Sprinting a Marathon

 

By Conrado Morlan

It was a cold and windy morning in Chicago as I lined up among more than 40,000 runners from all over the world. I was ready to start my seventh marathon.

I had set five hours as my target finish time, and I joined a team of runners with the same goal. Before the race at the assigned corral, I met my fellow runners and the pacers who would keep us at the correct speed.

After running the first mile with the group, led by the pacers, I inevitably started to think as a project manager. I realized the race mimics an agile Scrum project, and I began to identify roles and responsibilities based on the context of the race.

The pacers played the Scrum master role. At the end of every mile, they confirmed that the runners’ cadence was right, providing feedback on speed and recommendations on hydration. At the same time, they led the stand-up, checking with every runner on how he or she was doing and if anyone would need additional support. Pacers also kept updating the backlog to ensure product increments were delivered by the runners on every sprint.

The group of runners was the self-managed development team. We had acquired the skills and abilities required to run the race after weeks of training. Our project was set to be completed in eight imaginary sprints of 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) each and would deliver the final product — the ninth sprint. It was our task to keep the cadence and burn rate constant.

As in any project, issues cropped up. On my fifth sprint, I had to make adjustments to my race plan and update my “backlog.” Around mile 15 (kilometer 24), I detected a blood stain on my left foot that kept expanding as I tried to keep my time under 11:30 per mile, so I decided to slow my pace and let the five-hour group go ahead. By mile 19 (kilometer 30), the situation was under control, and I set my new pace. But between mile 24 and 25 (kilometer 40), I had to stop at the aid station for pain reliever ointment to alleviate the discomfort of cramps in my quads.

In any race, no matter the distance, spectators and volunteers are key. They are the stakeholders of the runner’s project. Their function is to provide support along the race with signs, words of encouragement and refreshments. Spectators and volunteers’ commitment to the runners is unconditional.

An important part of the agile approach is the retrospective. For my marathon project, here’s how my retrospective would look:

What went well?

·       Enjoyed the experience of running with a pace team

·       Finished my seventh consecutive marathon and my first World Major Marathon despite a few problems

·       Improved my strength, endurance and recovery time dramatically

What didn’t go so well?

·       Not taking advantage of the resources provided at the aid stations

What have I learned?

·       Running with a pace team lessens race stress

·       The importance of listening to my “brain/body” and paying attention to its signals from the very first step

What still puzzles me?

·       After finishing seven consecutive marathons, why do I still want to run more?

·       Why do challenges pump adrenaline into project management professionals and runners?

This marathon gave me valuable lessons that will be applied at my next race, the Dallas Marathon, where I look forward to improving my performance.

Do you inevitably start thinking as a project manager when performing non-project related activities? If so, share your experiences.