Life is not a Sprint. Life is not a Marathon. Life is a SPARTAN Race.

It was hot. Really hot.

We had a 10:45 AM start time and it was already 90 degrees at Blue Mountain in Palmerton, PA. My friend Aliza and I had decided to challenge ourselves with a SPARTAN Super Race, an obstacle course event covering more than 7 miles up and down a ski mountain and through the wooded trails, 27 obstacles and almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain.

The race started with a 1,500-foot gain in the first mile. As we trekked up the mountain—perhaps to keep my mind away from thinking about the current and coming pain—I began to think about how this race was a perfect metaphor for life.

We often hear people talk about how lives and careers are marathons, not sprints. It’s a great reminder that we need to:

1. Assure Proper Conditioning: Very few people can just go out and complete a marathon. It requires months of preparation to build endurance, muscle strength and mental agility. Similarly, preparing for life requires education, mentoring and training.

2. Come Prepared: You can’t just show up on race day and expect to finish a marathon. You need to consider nutrition and hydration in the months leading up to the event and during the race. We also need to show up to work and life with the proper tools for each task.

3. Be Patient & Pace Yourself: While a little impatience is a good thing, if you go out too fast, you’ll exhaust yourself and not be able to finish. Preventing burnout in your personal and professional lives is an important consideration in achieving your goals and aspirations.

While I’ve competed in several marathons, I’ve never run one with a half-mile sandbag carry, cargo net climbs, or 10-foot wall to get over. These obstacles are good reminders that:

4. Lives and Careers Aren’t Linear:  There will be obstacles that pop up, usually unanticipated ones, that will try to slow you down or stop you in your tracks. Much of your success will be based on your ability to successfully navigate these obstacles.

Leading up to the race, based on our time to complete a similar but shorter SPARTAN race, Aliza and I discussed our goals, believing that we could cover the course in about four hours. As the course and obstacles were revealed and as we looked at the weather forecast for race day, we realized that we needed to adjust our expectations to account for the elevation gain and 90-degree forecast. This was a great reminder to:

5. Set Challenging Goals but Be Flexible: While it’s important to set ambitious goals, it’s equally important to adjust those goals as you learn more about the situation.

As we got about halfway to the summit during the first mile of the race, we took our first break. We turned around and enjoyed the view of the beautiful Pocono Mountains. This was a great reminder to:

6. Take a Breath: Even machines need maintenance and we’re not machines. After a significant effort, you need time to rest, recover and prepare for the next part of the journey.

7. Celebrate Small, Incremental Accomplishments: It was easy to look up at the summit to see how far we still had to go but it was also important to look back to see how far we’d already come. This created a sense of accomplishment and built the confidence we needed to make it to the top. It’s the same with life. Take time to celebrate your accomplishments and let them increase your confidence in achieving future challenges.

8. Enjoy the View: You’ve heard the expression, “stop and smell the roses”? It’s important to periodically take some time to appreciate your current situation and find a sense of contentment.

As we approached our first set of obstacles at the top of the mountain, another race participant said something that really resonated for me. He said, “there’s a fine line between badass and dumbass!” I thought about that as I approached each obstacle. I wanted to challenge myself to try obstacles that I had never tried before but I also wanted to avoid an injury that could prevent me from completing the race or worse. It’s a great reminder to: 

9. Balance Risk and Reward: Finishing an obstacle that I was unsure of would bring a great sense of accomplishment, but I needed to balance that against the risk of injury. It’s the same in life. Taking risks may help accelerate your growth but could also derail your journey. It’s important to make sure the risk is worth the expected reward.

10. Consider the Longer-Term Goals when Working on the Incremental Steps: Keep the big picture in mind. Our goal was to complete the race. If getting injured attempting 1 of 27 obstacles would keep us from completing the race, it wasn’t worth it. It’s the same in life. Keep an eye on the big picture and make sure that your incremental steps stay aligned to the longer-term goals.

11. Be self-aware: Related to the prior points, as Aliza and I approached each obstacle, we needed to make sure we had the basic “qualifications” to safely complete the challenge. Certain obstacles required more strength, flexibility, and/or “wing span” than we had and we decided to do the burpees or complete the penalty lap. In life, be realistic about your current capabilities and choose goals aligned with those capabilities. We always want to strive for improvements, but on any given day, you need to work with what you have.

As we approached new obstacles, I found myself hanging back to watch how others were approaching them to see what was working and what wasn’t. This was a good reminder that:

12. It’s Ok to Be a Follower: Being a trailblazer is great but sometimes being a “fast-follower” is the most prudent and efficient way to accomplish a goal. Learn from others, and potentially build on their ideas.

One of the nicest things about the SPARTAN community is the willingness to help others. As we would get to a wall that was clearly too high for either one of us, there was always someone there to give us a little extra leg up. Once on the top, we would turn around and reach down to help pull up the next competitor. When we’d get to the next wall, we’d wait to see if anyone needed a leg up before attempting the climb. It was a good reminder to:

13. Help When You Can. Ask Others for Help When Needed: We’re all part of several communities; our workplace, gym, place of worship, etc. In each community, there are people there who can help you accomplish your goals and there are people who need your help to accomplish their goals. Be generous and receive generosity.

Aliza and I finished the race in about 6 hours with a great sense of accomplishment. We overcame the expected and unexpected obstacles in difficult conditions. We learned a lot about ourselves, our strengths and limitations and took away lessons that will help us in our next race or life challenge, a good reminder to:

14. Set Challenging Goals, Work Hard to Accomplish Them, Learn From the Experience, and Set New Goals