's no good taking your business to a million turnover in sales if you are in too poor health to enjoy it. Once you start making changes to your diet and feel the combined benefits of training and good eating you never want to go back. I have more energy, my mind is sharper, I need less sleep than before and my business is able to reap the rewards. We all have a responsibility to look after our staff and our loved ones by keeping well ourselves. If you're strong and healthy physically it's easy to see how your company will benefit. Often staff will be inspired to take care of themselves in the same way and motivation increases as sick days reduce.

The power of planning

You cannot wing it with a marathon and a written plan created by someone who has been there and done it is an invaluable tool. There will still be plenty for you to do and completing the race will still be your own victory, but having a training schedule really helps you get the most out of your experience. Since I started running I have been drafting better schedules and plans for my business and the results are really starting to show. The schedules all relate to specific sales goals (the marathon time I'd like to achieve) and I pay close attention to different sessions that will help me meet my goal.

Remembering to mix it up

When training for a marathon you will mix different sessions to help with different aspects of your running. Long runs for instance will help you build endurance. Tempo runs will help raise your lactate threshold and determine how fast you can race. Interval sessions will help improve your VO2 max which affects how quickly your body can distribute large volumes of oxygenated blood around your body to keep your muscles going. These different sessions will be important for different distances and at different times in your training. You can quickly see how a variety of sessions can affect so many aspects of your marathon training. It's the same with your business when you mix a variety of 'sessions' into your working week. For instance, I created a schedule for myself at work and train on specific areas like marketing, finance, staff, sales, etc for specific chunks during the week rather than getting caught up overdoing the same thing.

Rest is part of the training

You cannot develop as an athlete without resting your body after training. This means getting a good night's sleep and not burning the candle at both ends. It means minimising stress and looking after yourself. It's easy to work all the hours god sends, but resting and taking breaks away are absolutely vital to business success.

Measuring your progress

When you have a marathon schedule it's very satisfying ticking off your sessons as you go along. When I started training I bought a GPS watch and heart rate monitor so that I could watch my progress. It's profoundly motivating seeing yourself cover longer distances in the same time as shorter ones or seeing your heart rate running lower on runs that really tested your stamina previously. If you don't record them, they memory of them will often pass and you won't reap the free added benefits of all your hard work. As I have become more interested in my running data this has flowed into my business and the numbers have really opened my eyes to so much more opportunity that we had been leaving on the table because we weren't following our progress.

Focus

The focus on the specific goal, with a plan that is monitored and assessed going forward sounds so obvious when you say this is how a business should be run, but the reality for most of us business owners is that we are so busy working in our businesses that these simple practices can often be missed. Running has reminded me to get back to these simple basics. Because I can see what kind of improvements I can make as I plan for a marathon each year, it has inspired me to reach for specific business goals each year plan strategies for achieving them by a specific date (usually my year end).

You don't grow as fast on your own

When I first started training I worked with a fantastic personal trainer called Richard Husseiny. These days I work out with Brighton & Hove Athletics and often take part in my local 5K Parkrun on Saturdays. I have several friends who have taken up running and we swap books, tips and often race together. This makes the whole experience more fun and I've definitely improved as a result. You really feel part of something special when you line up with thousands of runners at the start of a marathon knowing you are in a group who have focussed and trained for months, often in the cold and dark of winter. It's inspiring to be around, just as I find it inspiring to be around other business people. Knowing this has helped me to make an effort to network, share and learn with other entrepreneurs.

Celebrating your goals

How often do you finish your list or reach a goal and turn to see what's next without stopping to celebrate? I do this all the time myself. Since I've taken up marathon running I've really learnt to savour my achievements and celebrate them. In fact, these days I pat myself on the back just for reaching the start line of a big race. At the end of a marathon you have a medal, a tee shirt and often a photo to remind you of what you have achieved. I usually try and spend time with the charity I run for, family and friends after a race to celebrate together. Nowadays I try to do the same with my business. Often I will treat my family or friends to a meal to celebrate a milestone reached with our company. When we completed one of our projects two years ago I bought myself a nice watch to remind me of the great job we did. It's really important to stop, acknowledge and celebrate in your business.

Have fun

I took up running about five years ago because I wanted to do something I really enjoyed as a child. Being so absorbed in my business and other aspects of my life I felt like I'd lost touch with who I really was. I alway loved the feeling of my body running as a boy. Feeling the strength of my muscles, the wind in my hair and especially the rush of running really fast. When I was young I just ran for the sheer joy of it. So as I began training I had absolutely no intention of ever running a marathon, I just wanted to do something that got me active and that I enjoyed. Something I could have for myself. I found a trainer to make sure I kept my motivation going and worked my way from one exhausting 1 mile lap of my local park up to the marathon distance 26.2 miles over a three year period. This journey has led to me training in all sorts of weather and, at times, pushing my body to it's limits and beyond. My guiding light through all of this has been to enjoy myself. That doesn't mean it's not hard work at times, but I always make sure that that youngster inside of me is still having fun. This insight in my marathon training has led me to bring this into my work life too. I used to be really caught up in the detail of work and get angry about all sorts of things not working right within my business. Through running I have learnt to relax and enjoy the ride. It has made for a better working environment for our team and I now find it easier to take everything in my stride at work. Nothing seems as much trouble as it used to feel to me.

I hope that you've enjoyed this blog post and found it insightful for your business. I'd be hugely grateful if you'd take the time to click on the banner or link below to help me raise money for UNICEF who help thousands of children worldwide each year.

To support Jeremy's Berlin Marathon fundraising please this year click here

Read Looking back from Perfect - How to achieve your Goals

Read How to get things done when you don't feel like it