From Our Founder: What Marathon Training Taught Me About Business

From the desk of our founder, Laresa McIntyre — thoughts on leadership, growth, and the journey behind the numbers.

I’ve run four marathons and while my knees have officially retired, the lessons stuck with me.

Because marathon training? It’s not so different from building a business.

Both require commitment, planning, resilience, and a strange love for doing hard things. Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. You Decide to Do the Hard Thing

No one accidentally runs a marathon. Or starts a business.

At some point, you make the decision. The “why” behind it varies, but the commitment is the same: I’m in.

2. A Plan Is Non-Negotiable

Planning is probably the most important part of the entire process because it provides the roadmap to success.

A marathon plan includes the race date, a training schedule, the right shoes, a coach if needed, and mapped-out running routes.

A business plan? Goals, milestones, marketing, systems, funding, maybe even a trusted advisor.

Without a plan, you’re just running without purpose!

3. Setbacks Happen—Some Small, Some Defining

Even with the best plan, life happens.

Some setbacks are minor: a missed training run due to a thunderstorm. A marketing campaign that underperforms. Annoying, but manageable. You adjust, recalibrate, and keep moving.

Others hit harder. An injury that halts your training. A key investor pulls out. A critical hire falls through. These moments force a deeper decision:

Do I push through and risk more damage? Or pause, reassess, and wait for the right time to move forward?

In marathon training, running on an injury can sideline you permanently. In business, charging ahead without the resources or clarity can lead to even bigger setbacks, like financial strain, team burnout, or worse.

Sometimes, the wisest move is to wait, recover, and reset the timeline. The goal doesn’t have to disappear. But the path might need to change.

4. Show Up Anyway

Success comes from consistency. Skipping half your training runs won’t get you to the finish line. Ignoring your financials or winging your operations? Same result.

You don’t have to be perfect. But you do have to keep showing up.

5. Savor the Wins

For the marathoner, race day is the culmination of all of the hard work and training that has consumed their life for the past 16 – 24 weeks.  It’s the big day and they savor every moment.

Business has its finish-line moments too: landing a dream client, launching a new offer, finally turning a profit.

Pause. Celebrate. These wins matter.

6. Then You Do It Again

Post-marathon blues are real. So what do many runners do? Sign up for another one. Yes, the marathoner is a strange breed who finds pleasure in the pain they put themselves through.

Business builders are the same. Once you hit one milestone, you’re already thinking about the next. Growth is addictive like that.

Whether your race is 26.2 miles or scaling a business that actually works, the mindset is the same:

Commit. Plan. Adapt. Finish. Repeat.

—Laresa