I’ve been watching the TV series Mankind on Apple TV, and it got me thinking about how the space race mirrors our running journeys. The show starts with a twist—"What if the Soviet Union won the space race and landed on the moon first?"—but the story goes further. Now, the U.S., the Soviets, and a private company called Helios are in a race to be the first to land a person on Mars.

Each team approaches the mission differently, playing to their strengths. Helios buys and converts an orbiting space hotel, NASA repurposes modules from its established lunar base on the Shackleton crater, and the Soviets rely on their long-standing rocket technology. No one copies the others—they all build from their strengths, leading to different, but equally valid, approaches.

There’s a valuable lesson here for runners. We all have different strengths. Some are naturally fast, others have endurance, and some excel at mental toughness. The key isn’t to compare ourselves to others but to build on what we do best. Maybe you're great at hills, or you excel at pacing yourself over long distances. The goal is to recognize your strengths and run your own race.

Best of luck on your journey,