Is building your community a marathon, a sprint ... or both?

I spent years treating community building like a marathon. Pace yourself. Play the long game. Show up consistently and the results will come.

Then I'd have weeks where something lit me up and I'd sprint. Post more. Engage more. Go harder.

Neither worked.

The problem isn't the pace. It's that both metaphors assume you're running TOWARD something. A finish line. A result. A number.

That's the trap.

I started a community almost three years ago. Showed up even when it felt pointless. Responded to every comment even when nobody was reading. Kept going even when the metrics looked embarrassing.

Was that a marathon? Sometimes it felt like one.

But there were also days I'd stay up until 2am deep in conversation with someone in the group. No strategy. No content calendar. Just showing up as a human being because I genuinely gave a damn.

Was that a sprint? Maybe. But it didn't feel like running at all.

Here's what I'm really wrestling with: The marathon vs. sprint framing might just be another way to overthink it. To strategize our way past the actual work.

What if community isn't a race at all?

What if it's just... showing up? Some days that'll look like a marathon. Some days like a sprint. Most days it'll look like absolutely nothing special - just you, being present, doing the unsexy work of actually caring about people.

The SCORE mentors I've talked to over the years - they've been doing this for decades. You know what they tell me? They didn't build their networks by pacing themselves. They built them by showing the hell up. Every day. Hell or high water.

The hard truth is this: The question of marathon vs. sprint might actually be fear dressed up as strategy. It's your brain looking for the "right" way to do something so you don't have to just... do it.

You already know what to do. You just don't want to do it for however long it takes.

So I'll ask you this:

What's the version of showing up you're avoiding because you're still trying to figure out the pace?

10 comments