Mike Miles: Running, Leadership, and Balance

Intro: This week’s guest is Mike Miles discussing what endurance sports can teach us about who we are and how we lead. With leadership coach and trail runner Mike, we trade DNF stories, dig into purpose and preparation, and make the case that balance is a real competitive advantage. 
This episode’s topics include: 
• leaving a big career and rebuilding identity through hard goals 
• road running versus trail running and why traditions matter 
• the Seattle Marathon meltdown and the “read the fine print” lesson 
• Tiger Claw strategy, cutoffs, and training specificity 
• DNFs and time cuts as feedback rather than failure 
• using long runs to solve leadership and business problems 
• the power of a clear “why” for resilience in sport and startups 
• endurance events as family bonding and a shared purpose 
• discomfort as training for leadership challenges 
• why work-life balance improves EQ, judgement, and performance 

Learn more about Mike’s work as a couch on his website: https://milestone-leadership1.squarespace.com/

Thanks for listening to Running With Problems. Follow us on Instagram @runningwithproblems. DM us there with questions in text or audio messages! Or email us at podcast@runningwithproblems.run.

Hosted by Jon Eisen (@mildly_athletic) and Miranda Williamson (@peaksandjustice). Edited by Jon Eisen. Theme music by Matt Beer.