Most leadership advice is about what you do when people are watching. Mike Reynold's best lessons came from fifteen years of showing up when no one was, mile after mile, chasing whatever scared him most. A doctor once told him his running career was over: no marathons, no fun runs, no running with his kids, or he'd risk a hip replacement before 40. Mike waited, gained some weight, and stopped moving. Then, on a friend's back porch during COVID, he decided to try again anyway, one slow lap at a time, and started rebuilding more than his fitness. Fifteen years, a $300 bike, and more than fifty interviews with endurance athletes later, Mike has completed obstacle course races, a full Ironman, and ultramarathons up to fifty miles. The same lesson kept showing up on every course: leadership isn't a title you're given. It's built through thousands of small choices nobody sees. This episode isn't really about the races. It's about what a government affairs attorney learned about leading himself, and other people, by talking to firefighters, teachers, recovering addicts, cancer survivors, and world champions, and finding out they were all working on the same thing. Who This Is For ● Anyone who's been told by a doctor, a boss, or their own doubts that a chapter of their life is closed ● Leaders who want a definition of leadership that has nothing to do with a title ● People over 40 wondering if it's too late to start something hard ● Endurance athletes and weekend warriors who want a community, not just a finish line ● Anyone building a demanding career while trying to stay present at home Five Key Takeaways 1. Fear works better as a compass than a stop sign. Mike spent years being told what he couldn't do: no races, no risks, nothing that might undo a $300 hip repair. When he finally faced the things that scared him most, obstacle courses, open water, a fifty mile race against horses, fear stopped being a wall and became a signal pointing him toward what actually mattered to him. 2. Leadership is built through thousands of small choices no one sees. The discipline it takes to train for an ultramarathon, the early mornings, the meals, the miles logged when no one's watching, is the same discipline that shows up later in a boardroom or on a Little League field. Mike's core claim: you don't build character in the finish line photo. You build it in the choices leading up to it. 3. The community that celebrates last place teaches something most workplaces miss. In ultra racing, the DFL, dead last finisher, gets a trophy and a crowd, not because of how fast they went, but because of how far they went and how long they refused to quit. Mike sees that as a model for leadership: measure people by their grit and their follow-through, not just their speed. 4. There's more than one right way to lead. Mike interviewed two ultrarunners with opposite styles: Andy Glaze, a battalion fire chief whose motto is "smile or you're doing it wrong," and Harvey Lewis, a teacher who ran 250 miles carrying an American flag and says anyone can lead just by showing up and caring. Mike's take: both are right, because leadership has to fit the person delivering it and the people receiving it. 5. Your priorities in one part of life protect every other part. An orthopedic surgeon Mike interviewed put it simply: family first, work second, training a distant third. Mike has carried that ordering into his own life. If the foundation at home isn't solid, he says, none of the discipline required for the extreme stuff matters. Connect with Mike Reynold LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikereynold/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrey32 Mike is currently writing a book based on more than fifty interviews with endurance athletes, tentatively titled "Joy in the Miles," expected in mid to late 2027. Follow him on LinkedIn or Instagram for updates on its release. Download The Human Dividend White Paper: A Leader’s Guide to Human-Led AI Transformationhttps://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/services/human-led-ai-transformation/ Learn more about the Human Dividend AI Assessment https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/human-dividend-ai-transformation-assessment/ Subscribe to the Weekly Fulfill newsletter https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/newsletter/ Connect with Bernie Borges Website: https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernieborges/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernieborges/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bernieborges Speaking: https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/speaking/ Music Attribution Old BossaTwin MusicomSuno Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
