I’ve run a couple of marathons in my life. When I was 18, I ran the London marathon. I was disappointed to finish just outside 4 hours but that came down to being poorly prepared and new to running the longer distances.
For years I harboured a desire to break the four hour barrier but didn’t have the time or motivation to do the training. I like running but the prospect of a three hour training run doesn’t fill me with joy.
However, a couple of years ago, I bit the bullet and signed up for a smaller event in Bungay (just on the Norfolk/Suffolk border for those not in the know). This time, I trained properly and even signed up to a subscription to “Runner’s World” magazine to help with training tips.
One of their bright ideas was to adopt a three word mantra to chant when the going got tough. I duly adopted some (long-forgotten) chant which I had at the back of my mind for the race. About 24 miles in, I felt it was needed and I brought it out, chanting it to myself and the guy next to me. You’ll wonder if it provided the required inspiration? It didn’t. I finished well inside 4 hours, but 8 seconds outside 3½ hours, and the guy I was running with looked at me as if I was crazy.
Why do I bring this up? It is purely down to the myriad of annoying motivational messages which continually clog up my LinkedIn feed. A quick check reveals eight, including quotes, pictures and “inspiring” messages. Call me a grumpy old man but no well-crafted quotation is going to match a simple “well done”, nor some picture of a climber on top of Everest going to provide me with a sudden burst of inspiration. That’s why Gusto Research is a great place to work.
We like to keep things simple with the aim of doing a great job for our clients, and we don’t need any quotations from Winston Churchill or Mahatma Ghandi to help us to do that. And if you’re wondering whether I’d run another marathon to knock off those elusive 8 seconds, no quirky mantra will stir me to run any further than about 10 miles in one go in the future.
All views contained within this piece are Martin's own
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