Startups Are Not a Marathon—They’re Marathon Training

People often say startups are like a marathon. As someone who has run a number of marathons, I think the more useful comparison is marathon training.

The first and biggest lesson is consistency. Training isn’t about heroic workouts—it’s about showing up day after day. Most runs are deliberately easy—what coaches call the 80/20 principle: 80% at a conversational pace, 20% at higher intensity. Push too hard too often and you burn out or get injured—the biggest enemy of consistency. In startups, the same is true. My first company was all sprints and crashes. Now I think in terms of “consistent miles”: shipping small features, keeping conversations with users alive, writing updates. It feels less dramatic, but it builds the base that makes true bursts of speed possible when it matters—like at launch.

The second lesson is curiosity. Running isn’t just putting one foot in front of the other; there’s a whole science behind it—like how muscles turn fat and carbs into energy. Each time I dug into that science, I became a better runner. The same is true in startups. Time spent learning and thinking—about new technologies, markets, or users—often pays back more than pushing harder.

Connected to curiosity is individuality. Not every runner thrives on the same plan. Some improve more with endurance, others with speed—or even just different kinds of running. I realized I’m motivated less by performance than by freedom—long solo adventures in the mountains keep me consistent. Founders are the same. Some thrive on rapid iteration, others on deep craftsmanship. The key is finding the style of work that keeps you engaged enough to sustain it over years.

The last lesson is recovery. Training doesn’t make you stronger by itself—it only signals your body to adapt. The real improvement happens during rest and sleep. For startups, recovery is just as critical. Sleep, exercise, and downtime aren’t indulgences; they’re part of the work. Athletes plan recovery deliberately. Founders should too. It should be accepted—even encouraged—to add a workout to your schedule and plan around it like any other meeting.

Marathon training reframes work. You stop thinking like a worker crossing tasks off a list and start thinking like an athlete building capacity over years. Every easy run, every recovery day, every curious deep dive is part of the bigger goal. Founders who adopt this mindset last longer, stay sharper, and build engines strong enough to carry them through the race.