The Power of Showing Up by Mark Stone

July 2024. I'm a mediocre distance runner. I run 10Ks, a 12K (thank you Spokane for that weird distance), half marathons, marathons, and 50K ultra marathons. My most satisfying distance is the 50K, but apparently I'm most performant at 10K, where I'm in the 50th percentile for my age group.

Once or twice a year I run a 10K, typically on the Foothills Trail between Orting and South Prairie, where they run the Foothills Dash in the spring and the Orting Turkey Trot in November. These races give me a chance to gauge my overall running fitness, because I can make apples to apples comparisons year over year.

Last year, timing didn't work out for the Foothills Dash, so I really didn't want to miss the Turkey Trot. The weather was miserable that week. The morning of the race temperatures were in the low 40s, it was windy, and there was a steady rain. Tempted as I was to skip the race, I told myself what Pacific Northwest runners tell themselves so many times: "Five minutes in you're not going to notice the weather any more." So I laced up my shoes and drove down to the starting area.

It was a pretty great race. Only a few dozen of us braved the weather, and I had a young woman and her dog ahead of me that I couldn't quite catch up to, really making the perfect pacers for me. My time was my best on that course in 6 years.

One of the volunteers came up to me as I was shaking off the rain under the finish area canopy. She presented me with a small placard, and said, "Congratulations, you were the top finisher among the men." Seeing my surprise, she smiled, and added, "In fact you were the only male participant."

So much to learn from that lesson. In work, as in life, we all have times when we struggle with motivation, and confidence. We feel that conditions have conspired against any possibility of success. Yet those moments are often full of unrecognized potential. The first step is simply showing up.

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