The Journey of Starting a Running Website for First-Time Marathoners: Lessons Learned and Insights Gained
Starting a new project, especially with a friend, can be a very exciting and rewarding experience. However, as anyone who has tried to start and launch a new project knows, the road to success may not be as smooth as you would like it to be. Just like a race that went bad, the best way to learn is to reflect on what went wrong and learn from the experience. My friend and I are both marathon runners, had an idea during one of our runs to start a running website aimed at helping first-time marathoners. Unfortunately, despite our passion for running, the project didn't work out as we had hoped. Here's what I learned from the experience and what we could have done differently.
The
idea behind our website was simple, with the goal of creating a website where first-time marathoners could find
support, advice, and inspiration. Running a marathon is not easy,
and the idea can be very daunting.
My friend and I know this from experience, and we wanted to share our
experiences, training tips, nutrition advice, and motivational stories with
others who were embarking on this same journey.
What Went Right? The Small Wins Along the Way
Despite
not fully achieving our goal, the one thing we did right was define our purpose
and target audience (first-time marathoners). This focus helped us stay aligned
during the early stages of the setup. We created some solid initial pages, such
as free links to popular training schedules, nutrition help, essential running
gear, and top first-time marathons people should do.
What Went Wrong? The Missed Opportunities
While
we had a clear idea of our audience, we didn't have a detailed plan for
consistently engaging them. The pages
we wrote were somewhat scattered, and we found ourselves adding more
information than really what was needed for first-time marathoners. If someone
were to see a page, it probably would have been
overwhelming. We had trouble keeping the content simple and straightforward. Our lack of structure ultimately led to the
project fizzling out (Greer, 2010).
In
addition, maintaining a consistent schedule to develop the website was a
challenge. We started strong, but life got in the way as time went on.
With all of us juggling full-time jobs and personal
commitments, the website often took a backseat. In addition, we did not set any
deadlines for certain tasks to be done.
According to Greer (2010), if you are working on a project, having a timeline
with a deadline can help assign tasks and keep those involved focused on those
tasks.
We
also didn't think about the bigger picture and set long-term goals (Greer, 2010).
We had a vision, but in terms of how to grow the website once it was created,
it was not set. In addition, we did not have separate roles and
responsibilities (Terzieva &
Morabito, 2016). Often, my friend and I
found ourselves working on the same page. Also, if we were working on a different
page, our ideas and setup of the page would be different from one another.
Therefore, the scope of the project was poorly defined (Walden, n.d.).
Final Thoughts: Embracing the Journey
Starting
a website for first-time marathoners was a fun and exciting idea that
ultimately didn't work out the way my friend and I hoped for. I learned that
not every project will be a success, and failure is just another form of learning. My
friend and I may not have created the website we dreamed of. However, the experience gave us a deeper understanding of what it takes to build something meaningful from scratch.
References
Greer,
M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! Download
The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects!(Laureate custom ed.).
Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com
Terzieva,
M., & Morabito, V. (2016). Learning
from experience: The project team is
key. Business Systems
Research, 7(1), 1-15. DOI:
10.1515/bsrj-2016-0001.
Walden
University, LLC. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Defining the scope of an ID
project [Video file]. Retrieved from https://waldenu.instructure.com
Heather, I had a similar experience while working on a wellness blog with a close friend. You mentioned almost the same exact pitfalls, which furthers the idea that knowing a little bit about project management would be beneficial to anyone. You mentioned a poorly defined scope, and not having designated roles. These were the same two areas of growth that I found in my project post-mortem as well. An additional area you mentioned was daily life getting in the way. of completing work. Do you feel a having an established deadline would have helped mitigate that situation?
ReplyDeleteHi Heather,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience with your marathon-focused website project! It sounds like you and your friend had a fantastic idea rooted in your genuine passion for running, and I appreciated your honesty in reflecting on what worked and what didn't.
Your reflection clearly highlights the importance of maintaining scope and structure in instructional design projects, which resonated strongly with me. I especially liked how you identified that your content became overwhelming because it lacked clear boundaries and consistency. This directly ties back to Greer’s (2010) emphasis on the necessity of timelines and deadlines to ensure tasks stay on track and focused. Perhaps incorporating a content calendar or clear milestones could have provided a structured approach that kept the momentum going.
Another aspect you mentioned—clearly defining roles and responsibilities—is critical, especially in partnerships. As Terzieva and Morabito (2016) suggest, knowing exactly who is accountable for each piece of the project helps prevent duplication of efforts and confusion. Your reflection emphasized how overlapping tasks can unintentionally slow progress. A clear division of responsibilities from the start might have streamlined your efforts and supported sustained motivation.
Your experience is genuinely relatable, and I admire how you've embraced it as a valuable learning journey rather than just a setback. I'm curious—if you were to restart this project today, what specific steps would you prioritize differently to ensure sustainability?
Great insights, Heather—I enjoyed reading your thoughtful analysis!
Heather, your reflection gave a thorough insight into challenges that can arise in project management. A clearly defined target audience had successfully set the tone for the project. Still, as you mentioned, structured planning was absent, such as (Greer, 2010) outlines where you assemble project documentation and a core project team. When there is no presence in the project (the initiation phase), it creates room for a negative/unsuccessful project outcome.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, the inconsistency of schedule and deadlines is one of the areas Greer (2010) speaks to because consistency helps maintain focus. Gardener et al. (2017, p.2) posit that “project management involves the creation of a project plan that breaks down the defined project into the related tasks to accomplish the goals of the project and sequencing the tasks.” Therefore, the information overload and unclear organizational strategy probably inhibited engagement. If the content had been simplified, then beginners would have been able to use it.
All in all, the challenges you outlined gave you valuable insight in planning for the future. In doing so, you’re planning your projects to be more structured so that you won’t only have success initially, but the impact will be sustained.
References
Gardner, J., Bennett, P. A., Hyatt, N., & Stoker, K. (2017). Applying Project Management Strategies in a Large Curriculum Conversion Project in Higher Education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 20(3). https://doi.org/https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall203/_gardner_bennett_hyatt_stoker203.html
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! Download The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects!(Laureate custom ed.). Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com