“Running feeds my professional life,” says Daniel O’Toole, helping him both manage stress and bring more clarity and creativity to his work as a trial lawyer. Here’s what he’s learned about the parallels between marathon prep and trial prep.
For the first 15 years of my trial practice, I worked extremely hard and did not focus on my physical or mental health. Everything took a backseat to building a skill set, and after that, a business.
On my 40th birthday, I was looking at a room full of people I loved. I turned to my wife and said, “My life is great. I couldn’t ask for more, but if I don’t start focusing on my health, I’m not going to be here for very long.” Those days, I was working long hours and trying lots of heavy, high-profile cases. At night, when I wasn’t working, I was wining and dining people in my business. At the same time, I was also trying to be my best, most present self as a husband, father of three children, and son to my elderly parents.
That summer, my wife and I were traveling in Ireland. When she said she was going for a run, I joined her for a 3-mile run. When we returned, I announced that I was running a marathon.
True my word, I did so four months later.
Thus began a new therapy and life modality that serves me well to this day.
Running Toward Solutions
I started running with three great guys, two of whom lived on my street in New Jersey and the other up the hill. We all became close friends, running thousands of miles together and helping each other navigate our 40s and 50s: marriage, parenthood, work, and being the child of aging and ultimately dying parents. We counseled each other through it all and laughed our asses off.
What’s more, we held each other accountable. When you tell your buddy you’re going to be outside the house at 0600 on January 2, it doesn’t matter that it is 15 degrees out. We had to show up for each other, and we did.
I found that running helps me manage my work- and life-related stress. It also helps me manage and stabilize my moods and bring clarity to problems I could not solve sitting at my desk.
Running feeds my professional life. My creativity soars. I have constructed many case themes, trial strategies, opening statements and summations on my runs. When I am preparing for a trial, I never run without the ability to record my thoughts as they come to me. My brain functions at a completely different level when I am out running.
The Parallels Between Marathon Preparation and Trial Preparation
To succeed on race day and at trial, you must have a structured plan and put in the work. There are no shortcuts and no substitute for putting in the miles and time.
Don’t Worry. Work.
When it comes to early marathon training and early trial preparation, both tasks can feel very daunting and overwhelming. My mother used to say, “Don’t worry, Danny; work.”
She was right.
The first step to controlling that feeling of being completely overwhelmed is to come up with a detailed plan and timeline. Then complete tasks one by one and hold yourself and others who are working with you accountable.
Nothing calms nerves like putting in the work. The plan for a case that seems impossible to try can become visible within days of completely focusing on that one case.
It is amazing how well this method works. Again, there is a correlation between trial work and running. I can go from sucking wind running a Central Park loop to gaining strength and resilience within weeks. The same goes for trial work.
A lot of anxiety comes from avoiding the tasks that are causing stress in the first place. I find it helpful to write down what is causing me to be stressed out, and it’s also helpful to talk it out.
In the end, though, talk is cheap: Work is the solution.
Putting in the Miles: Practice Leaves Nothing to Chance
When it comes to marathon training, I always say the rules apply to everyone.
- You have to put in the miles.
- You have to put in the speed work.
- You have to put in the hill work.
- You have to do your long runs.
- You have to follow your program.
If you don’t, you will not perform as you would like. You race just like you train. You can’t expect your stomach to tolerate five energy gels during the course of a marathon if you don’t train using that same form of nutrition.
Practice gives you the best chance at perfection.
Trial work is the same. I don’t leave anything to chance. I write out every single word of my trials well in advance. While I may not look at those words during the trial, they are there, and they have been practiced. If I am shot dead in the middle of a trial, I always tell my colleagues that someone would be able to pick up where I was in my written materials and try a perfect case from that moment on.
I also embed every single piece of evidence I am going to introduce into my direct and cross-examinations so that I can visualize every moment of the trial before it takes place. I rehearse my opening statements and summations. Repeatedly. I do mock presentations in front of my colleagues to elicit their feedback, positive and negative.
I do the same with my jury selection questions, customizing each voir dire to the particular concerns of my trial. It’s not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Everything needs to be custom-crafted for the individual trial. Again, nothing is left to chance.
The same goes for marathons. Before a race, I will repeatedly run particularly challenging parts of a course, often traveling to the city where the race is to do so. I want to know that I own that part of the course by the time race day comes along. I want to comfort and soothe myself as I come to those portions of the race and draw upon my experience. It helps to know where my opportunities to rest and recharge are so that I can positively reinforce myself when times get hard.
I do a very similar thing on my trials, utilizing motions in limine — not to hope for the best, but to plan for the best evidentiary universe on any given case.
If you think about the case that’s in front of you and the issues that are going to come up well in advance, you can eliminate things that should not come into the evidence through motions in limine to allow for a fair and safer trial for the client.
The Privilege of Putting in the Work
I am currently training for the United States Marine Corps marathon, which will take place on October 25 in Arlington, Virginia. This is a particularly important marathon for me, as my father was a Marine and my son and daughter-in-law are both active-duty Marines. I want to offer up this marathon as a gratitude exercise for them and all of the Marines who have served our country over the centuries.
I say “offer up” because that is how I deal with the physical suffering that occurs in a marathon, and I do the same thing with my trials. When running, I compare what I am feeling to the suffering of others in the world, the sick, the dying, the persecuted, and I always find that my suffering pales in comparison.
Again, trial is the same. As hard as the work can be and as long as the hours are, I am aware that I am fortunate to be able to work, to provide for my family and to experience the dignity and self-esteem that comes with a solid day’s work and from helping someone else.
I’m grateful for the gift of running and for the gift of having a job that allows me to help other people.
Image licensed under the Unsplash License.
