Run through the tape

Run through the tape first, then look back with pride on the year’s achievements

2024 December

Run through the tape. This track and field reference refers to the idea of finishing the race strong, not letting up or coasting through the finish line. The wisdom in this phrase is self-evident. Look no further than the men’s 100m race at the Paris Olympics just a few months ago. American phenom, Noah Lyles, known for his strong finish and “kick” toward the end of the race won the 100m sprint gold medal by the narrowest margin in Olympic history, winning by five thousandths of a second (0.005). The difference between the gold medal and fourth place (off the podium) was a mere three hundredths of a second (0.03). In epic fashion, Lyles leaned forward at the finish line, edging past Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson to claim the gold medal.

In endurance sport, such as triathlon, the notion of finish strong generally refers to “negative splits,” meaning the last lap or mile should be faster than the first. Although not quite as dramatic as in sprinting, achieving this gradual crescendo of speed and effort consistently produces faster finish times. Similarly, at the Paris Olympics British triathlete Alex Yee trailed the entire race before surging past New Zealander Hayden Wilde in the final 30 seconds of the nearly two-hour-long race to win gold.

In either context, the commitment to giving maximum effort at the final stage of the event is the defining characteristic of success.

What was your run-through-the-tape moment?

Personally, the closest I’ve ever been to experiencing a “run through the tape” moment was as a freshman in high school during the season-opening cross-country multi-school district invitational. It was an abbreviated distance 2K race. I had recently joined the cross-country team through the encouragement of my P.E. teacher, who was also the coach of the cross-country team.

At the beginning of the race, I had no intention of winning, only competing hard and giving it my best effort. Yet, three-quarters of the way through the race I realized I had passed quite a few runners and the field was thinning out. I thought to myself, “I’m probably pretty close to the front of the pack.” My legs burned with exhaustion. The finish line was less than 400m away around a corner in the grove. I pushed myself hard, passed one more runner and crossed the finish line. Only moments later, the race director approached me and told me I had won the race! Turns out, the runner who had led the entire race gloated in his lead near the finish line and knelt down to adjust his shoe, not realizing I was just around the corner behind him. By the time he realized what was happening, I had overtaken him and sprinted across the finish line in victory.

Fighting off over-indulgence in the holiday season

In law, the margin between success and failure is probably not quite that thin – at least not most of the time. However, the advice still rings true. In our deadline- driven world of litigation, sustained effort and occasional bursts of extraordinary effort are required to be ready for trial, file a crucial brief, or oppose an important motion.

As we approach the end of the year, it can be easy to indulge in the holiday season and coast into the new year. Of course, a period of gratitude and reflection is appropriate, healthy and necessary at the end of the year. However, hitting cruise control for six weeks does not lend itself to starting the new year off with momentum.

A colleague of mine, who is an accomplished sales consultant, often remarked that the end of the year is the most important time to be prospecting for the upcoming year. “Q1 of next year is determined by what you do in Q4 of this year,” he would say. The order of operations is to run through the tape first, then look back with pride on the year’s achievements.

Running through the tape with OCTLA

As I run through the tape and look back on this year, I am proud of all that OCTLA has accomplished, both our members individually and our organization collectively. Many of our members courageously tried cases this year, some solo and others as part of trial teams. Alongside CAOC and TLA members throughout the state, our members fought for bills that protect consumer rights and fought equally hard for those elected public officials who would author such bills. Our membership remained robust. We sold out every social event. Perhaps most notably, we raised over $250,000 for A Quarter Blue at our marquee Top Gun awards gala last month! I never cease to be amazed at the charitable hearts of our members and their eagerness to rally to a righteous cause.

Finally, I want to welcome all our newly elected Board of Directors members and congratulate Benjamin Ikuta on his election to the executive office of parliamentarian for 2025. It has been the experience of a lifetime and an absolute honor and privilege to lead OCTLA this year. But alas, time waits for no man and my good friend Aaron Hicks, whom I met through OCTLA years ago, is primed and ready to lead OCTLA as president next year. I know he will lead this organization to new heights, and I can’t wait to see the great things our organization will accomplish next year.

But until then, I challenge all OCTLA members to run through the tape and finish the year strong!