Why being a distance runner has made me a better Actuary…. and vice versa

People that follow my writings are amazed at how disciplined I am regarding not rambling on about my passion for long distance running. Well all good things must come to an end.

Yes I am a running freak.. which technically exceeds the fanatic category. Why have I been pigeon holed into this cohort? Let`s see. This year I am aiming to run 30 half marathons & 2 marathons and I will certainly accumulate more annual running mileage (1,900 miles) than my car`s odometer. I have a self imposed limit to keep only 10 pairs in my running shoe collection and I have secured the mentoring services of a Brazilian elite coach who has won the Disney Marathon 8 times. I have already been selected by Runners World as having one of the world`s most awesome running tattoos. Also last but not least, I don`t just show up at a race, rather I run to place (in my age group); it`s not just for the sheer love of the great outdoors and the camaraderie of sweaty-grunting strangers that gets me up at 4am on a Sunday morning to race.

Here`s my top 10 list of why I think running has helped me become a better actuary and vice- versa.

1) Being time conscious & meticulous about planning

Running competitively makes you very time conscious. Turning up late for a race is not an option if you are running to place. If you are going to be late for the start of the race, why even turn up? When racing to place, 2 minutes makes a huge difference. Whilst I am never going to add Olympic Gold to my medal collection, I can certainly be `on time` for a race and/or internal and client meetings.

Meticulous planning. In 2017 I`ll be running both the Tobago marathon in May and the New York marathon in November. Planning for these events started back in 2016. Constant planning for running insane training distances can be used for delivering projects at work. You wake up Monday morning and you know what is going to happen every single day for the rest of the week in order to achieve your goals. What you are going to eat, when you are going to rest, weight train, go to the physiotherapist etc… If you deliver un-planned projects, it may not be immediately obvious to you how your boss/colleagues perceive the lack of quality. However when you turn up unprepared for a 26.6 miler, the lack of planning will be screaming at you half way through your poorly planned effort. You cannot bluff your way through a marathon.

2) Reading & researching about what you love. `I always say that if the marathon is a part-time interest, you will only get part-time results` — Bill Rogers.

Pretty impossible to pass the Society of Actuaries (SOA) exams if you don`t read & study all of the time, right? Even when I am not running, I`m reading about running. Runners World magazine is de rigueur and Born to Run by Christopher McDougall deserves the title of being the best running book. Even after you qualify as an actuary, the need to read up on what`s happening in the profession, industry, trends.. else you will fall behind. Think how different the SOA exam syllabus was 5, 10 or 15 years ago. Being actuarially relevant to employers of actuaries is the key to the continuing success of our profession.

3) Volunteering. I am an active volunteer for the SOA and heartedly encourage my friends to also get involved. In running, the volunteer roles are extremely diverse ranging from volunteering to assist in either organizing, administering or being support staff at races to coaching/mentoring beginners; which I think is the best ever. Volunteering makes the whole experience so much more rewarding, promotes personal growth and self esteem, increases your personal network, lets you learn how to work with diverse teams of other non-remunerated volunteers, allows you to assume roles that are out of your daily job. Volunteering is one of the few things in life where there is no downside and only upside.

4) Visualizing the result. I always recommend to actuarial students that they should try to visualize the result they are trying to calculate before they finish a numerical task. The objective is to really think about the driving factors that determine the end result and in time you will develop a gut-feel that will help you spot errors that are off by large percentages. You can be off by 2 standard deviations say, but you should never mix up annual and monthly mortality rates. In planning to run New York I am already visualizing the bridges, the order of the 5 boroughs, reaching Columbus Circle before finalizing the race at Central Park. The concept is that visualization will increase preparedness, reduce mistakes & anxiety, increase focus and increase the probability that you will achieve your goals.

5) Fixed or Growth Mind Set. This concept is discussed in Dr. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Dr. Dweck distinguishes the growth mindset from what she calls a fixed mindset as follows: “In a fixed mindset, students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that’s that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.” No one is born as a competitive long distance runner. Endurance and mental toughness can be developed with proper training, determination and being open to being coached, mentored and receiving critical feedback. Developing a growth mind side might be the most important trait to being a successful actuary.

6) Don`t rest on your laurels. Ask yourself: Can I give more?. The answer is usually: Hell yes!
The great thing about distance running is that you can go from couch potato to 5km in 3 months, a 10km in 6 months and a marathon in 12 months. I don`t know of any other sport that can deliver results so quickly and linearly. Once you have the distance under your belt, then the itch to reduce your time is the next step. The constant striving for improvement naturally crosses over to actuarial work. Can you deliver a better professional result either in accuracy, deeper analysis, an accompanying high impact presentation, time to delivery etc. Yes you can!

7) Be social…the old fashioned way. If you ever see two strangers sit next to each other and they are wearing running clothing, shoes, watches.. it`s only when and not if they will start a long winded conversation about… running. Distance running is a growing but still a minority sport (0.5% of the US population has run a marathon). You might think that because it’s a lonely pastime and still a minority sport that makes runners love to chat with other runners; there is some truth to that but in the end runners always learn from each other about our trials and tribulations. There are even fewer actuaries than marathon runners so it makes sense that we need to communicate even more. I always admit that the best improvements happen to my pricing models when I am speaking face-to-face with `other` actuaries. In this day and age, it`s so easy to sit with your PC and smart phone in your home office and pretend as if we are connected. My advice is to go out there, discuss the data that you may have received from an actuarial colleague, make new actuarial friends, talk about what your challenges are.. Alienus Non Diutius. Alone no longer.

8) Put money in perspective. “Dogs have no money. Isn’t that amazing? They’re broke their entire lives. But they get through. You know why dogs have no money? No Pockets.” — Jerry Seinfeld. Of course being recognized with salary and bonuses are great and leads to a very comfortable life; and as Don Barzini famously quipped ` after all — we are not Communists`.

99% of long distance runners are not remunerated for their super-human efforts. In spite of the fact that some runners pull in big bucks, the rest of us are happy to applaud them on the sidelines and continue to trudge along without any hope of any pay-day. Runners (and SOA volunteers) are truly happy with the lack of salary and this can be a check-point that the pursuit of fulfillment and happiness does not depend on a pay check at the end of the month.

9) The diversity of diversity. The success of running as a sport is in its diversity. From the Jamaican (and often overlooked Trinidadian) sub 10 second 100m sprinters to the sub 2 hour 5 minute Kenyan elite marathoners. The crowds that throng the Olympics, IAAF World Championships to the World marathon majors (New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo) attest to the sport`s thriving and growing popularity. It is warming to read that the SOA Strategy as set out in its 2017–2021 Strategic Plan also includes the mission to cultivate a Diverse membership under its `Insight & Influence` objective. The SOA Board has also approved a standing SOA Inclusion and Diversity Committee that will determine investments and programs to achieve the greatest impact on inclusion and diversity in the actuarial profession. I am positive that this will help the SOA attract the “best and brightest” from all segments of the population and from a variety of educational backgrounds, cultures and experiences.

10) Looking the part! In these days of casual dress Monday to Friday, I really think that we may have gone a little bit too far in our relaxed dress code. For those who take umbrage at my comment, just think about how you will react if the captain of the Trans-Atlantic 777 greeted you wearing a tank top, surfing shorts and flip-flops before assuming control of the cockpit. Actuaries need to invest in improving communication skills and looking and dressing professionally when presenting to your boss and or senior executives is part and parcel of the delivery of the results. How does this relate to running? It`s hugely important when you are looking to `place` in a race. If I saw a guy looking like Usain Bolt pass me, I would sigh and suffer the fact that I will place lower in the ranking. However if this was an overweight guy dressed like Fred Flintstone with club in hand, my reaction would be completely different; my adrenaline will kick in to try to surge past this fake-runner. Whilst my body structure is far from Usain, I do try my best to dress like an elite; I am pretty sure that this `look` reduces the number of runners that will challenge me in the race to the podium.

In closing I would like to share the remark that Daniel Kahneman`s (2002 Nobel prize winner for his work in Behavioral Economics ) once shared with a journalist that laziness was the dominant characteristic that made Richard Thaler (his friend and co-author of Nudge), stand out. Daniel meant it as a compliment since he inferred that Richard was only willing to work on things that are important. Richard reluctantly agreed to the observation but added that he was only attracted to projects that were both important and fun.

I can readily identify with this characterization. I consider myself to be super-lazy and would probably not be that passionate about running if I `only` signed up for 5 or 10km runs. The marathon is an extremely important and extraordinary challenge which takes me out of my comfort zone and hence I can switch from Netflix-mode to gym-rat. I think that we all entered the intellectually challenging Actuarial profession for similar reasons. I can visualize the scene where an actuarial student is trying to explain to his/her college buddies, who are off to hedge funds, tech companies or banking, about the rigors of the Actuarial Exam qualifications; I can see the same head shaking and stares of disbelief that marathoners are all too familiar with.

Based on my top 10 observations of the intersection where actuarial science meets running , it`s quite likely that there is an emerging runner within each actuary. The good news about testing this theory is that taking the first step means only lacing up your sneakers and taking a spin around the block. Enjoy the journey…

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