I took up distance running seriously in 2008, shortly after my daughter was born. I had been dabbling in the sport for a decade previous, but right around new years and that time of making resolutions I signed up to join a training clinic at the local running supply store. Nearly two decades later I’ve run tens of thousands of kilometres, completed hundreds of races, and found a network of people who are some of my closest friends.
Being a runner also had a strange effect at the office.
There were enough of us runners that we found each other. In meetings, in the lunch room, or by winks and nudges from others who relayed that “did you know so and so is a runner, too?”
This is not a post about running.
This is a post about networking.
Taking up a sport, a hobby or a creative passion and being open about that in your professional life has a weird and magical way of interconnecting us in the otherwise dispassionate spaces of the work world.
…not that this is some deep insight. Shared interests forge tribes, after all.
But while you could just as easily find that tribe talking about a great band or the local sports club, finding out that your coworkers are aspiring authors, avid photographers, spending their evenings composing music, or just own a really expensive running watch, too, is a different level of camaraderie that shouldn’t be overlooked by creative spirits.
Terms FROm this POSt
- professional
- There is a formality to this term, linked to the idea of a captial-P professional like a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer. Instead, I often use it simple to refer to the span in my life as a average joe salaryman, sitting at a desk in a neat shirt and tie and replying to emails: I was a business professional, but lacking any real formal certification.
- running
- This is not a running blog, but I took up distance running in 2008 and worked my way up to running marathons, including two of the World Majors: New York and Chicago. These days I just run for fun and the social aspect, but it has shaped and shaded so much of the last two decades of my life that there is bound to be a mention on this site more than I would let on.
