It's Not the Miles, It's the Outcome: Lessons From Marathon Training

Lori Milhaven - October 20, 2026

Somewhere around mile 8 of a recent training run, soaked through and well behind pace, I found myself thinking, “This is exactly what a project looks like in the messy middle.” Long after the baseline stopped matching reality, and long before anyone remembers how much the plan had to change.

Nobody sees the version of the plan that is surviving contact with execution. They will only see the finish line come November. This is my story of everything before it.

The Charter: Deciding to Run

Every project starts with a charter that looks simple from the outside and is anything but. Mine was deciding to run the 2026 New York City Marathon with Fred’s Team, in support of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I have had cancer twice in my life. One of those times, MSK did more than treat the illness; they helped me reclaim my body, confidence, and a future that made this possible.

Running for them is not a symbolic gesture. It is closer to a debt of gratitude I get to repay one mile at a time. That is the charter, and it is the reason the mission stays fixed even when everything around it moves.

Building the Plan

I approach marathon training the same way I approach any major initiative: start with a baseline, then build a phased delivery plan. First came the base-mileage phase to build an aerobic foundation. Then came the build phase, that layers …

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