I’m Not a Runner. (But I Ran a 10K.)

A founder’s reflection on movement, identity, and doing it anyway.

For months, I said it like a disclaimer:
“I signed up for a 10K… but I’m not a runner.”

I said it as I set my alarm for 5:30 AM.
I said it as I jogged past tourists in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
I said it the day before my first race, bib in hand.

But what does that even mean — I’m not a runner — when you’re running?

That phrase echoed so many other things I’ve said to myself in business:
“I’m not a tech person.”
“I’m not a business person.”
“I’m not a brander.”

What it really reflects isn’t identity. It’s a lack of confidence in who we’re capable of becoming.

When I started training, I had no idea how to run 10K. So I found a structure: Couch to 10K. It began with two-minute jogs and five-minute walks. Even that felt like a stretch. I’d wait for the ding that meant I could stop.

Then one day, it was a 20-minute run. And I did it.

Not because I suddenly believed I could — but because I kept showing up long enough to surprise myself.

That’s exactly what business has been like for me.

You don’t start out feeling like a founder. You feel like someone playing the part.
You post, you pitch, you pivot — and at some point, the doing takes over.
You don’t need the label. You’ve built the proof.

As I trained, I realized something else. I spend a lot of time studying successful founders — not just the obvious markers like revenue or recognition, but their habits. And one pattern kept showing up: many of them have a physical practice.

Not all, of course. But enough to notice.
They move. They push. They stretch their capacity — literally and mentally.

That observation became another motivation for me. I had plenty of health reasons to start running, sure — but business is often what gets me out of bed.

Running was uncomfortable for me. Just like sitting at a computer for hours to write is uncomfortable for others. I had to push myself out of my own comfort zone.

And in that process, I realized:
Discomfort is where mental plasticity grows.

Business will always require you to stretch. You can’t get too comfortable — it’s how brands fade. It’s how momentum dies.
Just like the body, business needs consistent movement to stay alive.

It’s not about being athletic.
It’s about choosing to build capacity.

The morning of my first race, it was 30°F — but felt like 20. My chest burned from the cold. The air hurt. Normally, I’d have stayed in bed. But I didn’t.

It was a mental exercise from the first step.
Not heroic. Not romantic. Just… a choice.

I’d trained for this. I was ready to meet the discomfort on purpose.

And what I got in return was a run through one of the most surreal, serene landscapes I’ve ever seen. That’s what training delivers: the ability to be present for the experience when it finally arrives.

So if you’re building a business…
If you’re posting even when you feel invisible…
If you’re doing scary things before you feel ready…

You’re not pretending.
You’re becoming.

Keep going.

🖤
Jenée

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