Running your own race

What do a high-school athlete, a squirrel, and sustainability reports have in common?

They all featured in my morning run yesterday.

I got up early to beat the heat and run intervals at the high school track. My watch told me to, and I am currently a slave to Garmin badges. This obsession with earning badges may date back to my years with the Girl Guides, but that’s a different story for a different day.

The track was surprisingly busy just after sunrise.

On the back straight, an elderly couple were getting their steps in, chatting as they slowly rounded the curve.

On the front straight, a high-school boy was setting up, carefully positioning a camera so he could track his running form as he sprinted.

On the opposite curve, a woman was starting her fitness journey. I chatted with her for a minute during my warmup, and she told me that she was nervous and had hoped that the track would be empty this early in the day.

Meanwhile, the boy added a strap pulling a 25-pound weight to his waist. Just for fun.

Somewhere between my third and fourth interval, before I started questioning my decision to get up with the sun, I started to notice something:

The track reminded me of the sustainability reporting journey. Some people (read: companies) are happy sticking to their regular laps.

Some are aspiring athletes, pushing themselves to be the best and carefully monitoring every aspect of their performance.

Others are just starting out and can easily get overwhelmed and intimidated by how far they have to go.

But they’re all showing up.

Meanwhile, off to the side, a robin was playing in the water left by the previous night’s storms. A couple of bees flew over my head, looking for nectar. And a squirrel darted up a tree, gathering food for the day ahead.

None of them were worried about what was happening on the track, but all will ultimately be impacted by the changes we make to our environment and by the actions taken by companies as they work to reduce their environmental footprints.

As I stood in the shade recovering from dehydration, I had one last thought before a heat-induced migraine began: In the end, no matter where we are on our journey, we’re all doing something. We’re all stepping onto the track in the first place. And that’s what truly matters.

Also, water. Water matters.