Running up that hill makes business sense
Design and construction specialist Dan Grimshaw believes he’s discovered the antidote to workplace stress: running up mountains.
Dan, 47, from Bath, says nothing beats pushing himself to the limits in his spare time to induce a feeling of Zen-like calm for the rest of his working week.
He recently returned from Salzburg, Austria, where he took part in the Mozart 100 ultra-trail, completing the 108-kilometres course in 17 hours.
“It’s weird trying to reconcile the benefits to other people,” said Dan, founder of Beam Development, who works on premium residential projects in London.
“Some people look at me a bit oddly when I tell them about it, but I think they should give it a try. Nothing beats the sheer feeling of accomplishment it gives you.
“The endurance and positive attitude required to get you round the course is something lots of business owners would relate to, I’m sure.
“When you run for that amount of time and distance it does put matters in perspective and makes you think about things a bit differently.
“My work life is demanding and can often be stressful; running gives me the mental strength to be able to remain calm and stay on top of things.”
Dan completed the circular Mozart 100 course – which crosses two mountains – in just over 17 hours coming a ‘very respectable’ 270th out of a field of 600.
“There’s no denying it was tough. It was 30c+, and at an elevation of 5000 metres, equivalent to 160k on the flat. It was a huge distance and I’d not run that far before.
“The low point came at 60-70k when I’d been out for 11 hours and there was another 30-35k to go. It was quite hard to get my head around.
“You take in the alpine scenery – people doing sensible things like swimming and walking – and there you are, wondering why you didn’t just come on holiday.”
Father-of-two Dan, from Bath, employs a mixture of three basic states when he is running.
“You might take something with you to think about, or something might just pop into your head – work, home, or life or whatever – and you concentrate on that. Or else, I think about the running itself and my form, which can be quite meditative.
“Otherwise, I just try to enjoy the run as I go along, mindful of where I am outside among the elements and nature.”
In the past 18 months Dan has completed several ultra-marathons, mostly in the mountains, and has now qualified to enter the UTMB 170km /10,000m race around Mt. Blanc.
This is interspersed with high altitude ski-mountaineering in the Alps.
He trains with performance coach Anna-Marie Watson who is ex-military and an ultra-endurance athlete herself who uses the link between business and endurance in her work.
Dan Grimshaw is a design and construction specialist based in Bath and London. He is a mentor to the British Library’s prestigious Innovating for Growth programme.
For further information visit: www.beamdevelopment.co.uk
