This morning I ran the Tybee Island half marathon. Beautiful day. As I was on mile 3 or 4, I thought to myself, “I wonder how this could apply to web development?”

Believe it or not, on mile 5 -6, I came up with something (you’ve got to keep your mind occupied on something during the race).

So here goes:

Most novices (of which I am one) go out of the gates of a race too quickly. They’re excited, they’re grooving with the energy of the anticipation to start and they may have even have a little adrenaline.

You see where this is going, right? There are companies who decide to embrace the web finally, they get all excited, and shoot out of the gates with the intention of running a well run race. The problem is, they ultimately lose the excitement, focus on business as usual and the web initiative gets the back seat.

The problem in both cases is that they end up petering out. The intention is good, but the execution is counter-intuitive. Yes, the runner entered the race, but didn’t run it like they wanted it. Yes, the company put up a new web site, but it didn’t end up getting the results they were looking for.

Advice for runner and company alike: Know your limits, come out of the gates at a smooth comfortable pace, get someone to run the race with you (accountability and/or a coach will significantly increase your chances of succeeding), and finish the race.

Today I had the chance to execute all three from a runners perspective. It was a smooth start. I was running with my brother, so the thought of ever walking was not acceptable, and low and behold, I finished the race (at a faster pace than if I were doing it alone). May your web project have the same success!