I love running books because there’s something about a good story that makes me believe in the possibility of something which others view with skepticism.
Honestly, I don’t know if humans are born to run. But I think I might be. That’s just how my mind works.
And so recently I’ve started reading (full disclosure: I have an audible account and I often consume books on the run with headphones on) Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed by Matthew Futterman.
It’s the story about the legendary coach Bob Larson, and about how a band of misfits… you get it.
I’m a very impressionable, middle-aged dad, so it has me thinking about how to work more tempo runs into my training, and about all the misfits around me, and how we might work together – to do together – what I’ve probably been spending far too much time doing alone.
Around all of us are:
Proven Leaders – people who are already experts and can help guide us or get us to various finish lines faster. Emerging Leaders – people with a discernible trajectory and with whom you enjoy great chemistry. These are the people who you would just love to run with. Doers – people who are faithful and will do what needs to be done. (sometimes these folks appear rather pedestrian when it comes to their potential, but they have enormous value in their predictable performance) Placeholders – (am I allowed to say this out loud?) Some people in your life are just taking up space or worse demanding customer service from you. At best they are doing nothing to help you run the race, at worse they are a hinderance.
There are most definitely more characters than these… But i’ve been thinking a lot lately about running down the dream, and about the kind of team that it takes.
Who are the absolute essentials that you think about when you think about your dream team?