Still Becoming

Still Becoming

The Road to 50

Introducing and An invitation

For months, I thought I was training for another endurance race. Another race to cross off the list. Looking back, I wasn't. This one was different. I was being shaped by one.

I'll admit — writing something this personal doesn't come naturally to me. I'd much rather talk about leadership, emotional intelligence, or helping teams perform at a higher level than write about my own experiences. But over the past few weeks, I've realized some lessons are too meaningful to keep to yourself. If sharing what I learned helps even one person approach the next chapter of their life with a little more intention, then it's worth writing.

So, here we go. Welcome to The Road to 50.

On June 20, I crossed the finish line of the San Juan 50 Mile Ultra Marathon.  Endurance sports have always been part of my life and crossing the finish line of another 50 mile ultra was another check mark off the list of epic adventures.  However, this was not just another 50 mile race.  The San Juan Summer Solstice is known as the second hardest 50 mile run in Colorado.  The course covers some of the most aggressive terrain in the San Juans including 2 climbs that are roughly 5 miles long and gain an excess of 4500 and 4800 vertical feet, respectively.  And if that was not enough, miles 22-33 are at or above 12,000ft where the air is thin and where every step reminds you how real this really is.  Yeah, I picked a doozie.  But I did that on purpose.  

The San Juan mountains hold a special place in my heart.  I grew up in these mountains learning to fish, hunt, and explore the outdoors with ultimate respect.  My Dad was and is an amazing teacher.  Lessons learned that extend way beyond the transactional elements of life.  I could not think of a better way to celebrate one of life’s many milestones (turning 50) than spending an entire day running through the San Juan range.

Since the completion of the race, I have spent the past several weeks reviewing training logs, journal entries, and reflecting on what those months of training—and the 15hrs it took me to cover the 50 miles through the San Juan Mountains—actually taught me. Surprisingly, very little of it had to do with running.

That's the thought I keep coming back to. I didn't train for the race. The race trained me. I did not anticipate this, but this particular race became a checkpoint. Not to measure what I've accomplished...But a chance to decide how I want to finish.

Turning 50 has caused me to explore questions I don't think we talk about often enough. Not questions about retirement or slowing down.  Questions like...Am I still growing? Am I still becoming? Am I still willing to choose challenges that shape me?

Or have I quietly drifted into maintaining what's comfortable?

Somewhere along the way (or maybe it's just me), we start measuring the wrong things. We hyper focus on our results. Our achievements. By what we've built. By the numbers we can point to at the end of a quarter or year. While I do believe those things matter to some degree — they were never the point. I've become convinced that the real work, the work that actually matters, is how we show up for the people around us. For those we do life with, at work and in our professional life.  How we grow ourselves. How we lift others. How we help the people we're privileged to lead become more than they believed they could be.

I’ll argue that none of us have been called simply to preserve what we've built. We're meant to keep growing, keep serving, keep becoming — for as long as we're given the chance. And those who live that way are the ones who make everyone around them want to do the same.  And in today’s world, we call them leaders.  Not because of their title, but because of how they have lifted others up during their journey.

That's why I'm writing this series. Over the next eight weeks, I'd love to invite you to walk this road with me. Not as a runner. Not as an athlete. But as someone navigating the peaks and valleys of work, relationships, leadership, faith, and life.

Each week, I'll share one lesson the mountains revealed and explore how it applies far beyond endurance sports. Because I've come to believe that the greatest challenges we willingly choose often prepare us for the lives we're ultimately called to lead.

Welcome to The Road to 50.