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If someone says, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” run away.
As someone who regularly abuses them, I’m usually forgiving of overused metaphors. But I’ve had it up to here (motions as far up as arm will reach, and then jumps for emphasis) with unhelpful expressions, whether used in the workplace or for the general public good. I’ll share more in future posts. Today, I’m pleading with people everywhere, especially employers and advocates, to stop tossing out “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Anyone who has ever run a marathon knows that this physical undertaking shouldn’t resemble any office setting or social justice campaign aspiring to be remotely humane. Having run multiple 26.2-mile races, including Boston, I can tell you what “it’s a marathon” means. Here are just a few examples:
- Regularly pushing beyond — far beyond — your comfort zone so that you can continue to push even more and run even more and push even more and run even more.
- Finding a way to stay on your training schedule even when conditions suggest you shouldn’t. Scorching heat? Drenching rain? Slippery snow? Get over it and get those miles in!
- Never taking a break even when every fiber in your being wants one. Parched? Grab Powerade and keep going. Starving? Grab an orange slice and keep going. Blisters on both heels? Suck it up and keep going.
- Running until bodily fluids are coming out every place you can imagine, as well as places you don’t want to imagine. I’ve seen men cross finish lines with two streams of blood down their shirts due to miles of ignoring chafing. And I think we’ve all seen images of people who didn’t make it to the port-o-potty on time? Not pretty.
And guess what — just like a sprint, the individual who gets over the marathon finish line fastest wins. They’ve just been running for hours instead of seconds. In both cases, they may end up flat on the ground out of exhaustion and, in some cases, needing medical attention.
That is not encouraging.
Nor is it helpful to invoke sport that relies 100% on individual performance in a team setting.
