I’ve mentioned that over the last year I’ve taken up triathlons and in the winter months I’ve looked to keep my fitness up with a half-marathon and in October a full marathon (or as a friend put it: fool marathon).  Reflecting on how I’ve learnt to run again has made me realise there are a lot of parallels to corporate learning.

At the beginning I was sprinting off and trying to keep up with the fastest group. That works for about 400 metres and then you blow up and have an unpleasant rest of the race. The most important thing I’ve learned is to find your pace, whatever it is.  Run your own race and set a pace that will get you to the finish line in the time you want.  For longer races like half and full marathons that can mean going really slowly, but hey you get there in the end.  Unlike many who go too hard early and then collapse. 

So where is the parallel to corporate learning?

You need to find your own pace of learning.  One that fits in with your life.  We all see well intentioned learners say they’ll do this and that and within days or sometimes weeks their learning falls in a heap when outside pressures bear down.  Those intentions reappear at the next workshop they attend where the whole cycle repeats.

We, as learning professionals, need to help learners find their pace and support them with a variety of activities that allow them to continuously learn.

As a last parallel to running, there is a running / training method called fartlek (seriously look it up, it’s swedish).  In fartlek you blend continuous training with interval training.  Using this in a race, the idea is to not just run at the one pace, but have a base pace that you run at and then vary it up for short intervals.  So you run a little quicker for 1 minute and then slow back down to your base pace for 5 minutes and then quicker for another minute.  

Learners need to keep that base pace going themselves all the time and then have short little bursts fartlek style say with formal or social learning, maybe some coaching.

The lessons I’ve learnt from running that I can apply to learning:

• Find your own learning pace
• Help and support learners to find theirs
• Vary that pace “fartlek” style

Any insights you would like to share from your sporting careers?