I tell this story all the time. Maybe too many times. But I feel it’s a story that has a meaning and also has a reason. Before becoming a Running Coach, I worked in the banking industry for twenty years, from 1994 to 2014. I did not plan on going into banking. I fell into it, and I stuck with it for that long because it’s all I knew.
About halfway through my banking days, it started to burn me out. I realized corporate banking is not for me. Everything from the policies, procedures, shift hours just made me unhappy. Sitting behind a desk being confined in a cubicle with two monitors in front of me made me miserable. It took a toll on my family.
Yes, my income level was high, but my happiness level was at an all-time low.
Running was always my outlet. It was my stress reliever. Throughout the years during my banking career, I ran a lot. I improved my running through training or racing 5k’s, 10k’s, marathons and eventually falling in love with the mind-bending challenge of ultramarathons. Running takes me to another place, a happy place literally and spiritual no matter how many miles.
The day I found out that my position at the bank was being eliminated, initially I was terrified. What am I to do now? I knew nothing else. After some time of contemplating, I imagined a book. A book with blank pages, completely empty. And it was MY book. I can write these next chapters of my life anyway I want.
I decided to use my experience from running and become a Running Coach. I believe everyone has a running story, hence why I call my little run coaching business, Once Upon A Run. I want to be part of my client’s running story. And me wanting to be part of their story is not for money, because I’ll be honest, there’s barely any money in what I do but yet it’s what I choose to do. It’s a struggle but a struggle that I look forward to. Also, the support of the people around me, that understand my passion is what helps keep me going.
I look at what I do sometimes. I work out of my car, barely enough room for my equipment. My body takes a beating because in the winter I freeze and in the summer I melt. There are days I start training at 5am, have multiple clients and I don’t get done until 7pm. On top of this, I maintain my own running because the next race for me is always going to be around the corner.
But here’s the truth. When I see my clients succeed or at the very least put in their best effort, this is always the true reward for me. They inspire me. And when I’m told I’ve made an ounce of a difference in someone’s running journey, that is more than what I need. That is enough for me. That’s the worth.
So, this is why I tell this story all the time. And I’m going to continue telling this story for the love and passion of what I do. This is why I am a Running Coach.
One last thing…
Yes, now my income level is low, but my happiness level is an all-time high.
