It’s 2 a.m. on an average Saturday morning. Where are you and what are you doing?
For Jason Lippman, Far West Capital’s vice president, 2 a.m. means lacing up his trail shoes, meeting up with members of his running team and knocking out a 35-mile training run. Seven hours later, the team finishes and heads home, just as their families are waking up. No big deal, right?!
Jason is currently training for his third, yes I said THIRD, Leadville Trail 100, an annual ultramarathon through the heart of the Rocky Mountains in Leadville, Colorado. Runners have a 30-hour time limit to run the 100 mile course, and the race has a 43% finish rate. Jason has already finished the race twice and will be running in Leadville on August 20-21 with hopes of breaking the elusive sub 25-hour mark.
Jason’s not the only hardcore runner. After completing the race on his own the first year, Jason got together with his favorite running store, Rogue Equipment, and launched the first dedicated Ultra Team in Texas. Team Rouge Ultra had 6 out of 7 team members finish the Leadville Trail 100 last year and have 10 members training for this year’s event. The team is just as focused on the race as they are about the journey together. The race is less about finishing with a certain time than it is about finishing with the whole team. This experience – from training to the actual race – is a clear lesson in teamwork and endurance. It’s a lesson that a top executive also echoes in this New York Times article about why smart bosses hire sports stars and how lessons learned on the field can influence your work.
Next month, we hope you’ll join us in cheering for Jason and Team Rouge Ultra’s run!
