How Running Taught Me About Leadership

Running has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started young and never stopped. I am not the fastest or the flashiest, but I have learned that running is less about speed and more about endurance. It is about showing up, pacing yourself, and finishing what you start.

Over the years, I realized those same lessons apply perfectly to leadership and team building. Endurance training and business leadership are both about consistency, resilience, and shared goals. The longer I have been in business, the more I see that the best teams operate like distance runners. They do not just sprint toward quick wins. They train, adapt, and stay steady through the long course.

Building Endurance One Step at a Time

When you train for endurance, you start small. You do not run a marathon on day one. You build strength and stamina through repetition. The same is true in business. Teams develop resilience through steady effort, not overnight transformations.

Early in my career, I wanted results quickly. I would push teams hard and expect instant improvement. It took me years to understand that growth takes time. Just like running, business performance improves one step at a time. You build the foundation first, then layer progress on top of it.

At Run Specialty Group, when we grew from one store to more than fifty, we learned to treat development like training. Each new store was a new mile. We prepared, learned, adjusted, and kept moving. The consistency of our process allowed us to sustain momentum without burning out.

Training Requires a Plan

You cannot build endurance without a plan. You need structure, goals, and feedback. In running, you track distance, pace, and recovery. In business, you track metrics, milestones, and morale.

When I work with organizations through JB Services, I often see teams that are working hard but not working in rhythm. They are putting in effort without clear direction. That is like running without a route. You might get tired, but you will not necessarily get anywhere.

A good leader creates a training plan for the company. That means setting realistic goals, pacing the workload, and measuring progress regularly. The goal is to help people push themselves without breaking down. That balance is what keeps endurance high.

Pacing Matters More Than Speed

In every race, there is always someone who starts too fast. They look strong for the first few miles, but eventually they fade. The same thing happens in business. Teams that sprint early without pacing themselves often burn out.

Good leaders teach their teams to pace. They help them balance effort with rest and ambition with patience. There will always be moments to sprint, like a product launch or a major deal, but the rest of the time is about sustainable effort.

When I coach teams, I remind them that consistency beats intensity over the long run. A steady pace builds momentum. It allows everyone to finish strong instead of collapsing halfway through.

Recovery is Part of the Process

Runners know that rest days are not wasted time. They are when your body rebuilds and gets stronger. In business, recovery works the same way. Teams need moments to reset, reflect, and celebrate progress. Without that recovery, exhaustion sets in.

During one particularly intense project, my team and I were pushing nonstop. We were meeting goals, but morale was slipping. People were tired, communication was short, and creativity was dropping. I realized we were running without recovery.

We took a week to regroup. We celebrated small wins, reset priorities, and reminded ourselves why the work mattered. The difference afterward was incredible. Productivity improved, and energy returned. Sometimes the smartest move is to pause before pushing forward again.

Weathering the Tough Miles

Every runner faces tough miles. There is always a stretch where your legs feel heavy, the finish line seems far away, and quitting looks tempting. That moment is where endurance is tested.

Business is no different. There will be times when sales slow down, projects stall, or external challenges make progress hard. Resilient teams know how to push through those moments. They draw strength from preparation, trust, and shared purpose.

As a leader, your job is to remind the team that tough miles do not last forever. You focus on the next step, not the entire race. When you keep moving forward, even slowly, you eventually find your rhythm again.

Shared Struggle Builds Stronger Teams

One of my favorite things about group running is the shared experience. Everyone struggles together. Everyone celebrates together. That shared effort builds connection and trust.

In business, shared struggle does the same thing. When teams go through challenges and succeed together, they develop a bond that cannot be built through comfort alone. They learn to rely on one another and to respect the effort it takes to reach a common goal.

At RNK Running, we saw that spirit in our community events. People came from all levels of experience, but when they ran together, the labels disappeared. It was all about support and encouragement. That same energy should exist inside every company team.

The Leader as Coach

In endurance sports, the coach’s role is to guide, not to carry. The coach builds the plan, provides feedback, and motivates the runners to reach their potential. In business, leadership works the same way.

A good leader does not try to run every mile for the team. They help others discover their own strength. They build systems that support growth, offer encouragement, and hold people accountable. When the team starts winning on their own, the leader has done their job.

Leadership is about creating an environment where resilience becomes a habit. Once that happens, the team can face any challenge with confidence.

The Finish Line

Running has taught me that endurance is not just physical. It is mental, emotional, and communal. It is about setting a goal, trusting the process, and refusing to quit when things get hard.

When teams embrace that same mindset, they become unstoppable. They pace themselves, recover wisely, support each other, and stay focused on the mission. They learn that success is not about speed. It is about finishing strong together.

The best leaders are the ones who can guide their teams through the long course. They know that the finish line is not a single moment of glory but a series of consistent, shared victories along the way.

That is what endurance training has taught me about leadership, and it is a lesson I carry with me every day.

To read more by Jim Browning visit https://jim-browning.com/insights-and-eos