Immediately upon moving to a new area a year and a half ago, I joined a local race club. It's basically a group of 180 triathletes, runners, cyclists and swimmers who train and race together. The transformation in my levels of interest and performance have been a direct reflection of my involvement with the club. I went from training for my first marathon primarily on a treadmill (including my 20-mile long run) to having friends to run, bike and swim with almost every day of the week. I'm having a lot of fun meeting some very inspiring people along the way, and their influence is helping me improve.

I should clarify that I am certainly not an elite athlete who takes these things very seriously and if you measured my maximum heart rate or lactate threshold, you would find that I definitely didn't win the gene pool lottery. Still, I am a naturally competitive person and I am generally an age group contender in small, local races. Through my participation in the race club, that competitive spirit has changed for the better. Racing has become more enjoyable because those people toeing the line next to me are no longer my foes - they are my teammates. We certainly don't pull any punches when we race, but the collaborative spirit of helping your competitors during your training sessions puts a healthy spin on the overall experience.

I have found the same spirit of "coopetition" in the business world for those companies who seek to foster it. For example, many online marketing service providers network and benchmark with competitors in a healthy manner, and it benefits the industry as a whole. Nobody encourages or condones collusion or the sharing of trade secrets, but simple tips to help everybody recognize trends or employ best practices are extremely helpful. Consortiums like the Email Experience Council, the Email Roundtable, the Web Analytics Association and WOMMA aid the maturation of their respective industries, which creates an environment where customers and vendors can all flourish.

In athletics, there is a liberating sense of humility that sets in when someone begins to understand his/her limits. The concept of age groups brings this concept to life, helping people focus their competitive energies on rivals who are demographically similar. (Remind me to blog again sometime about some of the people in my race club who have been able to defy their age decade after decade.) This same paradigm is true in business. Just because your company is in the same industry as a supposed competitor doesn't mean that you truly compete with them. Each business is able to carve out its own niche, and the one that exhibits its ability to be the best in the world within its own segment will find the most success. While running last year's Big Sur International Marathon, I encountered a man who completed the hilly course while running barefoot and backwards for 26.2 miles. When a friend and I did a double-take while passing him he simply said, "Hey, I'm winning my division!"

Perhaps we could all benefit from a lesson in the spirit of coopetition. After all, the best way to confront your foe is to make him/her your friend, right?