Breadth Thrusts & Bread Crusts: Run Your Own Race

Awards were not our focus this year. Our team has a lot of first-year runners. We didn’t enjoy a rigorous offseason program, either. So we didn’t take ourselves too seriously. Practices even featured a fair amount of Ultimate Frisbee. 

Our goals were simple: Keep going when we're tired, and hold our pace even when our heart rates accelerate.

If we measured ourselves against the times of the fastest runners, every race would have been a disappointment and we’d declare the season a bust. Instead, we finished on a positive note and the runners went home with a sense of accomplishment. 

What works for younger runners also benefits more accomplished athletes. My brother-in-law-to-be ran in last month’s Berlin Marathon. He’s a dedicated runner, but couldn’t allow himself to get caught up with what was happening in the lead pack. That would have been a distraction he could not afford. He followed his program, and ran his race. 

The same holds true in the market. 

We need to set our own goals and find our own approach. We can only focus on what is within our control and not become distracted by how other investors are acting. 

It’s great if others share approaches or information that we can incorporate in our strategies. But too often we do so without a critical eye toward differences in time frames and temperament. 

What works for me might not work for you. What you find useful information may just be a distraction to me. 

For every transaction in the market, participants agree on price. But one side thinks that is the right level to buy, and the other side thinks it’s the right place to sell. 

Like my grade school runners and future brother-in-law, we perform our best when we tune out the noise and just run our race.