Recover. Refocus. Reset. Repeat – Why Business Success Feels More Like an Ultramarathon Than a Sprint
- Jun 9, 2025
- 3 min read
Suzanne Rath is an Executive Health Coach & speaker who gives people their vitality back. She does this through empowering them to take back just 20% more health- for more purpose, productivity & prosperity.
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “There’s no such thing as an overnight success.” It’s true, for endurance athletes, for business owners, and for anyone chasing meaningful goals.
In my work as a business owner, coach, and endurance athlete, I’ve seen the same mindset patterns appear again and again, whether we’re standing at the start line of a 50km ultramarathon or launching a new service into the world.
Success, real, sustainable success, requires the ability to fail, recover, and keep going.
What endurance athletes and business owners have in common
We’ve all failed and gotten back up again. Often publicly. Often messily.
We know the feeling of chasing a vision that others don’t always understand.
We operate on long timelines. Progress isn’t always visible, but the compound effect is real.
We hold ourselves to high standards, even when no one’s watching.
We master recovery, because without it, there is no resilience.
Courtney Dauwalter, Jim Carrey, and the rest of us
Courtney Dauwalter, one of the greatest ultramarathon runners in the world, has trained herself to be grateful for the ‘pain cave’, as she’s lucky to make it there. What an amazing reframe of the hard!
Jim Carrey famously wrote himself a $10 million cheque for “acting services rendered” before he had a single movie contract. It took years of rejection, growth, feedback, and relentless pursuit of his goal before that vision became reality. There really is no such thing as an overnight success.
These may be famous people, but in everyday life, those who succeed understand how to recover, refocus, and reset after each setback.
What does this mean for you?
If you're in a season where the pace feels off. If you’ve hit a wall, lost momentum, or questioned your direction. Here’s your endurance playbook:
Recover. Rest, reflect, and recalibrate.
Refocus. Are you still on track for your vision? What needs to shift?
Reset. What’s your next move, with what you know now?
Repeat. Consistency beats perfection. Every time.
Elevate. Sustainably. Intentionally. In alignment with your values, not just your goals. And make sure you surround yourself with the right support system to help you get there!
3 ways I can help
Energy audits: My entry-level offering. You do 1–2 hours of pre-work, and we work together for an hour to design your optimum role and life, with 3 actionable steps.
Endurance leadership: Keynote speaking for conferences, luncheons, and organisational events. Harness the strategies of endurance athletes for success.
Renaissance in Rome; female leaders: Join Angela Sedran and me for this transformative leadership, strategy, and wellbeing experience. 5–13 Sept 2025
Read more from Suzanne Rat
Suzanne Rath, Executive Health Coach & Speaker
Suzanne Rath is a leader in the health and leadership field. A multi-award winning Allied Health professional and health entrepreneur whose clinics are at the forefront of innovation and multi-disciplinary health care, her mission is to inspire a million people to take back control of their own health. Having thrived after a life changing accident which sapped her vitality and later suffering leader burnout, Suzanne aims for participants in her programs to reclaim their vitality- becoming more purposeful, productive & prosperous through taking back control of just 20% more health.
