One of the happy unexpected outcomes from starting our company 15 years ago was gaining an interest in long distance running.
Being based in Portland, Oregon – America’s running capital, it was inevitable. With Nike and Adidas both headquartered in this relatively small town, the place was swarming with runners.
Going for a gallop also allows for some healthy separation from my co-founder who is also my wife.
So for all the years living in the US and now back in Oz, running marathons is a big part of my life.
From a horrendous first effort at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games test marathon event to last year running the Melbourne Marathon I am up to about 15 of them. The US offers multiple races each week so I managed to see much of the country. There were marathons in New York, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, Las Vegas and Eugene.
This year I am running the Sydney Marathon for the first time in 18 years. It’s special as it starts by running over the Sydney Harbor Bridge at sunrise. I am 5 weeks out and the training miles are getting longer.
Today I ran in Centennial Park as I often do but for the first time ever I did it counter-clockwise. Thousands of miles of running and today I went around it back to front. I did that because it’s part of the Sydney Marathon course and I wanted to see what it felt like.
I wasn’t expecting it but every single part of the park looked foreign to me even though I run it three times a week and even though all I changed was the direction. The rugby fields looked different. The horse riding area looked different. The bike rental place looked different. I couldn’t immediately see the cafe that is so familiar when coming at it from the usual direction.
It reminded me that perspective is everything. In business, relationships, sport…changing perspectives changes everything. Being aware that perspective is key and knowing how to change perspective is such valuable skill. It’s one of the few ways you can change an outcome.
the early years 