A confession to start, I have become a bit obsessed with running as I have got older and I am an over-thinker. To be fair, you would probably figure that out by the time you have read this.
It has occurred to me the more that I talk to experienced marathon runners that the advice they have given me to apply to training for a long run is equally applicable as a set of principles for approaching QI. Let me explain.
The race is long
Never underestimate the effort required to run 42 kilometres. There are days when you want to give up and days when you find a rhythm and everything seems easy. There are parameters that you have planned for and expect as well as those that can throw you off course. A change of weather or a different start time; three Weetabix for breakfast instead of two. Practice does make perfect and you need to be strong in your mind to push on through adversity.
It is your race so don’t compare yourself to others
You really cannot compare yourself to anyone else. There is no point looking around you and judging your pace and performance against the other people taking part that day. You simply do not know enough about them. How much training have they done, what coaching have they had, how many times have they run a marathon? And that is just for starters. They are not you and your best plan is built around your own circumstances. Temptation to try what someone else is doing may work for a little bit but somewhere on route it will come back to bite you.
It is more than just putting one foot in front of the other and needs to be taken seriously
The principles of running are simple. Repeatedly putting one foot in front of the other right? But it is more than that. A lot of preparation goes into it, experimenting with different fuel (gels and energy bars, or my friend Scott who likes a double decker every 10km), finding the right equipment and training partners. Good runs need a plan.
To run a marathon well is not about how fast you do it but about understanding that it is more than just running. It involves a shift in your thinking. I believe it is a mindset change – a fundamental shift in the way you think and do things. Eat better, think better, take on advice and opinion, be prepared to try harder and be resilient to failures, remove barriers and push limits.
Set yourself short-term targets and know your data
The goal, of course, is the 42km. However, I have not met anyone who sets out counting down, or up to 42km. Everyone breaks it down into smaller chunks. I run in units of 5km, with 1km of warm up at the start and 1km of blissful excitement at the end. The achievement of the final distance is broken down in a series of connected cycles. Each cycle is carefully tracked. In lean terms, I know my takt time, but more simply I know enough about my performance at each cycle to adjust my efforts as I continue.
It is a team effort and anyone can do it
I ran the race; it is my medal. Wrong. I did run the race but my friends trained with me, experienced runners advised me, my wife watched our kid whilst I went out for 3 hour runs on my weekend, my family lined the route to hand out energy bars, swap waterproofs when needed and encourage me. They picked me up at the end when I was on the floor and they were prouder of the achievement than I ever could be (my aunt, in photo, watches the Athens Marathon every year in the same place even though no one in the family had ever run it!). In short, there were my team and I could not have done it without them. I have friends who have run marathons with me since, some who had not done exercise since school; others who came back from major injuries and those who thought a couch to 5km was too much effort. If you want to do it; you can.
Celebrate success
A cold beer and a gyros – that was my choice in the back streets of Athens back in 2016 – and I waited until the end. The last time, back in Athens in 2019, we celebrated every hill, every 5km. We high 5’d every kid in the villages from Marathon into the city. We did it because all milestones are important. Success and celebration build engagement and momentum.
Don’t give up
You will want to. The days of miserable weather, of unexpected poor performance, of frustration despair and regret will happen. But there is always the next day. Understand what was not ideal that day, what did not work and try to avoid the same mistakes again. Do not give up. The reward at the end is great.
For all the above, I feel that you could substitute in the words quality improvement and the principles would be the same.
There is one element, however, that I think is missing and for which a forced analogy might take something away from the message. QI is about leadership. It is about setting the right environment for improvement to thrive; it is about being prepared to stick with the right principles on the bad days as well as the good; it is about being relentless in the pursuit of the right behaviours and maintaining respect. Respect for other people and respect for what you are trying to achieve. It is about helping others overcome their challenges and for making people believe in the art of the possible. Actually, the more I think about it, perhaps that is in all of the above. It is about us as individuals who lead improvement. Do the right things, in the right way and you can achieve anything you set out to. So there it is, my message for QI leaders…and maybe also runners.
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