Introduction: Running on Empty: September 1, 2006

My name is Erin. And I’m a young professional. I live in Manhattan where the addiction of young professionalism is particularly potent among my fellow 20-somethings. Young, corporate junkies like me from New York to London to Shanghai suffer similar symptoms of our bright-eyed addiction to ambition. At a micro-level, separation from daily Starbucks, business casual attire, and handheld email (appropriately nicknamed the “crackberry”), can send a young professional through downward spirals of withdrawal. I believe that the best treatment for this addiction is balancing a corporate lifestyle with personal challenges and public service. I know that the skills I am developing at my job now can eventually be applied toward helping people in the long run. However, I have studied enough economics (and run enough really painful long runs) to know that in the long run we’ll all be dead, as Keynes famously said. My conclusion here is that young people should be exercising more muscle now.

Fortunately my young professional status is not my only or my most severe addiction. I am addicted to running too. Like the chicken vs. the egg quandary, it’s unclear which addiction was the gateway drug. Am I addicted to the corporate grind because with focus, discipline, and some self-sacrifice I can improve in a measurable way; or am I addicted to running because it is an outlet from the stress and demands of a typical desk job? The only conclusion I can really draw here is that I have a very large appetite, and would probably eat both the chicken and the egg, in no particular order.

In short (and in long), welcome to my first ever attempt at a blog, which documents my professionally non-professional quest to exercise my muscle as a young person. My hope is to think global and act local in a new way, via an organization called In the Running. In contrast to my marathon runs and daily life, I’ll try to keep my entries here concise and minimally painful, so hopefully you won’t be In the Running away from me at full speed. We are hopefully going to run, help, and enjoy the world one continent, marathon, cause…and maybe even young professional at a time.