When I signed up for my first marathon, I wasn’t just chasing a finish line; I was also chasing a mindset. At the time, I was serving as an administrator at a school district in Indiana and leading systemic change initiatives that felt just as daunting as 26.2 miles. Both journeys taught me that big goals aren’t achieved overnight or even in one race. Lofty goals are achieved through small, intentional steps, consistent effort, and a big belief that progress—even when slow—is still progress.
Here are the key components I learned when my running shoes became my leadership metaphor, alongside anecdotes about how my school community became part of the journey.
Building your training plan: Know where you are and where you’re going
When I committed to the marathon, the first step wasn’t running; it was planning. I had to understand my current fitness level, set a realistic goal, and map out the steps to get there. That meant collecting my running data: pace, mileage, etc. Without knowing my baseline, I couldn’t design a plan that would get me across the finish line. Since I wasn’t much of a runner, I knew I had to understand where I was starting and where I was going to get there in the number of weeks I had before that race.
Systemic change works the same way. At our district, we started by asking, where are we now? Where do we want to be? Using tools like the National School Reform’s ATLAS Looking at Data Protocol and Futures Protocol, we gained a strong collective understanding of where we were starting as a school and began to backward map our vision for student success. We identified gaps, prioritized needs, examined root causes, separated out what was controllable, and created a running roadmap and plan that aligned resources and timelines.
Just like a marathon training plan, this wasn’t about sprinting; it was about pacing ourselves for sustainable progress. But like a marathon, I only had a specific amount of time to think about where we needed to go because our school was underperforming and targeted by the state for our test scores and special education subgroup population. I translated my knowledge of running a race to that of leading systemic change. I knew it would require a clarity of vision paired with actionable steps.
Visible leadership: When the whole school becomes your cheer squad
One unexpected joy of training for my marathon was how invested my school became in the process. They saw me running to and from school, rain, shine, or extreme heat. When my school community found out I was working toward the goal of running 26.2 miles, it sparked conversations about goal setting and perseverance. Students and parents asked how I was doing, teachers checked in on my progress, and when race day came, they followed updates on my progress by tracking my bib. When the big day arrived, the school sent me off with cheers and signs, celebrating the journey as much as the destination.
That experience reinforced a powerful truth for me: visible leadership matters. It built trust because my community saw me living in the mindset that I could run a marathon. When I heard a teacher or student say change at our school felt hard, I could empathize with them, but I could also help them understand and support how to make it not feel so daunting.
My marathon journey turned an abstract concept, like systemic change, into something tangible. My marathon wasn’t just my race; it also became a shared story of commitment and growth. And that’s what leadership is about: inspiring others by living in the mindset you want to cultivate. Thinking back on the wins from my training and race day also helped with the big and small asks I had from staff.
Tracking and understanding progress: Celebrate the small wins
Training for a marathon taught me to focus on incremental gains. One week, I ran one mile. A few weeks later, I ran six. Sometimes, I couldn’t focus on the mileage and instead had to say to myself, “Just run for five more minutes.” Each increase mattered because it signaled growth. I didn’t wait until race day to celebrate. I acknowledged every milestone along the way.
In education, continuous improvement thrives on the same principle. As a school, we used data-driven decision-making inquiry cycles every two to three weeks. These data cycles allowed us to track student progress, adjust interventions, and celebrate growth, even when it was small. Those check-ins built momentum and kept our team motivated.
Systemic change isn’t about overnight transformation; it’s about steady, measurable progress that compounds over time. I made sure that with each cycle of inquiry or meeting we had, I brought small pieces of data that showed the impact we were having. If you’re interested in looking at how small compounds change over time, I suggest the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Mindset and consistency: Embrace the long game
You can’t go from one mile to 26.2 overnight. Marathon training demands patience and consistency.
There were days I wanted to quit—especially when the weather was bad, my legs were heavy, or I felt in my mind that I just couldn’t add five more minutes—but I knew showing up mattered more than speed or distance. Or, in the words of James Clear, sometimes just putting on the running shoes or your workout clothes is where you need to start.
Leading systemic change is no different. It’s tempting to chase quick fixes, but real improvement takes time. Our school staff committed to a year-long process with intermittent check-ins. We reminded ourselves that setbacks aren’t failures but a part of the journey, one where we were blessed to ask more questions, identify additional root causes, understand what we could control, and continue asking what was working. A growth mindset isn’t just for students; it’s essential for leaders and teachers to navigate complex change.
Navigating roadblocks: Progress isn’t linear
During training, I faced injuries and missed runs. COVID-19 threw an even bigger curveball into our school plans. Both experiences reinforced the hard truth that progress isn’t linear. Setbacks happen, but they don’t define the outcome. Setbacks give us the chance to reflect, ask questions, redefine what we are doing, and course correct as needed.
As leaders, we must model resilience. When unexpected data trends emerge or priorities shift, we must adapt. As a leader in my district, I communicated openly, adjusted timelines, and made sure we kept our eyes on our long-term vision, not the next quick fix or trying something else because we could. Just like a marathon runner slows down to recover, districts and schools need space to recalibrate without losing sight of the finish line.
Pick your marathon: A call to action
Running a marathon taught me that big goals are possible when broken into intentional steps. Translating this into my leadership journey taught my school that mindset matters, progress is incremental, and perseverance is contagious. As educational leaders, we all have a “marathon” ahead. It might feel like a daunting race to improve literacy outcomes, redesign or implement your MTSS programming, build instructional coherence, or tackle chronic absenteeism. It might be something else altogether.
Here’s my challenge to you: Pick your marathon. Identify one systemic change you want to model for your team. Find that journey you have been putting off that has felt daunting. Map the steps, track the progress, and commit to the long game. The finish line isn’t just about crossing; it’s about who you become along the way and how you change incrementally.
But don’t do it alone. The most important lesson I learned from running a marathon and being a leader is that it’s the people you surround yourself with who elevate the work you do. I might have been creating the running path, but my family, friends, and colleagues supported what I needed to get there. Similarly, while I carved the leadership path in my district, it was the work of those who surrounded me that ultimately led to an increase in our scores, moved us away from being a targeted intervention school, and created the culture we wanted to see in our building.
Leaders who model the behaviors they expect—whether it’s engaging in data cycles, embracing professional learning, or simply asking staff to do something new that might be hard—create credibility. And just like a marathoner needs cheerleaders along the route, leaders need champions who encourage and celebrate progress. We’re here to help you. Did you know our Center for Model Schools and partnership with your account manager can help you leverage the data you have and support you in leading systemic changes? Many of our account managers have their own marathon stories from the field and can help you reach your next goal with tools, strategies, and support.
