Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone, One Mile at a Time
Lessons in leadership, marketing, and entrepreneurship from my first marathon
I started running after graduating from college, after a challenge from my brother inspired me to jump on the treadmill for the first time. I had no idea what I was doing. I was not, and still am not, a natural-born runner. I’m most comfortable at the back of the pack, enjoying my slow, steady “party pace.” At the time, I could barely jog for more than a few seconds, let alone hit a pace that resembled running. But a few short, breathless minutes in, I was hooked.
There would be many more first runs that challenged me in my future. My first run outside … in public … where people could see me. The first time I ran with others. My first 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and everything in between. And like many runners, I carried a quiet idea in the back of my mind.
One day, I wanted to run a marathon.
There was something comforting about one day. For more than a decade, it was safely a dream, something I used to motivate myself. I fantasized about the feeling I would get from crossing that finish line, imagining myself holding a medal, beaming with pride at what I had accomplished.
Finally, I decided it was time to stop dreaming and be brave.
With the encouragement of my family, I registered for the Richmond Marathon, signed up for a training program, and committed the next year of my life to accomplishing my goal. I spent months working on my speed, stamina, and endurance. I trained on sunny summer days, gray rainy afternoons, and chilly autumn mornings. I devoted my lunch breaks to 5ks and dragged myself out of bed at 6 am on Saturday mornings for long workouts. With each step, I learned something about discipline, pacing, and pushing past limits I once assumed were fixed.
Finally, in November 2025, my dream became a reality when I crossed the finish line after 26.2 miles. It was everything I had imagined – exhilarating, painful, and a feeling unlike any I have ever experienced before. I’ve held onto that moment tightly, reminding myself how strong and capable I really am any time things get tough. But it’s not just the memory of the finish line that I cherish. It’s the process that led me there.
What surprised me most was not the running itself, but what it required of me - patience, consistency, and a willingness to be uncomfortable while learning something new. Without realizing it, I was building skills that extended far beyond running.
It was only after completing the training process that I recognized how closely the journey to the finish line mirrored other challenges in my life: starting my own business and stepping into new leadership roles. Like marathon training, building something new requires far more than a good idea. It requires commitment, courage, flexibility, and the willingness to take a chance before you feel fully ready.
Making a Commitment
Dreaming is the easy part. Commitment is where things get real.
Training for a marathon tests your will and endurance long before race day ever arrives. You are committing to months of training, embracing discomfort, and making tradeoffs, saying no to time with friends or family, and yes to long hours on your own in pursuit of a single goal. Even just the idea of that can feel intimidating.
The same is true when you start a business, launch a brand, or step into a leadership role. It stretches you beyond what feels comfortable. Taking the first step can be overwhelming, especially when the path ahead is unclear.
That’s when the questions show up. What if I fail? What if I’m not good at this? What if I am in over my head? What if? What if? What if?
And then, once you find the courage to take that leap, the real work begins. The process of getting to your goal can be exhausting, mentally and physically. Showing up day after day, long after the initial excitement fades, is where most people get stuck. It is also where growth happens.
Throughout both training and on race day, I learned more about myself than I expected. I learned that I can do hard things. I learned that being scared at the beginning does not mean you are on the wrong path. And I learned how important it is to lean on others when you need support, and to step up when someone else needs encouragement.
Those lessons translate directly to business and leadership:
Growth requires stepping outside your comfort zone and sharpening skills through repetition.
Vision gives you direction when progress feels slow.
Inspiration helps you stay connected to the bigger picture.
Motivation is not something you wait for; it is something you build through action.
Building the Mindset
More than once during training, someone said, “You must be crazy to want to do this.”
They weren’t wrong.
Big goals often look unreasonable from the outside. Starting a business or stepping into a new leadership role can feel the same way, especially when the people around you don’t share your vision, don’t understand your drive, or are comfortable staying where they are.
Growth comes from action, not certainty. You don’t wait until you feel ready. You move, adjust, and learn as you go. Mindset determines how you respond when things get uncomfortable, and whether discomfort becomes a stopping point or a signal to keep going.
During long training runs and on race day, I relied heavily on reframing. When things got hard, I repeated, “I am not stopping.” When the finish felt impossibly far away, I asked myself, “How will I feel when I get there?” Those questions pulled me out of the discomfort and back into the process. The same mindset applies in work and leadership, especially when progress feels slow or uncertain.
Whether your goal is a specific outcome or simply making it through a challenging season, the process matters. Building systems that support discipline, creativity, and consistency helps you keep moving forward, even on hard days. Adopting a long-game mentality allows you to focus on sustainable growth rather than chasing quick wins.
Leaders also set the emotional tone. Your mindset influences how your team approaches problems, experiments with new ideas, and responds under pressure. Confidence, resilience, and calm are contagious, just as fear and doubt can be.
Strong teams are built through shared values, leading by example, and creating psychological safety. People perform better when they feel supported, trusted, and encouraged to stretch beyond what they think is possible.
These lessons show clearly in mindset and leadership:
Growth requires action before certainty and a willingness to move through discomfort.
Reframing challenges helps maintain focus when progress feels slow or uncertain.
Consistent systems and a long-term mindset matter more than motivation alone.
Leaders shape outcomes by setting the emotional tone and modeling resilience.
No One Finishes Alone
Running may look like an individual sport, but no one finishes a marathon on their own. The same is true of leadership. Progress often begins by helping one person feel safe, capable, and supported enough to keep moving forward.
During the race, I connected with a runner named Elizabeth. It was her first marathon, too. Like many people navigating unfamiliar territory, she didn’t want to slow anyone down, but she needed encouragement to get through the hardest stretches of the course. We decided to run together. For nearly ten miles, we talked through our training, why we signed up, our families, and our goals, anything that helped quiet the discomfort and keep momentum.
As the miles passed, others joined us. Our small partnership gradually became a loose, moving team. Without planning to, I found myself encouraging three other runners. That moment surprised me, but it clarified something I see often in business: leadership rarely announces itself. It shows up when things feel uncertain, and someone needs steadiness more than answers.
I stepped into a coaching role almost instinctively, breaking the distance into manageable pieces. “Let’s run this block.” “We can run to that sign.” “We just finished a half-marathon; we can handle the next mile.” Those small, practical moments of vision helped all of us keep going.
That experience reinforced an important truth: leadership is not about big speeches or perfectly formed plans. It is about offering the next clear step at the right time.
This same dynamic plays out in collaboration, mentorship, cross-functional work, and client relationships. People move forward when they feel guided, not pushed, and when they know they are not doing the work alone.
Just as important, that stretch of the race reinforced the value of accepting help. No one benefits from pretending to be self-sufficient when support is available. Strong leaders know when to lean on others, especially those who have already done what they are trying to do. Business owners who build advisory networks, partnerships, and trusted relationships give themselves the same advantage, a greater ability to endure, adapt, and finish strong.
These lessons show up clearly in leadership and teamwork:
Leadership often begins by helping one person feel supported and capable.
Influence shows up in moments of uncertainty, not in titles or plans.
Clear, practical direction builds momentum.
Progress accelerates when people feel guided, not pushed.
Strong leaders know when to offer support and when to accept it.
Conclusion
Running a marathon and choosing to step into something unfamiliar demand many of the same things:
Clarity about where you want to end up,
Humility as you learn along the way
Endurance to keep showing up
A community that helps carry you forward.
It always starts with a goal. From there, you build a plan to support it, knowing it will evolve. Along the way, you discover what you are capable of, and just as importantly, how much stronger progress becomes when you allow yourself to receive support and offer it to others.
If you are standing at the start of your own marathon, whether that means launching a business, growing a brand, or stepping into a new leadership role, know this: it takes more than a good idea. It takes commitment, courage, flexibility, and the willingness to move forward before everything feels comfortable or certain.
In my work as a digital marketing strategist, this is where I see people gain real traction: when thoughtful strategy, steady guidance, and the right support systems come together, especially when the path feels long or unclear.
In the end, you get to choose what kind of leader you become. That path is shaped mile by mile, decision by decision, and by the people who choose to run alongside you.
If you are navigating a similar season and looking for partnership, perspective, or simply to connect with others doing meaningful work, I would love to hear from you. No one finishes alone.
