This weekend I find myself looking at two runs in quick succession, which perhaps doesn’t say much for my planning skills.
The first is a 10k Cirrus team
run in the Peak District, BackBefore Dark, which involves some hills and head torches, but will hopefully
conclude with a beer in the evening. The second is the Macclesfield Half Marathon, which Cirrus
is sponsoring, so I felt I ought to take part. It is also hilly, I am told,
which may mean that my time is not exactly a personal best. But it will
be great to be running around the town where I live.
The first
run is about being connected to colleagues and the second is about being
connected with our local community. Both via the medium of running, which
normally involves sweat, occasional tears and blood only when I fall over! It
will be great to be out there with lots of other people doing the same thing,
going through our individual challenges (mostly mental, but also physical) and
having a laugh together.
Here’s the link to leadership. Running is
a bit like leadership in that it's a very solitary activity a lot of the time
and yet it's really about people getting together with a shared challenge
(as well as being a great way to raise money). I remember when we set up
the 505050 Challenge when I
turned 50 (believe it or not) and I was overwhelmed by the response of so many
people who took part, either individually or in teams, to raise money for The Christie and East Cheshire Hospice.
It was an amazing show of unity and raised way over its fundraising target.
It was also a great demonstration of shared leadership, with people stepping
forward, taking responsibility, and making what for many were significant personal
sacrifices to deliver the event. It was both awesome and humbling, and
demonstrated the collective power of people with a shared purpose to make a
difference.
So I look
forward to running with colleagues and neighbours this weekend, safe in the knowledge
that the shared experience will bring us closer together. Connected through
running.