My dream is to be a world-class runner and writer

That’s all I want to be… Maybe it’s my goal, not my dream.

I was an unathletic kid, growing up in Soviet Moscow. I did swimming between the ages of six and nine, but that was about it.

Already in the second grade — I was around eight years old — I suffered from bad vision (much later in life I got rid of this problem); more importantly, I simply wasn’t an athletic kid. I was… a nerd. I did OK at my Russian school and later I excelled academically during my year in the US in 1994–1995, then at my boarding school in England. Then Cambridge, then a Harvard MBA… I did fine academically! I then struggled in my corporate career and business endeavors, though I did have some good stretches.

This past Sunday I ran a 2.49 Orange County marathon in California, winning my age group (40–45).

Winning my age group doesn’t mean much because it was a small event, but I did well. It was one of the most profound, rewarding experiences of my life. Running has always been my hobby, but about two years ago I started running consistently. Then I started running with uncompromising consistency. I discovered the incredible power of habit and consistency.

If you’re not a runner, you wouldn’t understand the nuances of minutes per mile paces and marathon times so I don’t want to talk…