So I'll be applying to MBA programs in the next year or so. I'm looking for opportunities to look like a "well-rounded" candidate for top 15 schools. I'm going to be blunt: will completing a marathon be a favorable addition to my b-school resume?
facts:
-pretty run of the mill stats: low GPA from non-target (3.2ish) with a ton of improvement towards my last two years and high major gpa. F500 finance for a couple of years with steady promotions. no GMAT yet but assume 700s.
-i have DECENT but not excellent ECs related to leadership (i'm president of my local alumni association chapter and have regularly tutored/mentored underprivileged high schoolers).
-I have already run a half-marathon (i can do it in just over 2 hours... yea i know i wont be winning any races).
-i enjoy long distance running, but personally think a whole marathon is pushing it for me... though i could totally do it if i had to (with proper training, of course)
-i work an average 45-50 hours a week. my job is not demanding
REAL TALK: do you think completing a marathon will make me look like a more interesting, well-rounded candidate? in other words, is this "low hanging fruit" for someone like me?
I can't really speak for MBA admissions but personally I hear of lots of people running marathons, so I'm not sure how unique it would be. It wouldn't hurt though (unless you trip). A triatholon would most likely be noteworthy though - they don't call it Ironman for nothing.
Hi Sayandarula, I think Going Concern pretty much hit the nail on the head. It's going to be relatively neutral. Lots of people do it, lots of applicants are even ironman participants--so while a marathon is great for you personally, it won't do much more than adding it to your resume for your next job; I don't think it will put you on top of the pile compared to other qualified candidates.
It's good to have outside interests, particularly team-related, so this activity is kind of helping you qualify.
As it is something that really anyone can just sign up for, I'm not sure it really adds any value unless you've obviously put in a lot of effort and commitment and can list some accomplishments.
Is there any way you can use the marathon as a fund raiser for some charity? Maybe get some friends to join and you can spin it as a organizing a fundraiser as well as running the race.
It isn't going to do anything. I run half's and will be switching to full marathons this year. Lots of people do it.
The first rule of marathon club is that you tell everyone you are in marathon club. This goes for crossfit club too.
Has anyone ever ran a marathon and not told the world, twice?
Sooo true, and annoying. I dont care how many miles you ran this week.
I know fat girls who run (lol) marathons.
I'd be impressed if you won one, though.
There was a summer associate at the first firm I summered at who ran one of those ultramarathons across the Gobi desert and was in school at Wharton. She was female though, and from what I could tell, the rest of her profile was strong as well. I imagine as part of a package it made her application more attractive, but frankly, I don't see doing what thousands of other people do being any serious differentiator for you.
i ran my half-marathon for a charity. i would honestly try to do an iron man, but i can't swim haha.
You think you can move from doing a half-marathon to an ironman? Even if you were a good swimmer, you'd have no chance in fucking hell. You're going from ~80 minutes of consecutive cardio to ~800.
-Someone working towards an ironman
i don't know how to imbed pictures on WSO, but cue the Neil Degrasse Tyson "badass" meme.
oh, and thanks everyone. your honest advice is greatly appreciated.
I have a marathon call out on my resume and I've been asked about it during several job interviews, so it is certainly a nice conversation starter. I'm pretty confident it won't get you into a school you already weren't going to get into though.
Do a Tough Mudder instead. Way more badass, is becoming much more widely known while at the same time still fairly unique to an application, and has an entire charity dimension with the Wounded Warrior Foundation. Throw in some bullshit parables about overcoming obstacles, leadership and teamwork and you'll be golden.
I'd say a Tough Mudder is if anything less impressive than a marathon and neither is going to differentiate an app much unless you are winning/placing well or are raising a significant amount of money for charity.
Tough Mudder definitely better than a marathon, as Nouveau Richie said there's way more 'characteristics' that this shows (teamwork in particular). I've done a triathlon and although it's on my CV it's more of a token addition than a focal point, they're pretty easy too. Unless it's an Ironman triathlon, in which case I'd question your sanity.
As people have said everyone runs marathons, make the jump to Ultra-marathons, probably won't add much to your resume but at least it will be slightly different.
Tough Mudder is a clown show joke.
hahaha thank you
I can't comprehend the appeal of marathons and finance. All of my colleagues partake in such events, attend happy hour after and think they accomplished something - while the vast majority of them are still out of shape..but i digress,
Don't do it for your resume, do it if you actually enjoy running. Marathons are way too common to be a deciding factor in getting you into a B-school/job. Only caveat is if your interviewer has run marathons too.
As others have said it won't really add anything. If you are a serious runner and have accomplishments to list (Olympic trials qualifier, top 10,20,30 in a major race, represented USA/your home country internationally) then obviously it will help, otherwise it is a neat point (albeit a small one) to add to your resume.
It'll add zero. Good talking point for interviews, but that's about it. An enormous number of B-school applicants have run marathons.
It doesn't matter. Marathons aren't really all that impressive.
MBA admissions are primarily concerned with answering the question: How do you spend the hours you are given to work with?
There are 168 hours per week. You spend 45 - 50 of them working. You spend 50 - 60 of them sleeping. What about the other ~70 hours per week? Running a marathon helps explain how you spend maybe 5 hours a week on training for the occasional 5 hour marathon.
It's okay if you don't have all 70 hours filled up; relaxing, watching tv, etc is fine. But they're looking to see what you are spending your time on, and marathons simply don't account for a ton of time.
For a small time commitment (5 hours / week) to really help you it needs to either be very interesting, like a very unique hobby, or selfless, like doing volunteer work.
Slap that shit on there and call it a day. Who the fuck are they going to call to verify this?
I can't believe the marathon haters out there. While I don't think it is going to do anything for your resume, to say it isn't an accomplishment is silly. A marathon is fucking hard and shouldn't be discounted.
OP - If you can Boston Qualify I would consider than impressive. That is a goal to work towards. If you want to do triathlons look for halfs or something. You can work your way up to things.
A marathon is impressive only if you have a decent time. If you've been active most of your life and didn't let yourself go after school, you can do one in ~4 hours with little training. I know plenty of out of shape fucks who have done them in 5+ hours after months of training... running ~11:30 miles isn't impressive whatsoever.
Running a marathon - not impressive Organizing a marathon - impressive
Disagree.
Really running a marathon (not finishing a marathon) is impressive. As I stated before, olympic trial qualifiers, sub 2:30 guys (sub 2:50 girls) etc, are impressive and does say a lot about the person.
I don't know. I am doing half's right now and they are not a piece of cake. I think people discount the amount of effort goes into one of these things. And yes, I agree that if you are running a 5-6 hour marathon and bragging you are a douche, but 26 miles isn't easy at all. I'd consider it an accomplishment if you have a good time and have done a bunch of them. Doing one and putting it on your resume isn't something special.
Agree with this completely - In my book anybody that can go sub-3 or close to that has my instant respect, but listing "marathon runner" on your resume with a personal best of 5 hours has a negative effect (at least to me).
And as somebody else said - if you don't enjoy running then don't do a marathon for your resume. I'm sure there are bunch of charity things you could do that will take less time and you can better dress up on your resume anyways.
I think people are completely missing the point of the "Additional/Interests" section of the resume. Not every single word written in your application is about showing the admissions committee how awesome you are and how you're "rockstar" at everything you do.
In spite of what a lot of posters on here seem to believe, not everyone runs marathons. Hell, not everyone runs. If being a runner is part of who you are and you've done a lot with it (i.e. countless races, volunteering for running organizations, putting together races, etc.) then sure put it on your resume. But don't think of it as something that's going to make you better than another candidate. It just adds some color to the picture you're painting. Saying you're a runner doesn't necessarily have to be saying, "I'm a great athlete." It could simply say, "I'm dedicated to this and this is how I enjoy spending my time." It also gives the person reading your application just another way to relate to you as a person.
If you're not a former D1 or pro athlete then involvement in athletic pursuits is less about the trophies you collected and more about your personal characteristics. You may not have even been a runner 2 years ago but challenged yourself to become one. That definitely says something about a person. I don't know what your story is or even if there's one there. But if there is then go ahead and use it in your application. I've always found that it's a definite talking point during interviews.
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