Distance running: The new means to climb the corporate ladder

In North America, the most common means of corporate networking is hitting the links for a round of golf. But in India, the second most-populous country in the world, distance running is becoming the new golf.

Largely because of the lack of golf courses in India, distance running has become an ideal way to climb the corporate ladder as C-suite executives lace up their running shoes instead of grabbing their clubs for social outings.

Running has low barriers to entry and is less intimidating, according to Ramesh Viswanathan, head of technology at Siemens Technology India. A 5K run takes only 30 to 40 minutes while a round of golf can take several hours.

Viswanathan added that running is a great form of leverage in beginning conversations with those high up on the corporate ladder, before can adding that running can also makes things happen serendipitously.

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Running events have grown in popularity across India as well, opening the door for large corporate sponsorship and exposure to influential companies.

“When non-runners see the high-voltage networking that goes on, more and more of them show up; and they get hooked to both the running and the networking,” added Pankaj Rai, director of analytics at Dell India.

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So beyond the fitness benefits of running, the sport may also provide the means to land yourself a career.