Abstract
This study examined how business executives perceive and derive value from running, focusing particularly on its influence on managerial thinking and practice. Semi-structured online interviews, each lasting approximately 50 minutes, were conducted with five Japanese executives who had run at least once a week for more than a year. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis grounded in a constructionist framework, with attention to how participants made sense of running in relation to their professional lives. Four themes emerged from the analysis. The most prominent, “time for thinking”, described running as a form of solitary, rhythmic movement that created a protected mental space for organizing complex problems, reassessing company policy, and generating new ideas. Several executives reported deliberately carrying a pen or recording voice memos to capture thoughts that surfaced during a run, and some described translating these insights into concrete business decisions or process changes. The three remaining themes highlighted other roles running played in executives’ lives: providing stress relief through a sense of refreshment, creating networking and business opportunities through running communities and events, and functioning as a visible signal of self-discipline that reinforced their credibility and trustworthiness as leaders. Taken together, these findings suggest that running serves executives as more than a health behavior — it operates as an embodied practice that supports decision-making, reflection, emotional regulation, relationship-building, and the construction of leadership identity.
