After yesterday’s post about ‘Starting at Speed,’ let’s move to finishing. I knew a competitor who claimed they never lost a sprint in the last 100 yards of 10-kilometer running races. They were unstoppable. The irony is that they ran the first 9.9 kilometers (6.1 miles) conservatively so they could excel in the finishing stretch. Without pushing themselves, they were more of a specialist, competing against athletes they should have beaten by some distance.

Finishing fast is memorable, but we will never achieve a personal record for the entire course if we only hit our race pace in the finishing straight. If an enterprise throws the best parties when it reaches the goal, but the completion date is months or years behind schedule, does it carry the same weight?

Finishing is follow-through on all the efforts that took place prior. If you seek finish line fame, it is the equivalent of helicoptering to the summit and posing for pictures. There is little honor in not navigating the terrain that precedes the mountain top.

How might we use our skills and endurance over the entire course? Or, how might we sign up for events that attract specialists who can race on equal terms?