What Running Taught Me About Continuous Improvement

Luis Cárdenas - 18 May 2026

5 min read

Three years ago, I got laid off from Biogen and started running because I didn’t know what else to do. At first, I did what many organizations do during transformation: I pushed too hard, ignored the warning signs, and injured myself. What marathon training eventually taught me was this: Sustainable improvement is not built on intensity. It is built on consistency, patience, systems thinking, and the willingness to keep going after setbacks. Here are a few lessons that running taught me about continuous improvement.

Patience

The first time I was laid off from a job was over 2 years ago; 704 days of running to be exact. That is when I started, and just like Forest Gump, I have not stopped. At the time, I had no idea what I was getting into or the level of commitment; I just knew I needed to run.

Of course, as is common with beginners, I hurt myself. I went out too fast and ran until even walking became difficult. My legs were shaking, my knees hurt, and I was limping. I went to the doctor because I thought there was something wrong with me. He took X-rays of my legs and took one look at me and just sighed.

“There is nothing wrong. Look, your knees are perfectly normal.” He grabbed hold of my leg and swung it around. He squeezed my knee, and I grunted in pain.

1st lesson in Continuous Improvement. Patience. When we implemented the first lean operating system at Medtronic, one of the companies I worked for, the productivity actually went down in the first month! But then, after people learned the new way of working, it was better for everyone, and productivity surpassed the baseline performance.

I followed the doctor's advice and stopped running for an entire week. It was a long week. I felt anxious and disappointed in myself. It was a precarious time where I could easily give up, but after one week, the pain went away. I started again slowly. I was no longer limping, and I could still run.

Suffering is Optional

I postponed my first marathon for another year. I realized that I could not get up off the couch, train for 4 months, and run a marathon. Finally, in October 2024, I ran my first marathon. It was a disaster.

I hit the wall at mile 18. "Hitting the wall" meant my glycogen stores had depleted, and my legs started cramping. I suffered greatly. Every step in those last 8.2 miles was excruciating. People much older than me were passing me effortlessly. I finished in 5 hours and 5 minutes. For comparison, the world record is just under 2 hours.

This was the second time I thought about giving up. It is not worth it. It is too painful. It requires too much time and effort, and for what? I am only getting older, and it is only getting more difficult.

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

As the author Haruki Murakami said, suffering is optional. What that means is that it will sometimes hurt, and that is unavoidable. Life is sometimes painful. The difference is what you do with that pain. We have the power to choose how we respond. Do we give up or do we find the strength to keep going?

Emotional Awareness

I recently came across the RULER methodology for social and emotional learning. I highly recommend it as a tool for continuously improving every aspect of your life. It was developed by the psychologist Dr. Marc Brackett, the founding director at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. He has helped countless people and has even developed an app called How We Feel that I use religiously.

RULER stands for: Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate. With practice, the method improves emotional awareness and understanding. This method has been shown to improve performance and engagement and reduce aggressive behavior, stress, and anxiety. Ultimately, it helps improve interpersonal relationships.

What does this have to do with Continuous Improvement? Well, if our mind is not healthy, then nothing else works. If we are unable to have healthy relationships with others and with ourselves, then everything else falls apart. We must find a way to get past our own demons, as they say, to continuously improve.

Make note of what is in your mind. Take time to reflect. Are you really tired, or is it something else? Are you worried, anxious, or sad? If your energy level is low and your desire to train is not there, is it because you are physically tired or because you lack motivation? If your company is not adhering to standard work, is it an issue of morale, discipline, stress, overburden, level of understanding, or something else? As leaders, we must listen and learn to recognize the signs in ourselves and others.

Systems Thinking

Running taught me to treat training as a system. Do not confuse the word ‘system’ with a computer system. A system can be organic, mechanical, or social. For example, a car is a mechanical system. Each element of the system, the wheels, the brakes, the engine, cannot function on its own, but taken together, the system transports people. ‘Systems thinking’ means that all of the elements within the system are viewed simultaneously. We realize that a system is like a chain, and if a link is broken, the entire chain falls apart.

Shigeo Shingo worked at Toyota in the 1950’s and developed the Shingo model. He describes a journey through various phases of improvement. In the tools phase, there is no system. There is only a set of disconnected tools that are not set up to work together. In the running analogy, it may be the shoes you wear or the food you eat. At the systems level, the tools work together. For example, you may have a group of friends that you run with you on certain days. You may strategically increase carbohydrate intake on specific days. Because the elements are interconnected, the performance becomes stable. Finally, in the principles level, you do not need anyone to remind you to go for a run. You do it as a matter of principle, because it has become part of you, and you do not feel right if you do not do it. It has become a habit. The progress suddenly becomes dramatic, and you see big, steady improvements in performance.

Data Driven Decisions

Another thing running taught me about Continuous Improvement is the importance of data-driven decisions. With the help of ChatGPT and Python, I created a dashboard with several key performance indicators (KPIs), which I update daily. The software generates graphs that provide insights into my training. Here you can see an example of one of those charts.

“Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits:

that’s the essence of running,

and a metaphor for life. ”

― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

My next marathon will be in October in Toronto, Canada. Hopefully, I will improve again, but if I don’t, it's okay because I am confident I will not give up, and that’s all that matters. I agree with Murakami san when he said, "I’m no great runner, by any means.... But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. "

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