Let me explain.
Since 2012, I have run at least one marathon a year—including 10 NYC marathons and 4 Philadelphia marathons—plus many more half marathons, shorter races, and training miles in between.
My marathon journey actually started with a detour. I first trained for the 2012 NYC Marathon, but Superstorm Sandy had other ideas that November. Philadelphia opened its arms to NYC runners looking for a race, so that became my first marathon, with NYC following shortly after.
So, what happened this year? After almost a year of training and getting into the best fighting shape I’ve been in for years, my doctors found something that required surgery. My health took a pivot. The procedure is done and I’m back on my feet, but I can't run today. My medical clearance to return to action comes literally two days after the race. You can't make this stuff up.
Why do I keep doing these races?
Look, in the grand scheme of things, running a big city marathon is far from the most important thing going on in the world. But it is a powerful, living metaphor for the dynamics we all grapple with every day.
If you read my previous posts, you know I’m notoriously critical of how we use the word "grit" in the professional world. Too often, corporate culture over-applies the grit narrative, demanding that people grind harder, take on more (often under-resourced and little incentives), work against their natural talents, and sprint through what should be a marathon. It leads straight to burnout. To stretch my running metaphors further, work often feels like a daily Tough Mudder when it really ought to be paced like a marathon.
But out on the race course, grit is different. It’s the fairest test I’ve ever experienced of how much resilience I actually have when life throws a curveball. It’s about how you handle hitting "The Wall" when your original vision of success—and your body—begins to fall apart.
Race day is also one of the purest displays of basic humanity I’ve ever seen. (Which reminds me: Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. Before you fill your belly and celebrate with your loved ones, find a way to serve others—strangers who, through no fault of their own, are going without. It’s good for all of us.) I have so many stories of meeting people I couldn't be more different from, yet on that day, we connect in the most fundamental way and close out the experience with a fist pump, a hug, or a nod. We help someone up that may be struggling…
It’s a reminder of what I coach others on in my day job. We’re often handed big, immutable goals, but each of us has a unique combination of experience, skill, and natural talent to get us across the finish line. The best way forward through those challenges is by channeling the best of yourself along the way, not turning yourself into someone you fundamentally are not…and we should be finding a way to pull someone up along the way.
Today also reminds me that in life and work, things happen that feel fundamentally unfair. Projects stall, health pivots—simply put, something changes. As Telly Monster has reminded us - that's what life, and feelings do, they change.
Marathons have given me the ganas to move on when a project, workplace, or relationship just isn’t working anymore.
It’s okay to take an L in life sometimes. You take a beat, find a way to reset, and get back up.
While I’m not running today’s marathon, I’m still in the race... of life, of doing good work, of modeling better when I can, and of finding those moments of humanity to amplify along the way.
And I’m already planning my comeback for 2027.
If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to hear why.
Until then, wishing a safe marathon Sunday to all the runners today. As they say, it will move you.
Peace.
— Nick @throughcollective