“One stride at a time. One mile at a time. One race at a time.” It’s more than just a mantra for runners—it’s a mindset for life.
Life is a marathon; sometimes, it feels like it’s all uphill with no water stations in sight. Runners know the grind. Every race, every mile, every painful stride is just another reminder that progress isn’t always about finishing first; it’s about moving forward. You lace up your shoes, hit the pavement, and feel that sharp pang in your side, wondering why the hell you even started this in the first place. But you don’t quit. Because somewhere deep inside, you know—whether it’s on the road, on the track, or just navigating through the chaos of life—it’s all about taking it one stride at a time, one mile at a time, one race at a time.
We live in a world where everything feels like it needs to be done now. Fast results. Instant gratification. Win or lose. That’s the mindset they sell us, and people buy it wholesale. But if you’ve ever run a marathon—or even just pushed yourself on a morning jog—you know that’s not how real growth happens. It’s not about how fast you start but about the determination to keep going when every part of you screams to stop. And that’s the lesson, right? Life and running aren’t all that different.
Let’s break it down: One stride at a time. Every step you take when you’re running seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I mean, what’s one step compared to 26.2 miles of pounding the pavement? But those little steps add up. It’s easy to lose sight of that when you’re stuck in the moment. Maybe you’re focused on the end goal, or maybe you’re distracted by how hard it feels just to keep moving. That’s when you have to narrow your focus. When your legs are burning and your mind starts to wander into dangerous territory, reminding you that you still have hours to go, you need to shrink the race down. Forget the finish line. Forget the next mile marker. Just think about this step. Then the next one. Then the next. Each stride you take pushes you further, even when it doesn’t feel like progress.
That’s how life is, too. Whether you’re building a business, clawing your way back from addiction, or trying to heal from heartbreak, it’s never just one leap to success. It’s all those small, sometimes unnoticeable, strides. It’s getting out of bed on a day when depression tries to convince you there’s no point. It’s the awkward, stumbling first steps you take after failing at something that matters. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t even have to know how far you’re going. You just need to take that next stride. Progress, no matter how slow or uneven, is still progress.
Then there’s one mile at a time. As a runner, when you’re staring down a long stretch of road, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Every mile marker feels like an eternity away, and your mind starts to race: How much farther? How much longer? But the magic happens when you stop focusing on how far you still have to go and instead start to focus on just getting through this mile. Right now. This one. Push everything else out of your mind. Don’t think about the next hill or bend in the road. All that matters is that you keep moving through this mile.
And life? Life can overwhelm you in the same way. When you start to think about everything you have to do, everything you’ve still got left to achieve, it’s easy to get paralyzed by the sheer size of it all. Maybe you’re stuck in a job that’s slowly draining you. Maybe you’ve been hit with loss after loss, setback after setback, and you can’t see a way out. And yeah, maybe you feel like giving up because the road ahead looks endless. But that’s not how you get through it. You survive it, and you move forward by focusing on this mile. You can’t solve everything all at once, just like you can’t sprint a marathon. The distance might feel impossible, but you’ve moved a little closer if you get through this mile. And then you do it again.
One mile at a time isn’t about ignoring the big picture. It’s about not letting it crush you. You’re here right now, in this moment. You just have to keep moving through this stretch of road. It’s manageable. You can do it, even if it feels hard as hell.
And then, of course, there’s one race at a time. Every runner knows that not all races are created equal. Sometimes, you’re out there just to finish. Other times, you’re aiming for a personal best. But whatever race you’re in, you have to respect it. You can’t worry about the next one. When you’re in a race, that’s the only one that matters. You can’t pace yourself based on what’s happening next week. You can’t save energy for some hypothetical challenge in the future. You have to be fully committed to the race you’re in right now because that’s where you are.
In life, we tend to get ahead of ourselves. We plan, stress, and try to control what’s coming next. We think about the future so much that we forget about the race we’re in right now. We’re constantly living for tomorrow or trying to rewrite yesterday. But this race, this moment, is the only one you have any real control over. You can’t predict how the next one’s going to go. You can’t change the outcome of the ones you’ve already run. You can only give your best effort in this one. Show up for it. Give everything you have to today’s race.
One race at a time is how you stay focused and how you stay grounded. It’s how you stay present in your own life. When you let go of trying to win every race or worrying about races you haven’t even started, you give yourself the freedom to be great right here and now.
So, yeah, it’s simple but not easy: One stride at a time. One mile at a time. One race at a time. That’s how you push through the pain, the fatigue, the doubts, and the setbacks—whether you’re running a literal marathon or just trying to navigate this insane thing called life. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to conquer the entire course at once. You just need to keep moving. Keep pushing forward. Because every stride you take, every mile you finish, and every race you show up for brings you closer to becoming the person you’re meant to be.
Remember, it’s not about how fast you go. It’s about the fact that you go. You don’t stop. You keep fighting, even when the fight is tough. You’re a runner. You’re a fighter. One stride at a time, one mile at a time, one race at a time—you can go anywhere.
Stay disciplined. Stay resilient.
Jim Lunsford
Disclaimers:
Use of Artificial Intelligence: Jim Lunsford is committed to sharing authentic and meaningful content. To enhance the clarity and effectiveness of his writing, Jim utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool in the content creation process. While AI assists in organizing and refining his ideas, every thought, insight, and story shared on this website is genuinely his own. The use of AI does not alter the authenticity of his work; rather, it helps Jim communicate more effectively with you, his audience. Jim's goal remains to inspire, motivate, and connect, and AI is simply a tool that supports that mission.
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