--- title: Run Life’s Race at Your Own PACE description: Discover how to navigate life's challenges using the PACE framework, inspired by an Army Green Beret medic's journey and wisdom on intentional living. image: https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Run%20Life%E2%80%99s%20Race%20at%20Your%20Own%20PACE%20(1).png --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/run-lifes-race-at-your-own-pace#main-content) [![MGPP Header White](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MGPP%20Header%20White.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=MGPP%20Header%20White.png "MGPP Header White")](https://markglicini.com) [![MGPP Header Logo](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MGPP%20Header%20Logo.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=MGPP%20Header%20Logo.png "MGPP Header Logo")](https://markglicini.com) - About MGPP - [Meet Mark](https://www.markglicini.com/meet-mark) - [Our Team](https://www.markglicini.com/our-team) - [Partnerships](https://www.markglicini.com/partnerships) - [Store](https://www.proathletics.com/mark-glicini) - [Services](https://www.markglicini.com/services) - Media - [Intentionally: The Blog](https://www.markglicini.com/blog) - [Mark's Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518) - [Newsletters and Articles](https://www.markglicini.com/media) - [Testimonials](https://www.markglicini.com/testimonials) - [Meaningful Growth Foundation](https://www.markglicini.com/meaningful-growth-foundation) [Contact Us](https://share.hsforms.com/1VWcoL6s9TM6Banj_CI8rhwcj7mn) Toggle Menu Toggle Menu [Contact Us](https://share.hsforms.com/1VWcoL6s9TM6Banj_CI8rhwcj7mn) - About MGPP - [Meet Mark](https://www.markglicini.com/meet-mark) - [Our Team](https://www.markglicini.com/our-team) - [Partnerships](https://www.markglicini.com/partnerships) - [Store](https://www.proathletics.com/mark-glicini) - [Services](https://www.markglicini.com/services) - Media - [Intentionally: The Blog](https://www.markglicini.com/blog) - [Mark's Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518) - [Newsletters and Articles](https://www.markglicini.com/media) - [Testimonials](https://www.markglicini.com/testimonials) - [Meaningful Growth Foundation](https://www.markglicini.com/meaningful-growth-foundation) [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/mark.glicini/) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/markglicini/) [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-glicini-b2698261/) [X](https://twitter.com/markglicini) 3 min read # Run Life’s Race at Your Own PACE [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini) : May 21, 2026, 7:02:00 PM ![Run Life’s Race at Your Own PACE](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Run%20Life%E2%80%99s%20Race%20at%20Your%20Own%20PACE%20(1).png) One of my best friends is an Army Green Beret medic. Not only does he embody the humility of the greatest individuals I admire, know, and study… he also possesses the intelligence, competence, and compassion of the best servant leaders I have ever seen. Throughout his early years, he excelled in school and in sports. Throughout his collegiate and young professional chapters, he received recognition and dozens of accolades. Now in his 30’s, he quietly continues to thrive. ## This happened by intention, not by accident. Knowing him for roughly half my time on this planet, I can attest to his character, lifestyle, and intentionality. He always expressed a desire to serve at the highest level possible. He always wanted to be at the top of a hierarchy while encouraging and supporting those at the bottom. He always had a clear vision, goals, and a plan. Recently, he discussed with me a framework he learned during his education through the Green Beret pipeline. This framework magnified his understanding within the power of planning. Especially when a medical situation or an unexpected circumstance arises, soldiers follow a PACE plan. - **Primary:** the ideal and intended method for success. It’s the best option. - **Alternate:** a solid backup method. It’s common yet less optimal. - **Contingency:** not convenient nor reliable, this method is a workable, fallback solution. - **Emergency:** the last resort method used when all else fails. It’s the worst yet final option. As an athlete who aims to exercise daily, my primary location of activity is the 24-hour access gym in my current hometown — it’s filled with weights, aerobic equipment, and a wellness room for recovery. When I travel, I plan to use alternate places to break a sweat: hotel or corporate gyms, although they may not have every apparatus and machinery I’m familiar with. If a hotel gym is closed and corporate gyms are too far away, I strive to find contingencies such as fields, parks, or yoga studios. Worst comes to worst, I stop searching for specific locations and I start running to different destinations, as an emergency way to still exercise while on the road. Loved ones who intend to create, build, and maintain connection follow a PACE plan, too. The primary form of communication is in-person, physical conversations where each individual sees the other’s nonverbal gestures and feels each other’s energy. Alternate systems of communication include technology: phones and computers, where each individual sends text messages, receives emails, and engages in calls. Contingent options, like hand-written letters sent via snail mail, are available when one or both individuals are traveling to remote areas for extended periods of time. As an emergency method of communication, an individual may reach out to a location close to his or her loved one; for example, one calls or sends a loving message to an adjacent accommodation, aiming to make contact and connect. Whether we do so deliberately or unconsciously, we all have expectations. We all have ideal desires in mind when we set out on any endeavor. We all have PACE plans; some are more clear and defined than others. What do we really want? When obstacles get in our way, how do we overcome them? If resistance persists, how do we conquer continuous challenges? > ## Be stubborn on vision and flexible on details. > > ## – Jeff Bezos on building Amazon Follow in the footsteps of integrous role models. Mentors are meant to tour us through challenges. Role models have the answers to life’s tests. Comparison is inevitable. Human beings socially compare themselves as a survival technique to avoid isolation and seek connection. Danger exists in comparing ourselves to those left and right of us instead of up and down; in other words, we ought to stop comparing ourselves to those closest to us in proximity and instead compare ourselves to those closest to us in proximity and instead compare ourselves to our role models + who we used to be. Figures like Jesus Christ (all the way up and above the hierarchy), Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Queen Elizabeth are examples of individuals worth aspiring to be similar to. And, answer this: are we better than who we were yesterday? People like our next-door neighbors, an array of classmates, or many coworkers are likely suboptimal role models. Once we choose to admire appropriate, high-character role models, we must then become like them. “Emulation until innovation” is a phrase to remember and embody. ### Each of us runs our own race. How we run could be vaguely, hesitantly, and waveringly or clearly, enthusiastically, and intentionally. *“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? **Run in such a way as to get the prize**.* *Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.* *Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.* *No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”* — 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Call to action: Write down a list of role models. Write down why you specifically chose each person. Then, reach out to each individual asking them about his or her PACE plan along their journey to the top. Success leaves clues. Let us remain hunters and gathers of information from those who are successful. Information allows us to get our very next actions in formation.   \- MG   🎙️[Click here to listen to Mark Glicini’s monthly episodes of his podcast, ***GRATEFUL*** *and Full of Greatness*](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) #### Getting to Know the Author Mark is a Certified Fitness Trainer, Nutritionist, and Mental Performance Coach. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Sport & Performance Psychology at the San Diego University for Integrative Studies. At Mark Glicini Peak Performance, we recognize that physical health reflects mental health. We study how intention drives behavior and emphasize that true peak performance requires an integrative approach—mind, body, and spirit. 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[Contribute Today](https://donate.stripe.com/fZe7vSaDlfjvf8Q7ss) [![Faith Overcomes Fear](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Connection%2c%20Protection%2c%20Redemption%20(1).png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/faith-overcomes-fear) #### [Faith Overcomes Fear](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/faith-overcomes-fear) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Sep 24, 2026, 7:01:00 PM What we all want: peace. [Read More](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/faith-overcomes-fear) [![Far Beyond Talent](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Far%20Beyond%20Talent%20(1).png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/far-beyond-talent) #### [Far Beyond Talent](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/far-beyond-talent) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Sep 17, 2026, 7:03:00 PM The purpose of life is to discover where and how our innate talents could be used. The work of life is to develop and hone our talents alongside... 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