Set Yourself
Can a 58-year-old CEO run a fiveminute mile ? This is all about the power of goal-setting during complex and difficult times . – BY ADRIAN GORE
I
am setting a goal : To run a five-minute mile , or as close as possible to it . You may be asking , why this goal , and why now ? We are in complex and difficult times , with people justifiably anxious and distracted – surely this is not the time to set a running challenge . It is , and let me tell you why . I ' m doing it because our data from Vitality shows just how powerful physical activity is . More importantly , I am doing it to illustrate the power of setting goals , particularly now , during complex times . I am hoping that through this , we can nudge others to do the same and set their own goals – whatever they are .
I want to expand on this . Firstly , and obviously , our work in Vitality inspired this challenge , given the irrefutable benefits of physical activity in helping people live longer in better health . Our data shows that improving from no exercise to just one physicallyactive day per week results in a 35 % reduced risk of death . Exercise is also a powerful trigger event , stimulating other healthy behaviours , and has beneficial effects all-round , including on mental health and resilience . Vitality data shows that physical activity and good nutrition are associated with up to four times lower psychological distress . Also , I will be drawing on Vitality ’ s assets throughout and look forward to deepening my insight into my own health through this process .
THE CLASSIC MILE
The distance was chosen with intention . Running a mile – 1609m , or just over four laps of a track – is a notorious distance in running history . When 25-yearold British medical student Roger Bannister broke the elusive four-minute mile in 1954 , he set the sports world aflame for achieving what was believed at the time to be an impossible athletic feat . In fact , today , more people have summited Everest than have broken the four-minute barrier . Since then , there have been many more memorable runs and records that have given the mile an almost iconic status , shifting it from the track to metaphor .
Why is the mile such a uniquely captivating currency and challenge ? Given it is right in the middle of the distance spectrum , not a short sprint but not a marathon , it insists on an equal amount of endurance and speed – and artful trade-offs between their competing demands . Not to mention the psychological strength to handle high degrees of pain and discomfort as one pursues pace at distance . Simply put , the quest of the average avid runner in their prime – a sub-five mile – demands strong legs , stronger lungs , tactical smarts , and significant reserves of mental fortitude .
“ Physically , I probably have few or none of these attributes , which is why I am attempting to do it . The chances of achieving it are slim : the World Record for a 60-year-old , and a real athlete no doubt , is four minutes 47 seconds – only 13 seconds quicker .”
Adrian Gore , Potential Five-minute Miler
Physically , I probably have few or none of these attributes , which is why I am attempting to do it . The chances of achieving it are slim : the World Record for a 60-year-old , and a real athlete no doubt , is four minutes 47 seconds – only 13 seconds quicker . Meanwhile , data extrapolated from the US Army Physical Fitness Test shows that the top 1 % of males between 56 and 61 years would run a mile in 7 minutes 39 seconds – so the challenge is justifiably unreasonable for a CEO in a suit .
You see , while I am disciplined about my exercise , because I know its benefits insofar as preventative health goes , I am no athlete . My training is casual in its duration and intensity . Not to mention I ’ m not exactly in my physical prime ... At 58 , running science urges for caution and prudence in both my ambition and training , given that physiologically and psychologically our capacity deteriorates with age . In addition , running wisdom reveals it takes most runners at least two years of consistent training to get there . My running history is sporadic , and I have just eight weeks and limited diary capacity for this pursuit .
So , when you look at the data and my personal circumstances , I will be pleased to get under five minutes 30 seconds . Regardless , a goal needs to be both inspiring and a stretch – and I ’ m setting a goal , not a target .
A POWERFUL TONIC
This gets me to the second question , why set this personal goal now when times are difficult and complex ? People around the world are anxious , because there is war in Ukraine and economic uncertainty , amongst other difficulties . In South Africa , there are power blackouts causing considerable difficulty and anger , contributing to a negative narrative .
It turns out that setting goals is a powerful tonic . I ’ m setting a goal for myself , precisely now , because of the environment and the narrative . In Man ’ s Search for Meaning , Viktor Frankl proposes a simple and profound truth : If we can find meaning in life , we can survive anything … something he knew well as an Auschwitz survivor in World War II . The analogy is useful outside of this extreme context : When the
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