Leadership Lessons from 29029 Stratton: Community

At 29029, you come for the challenge, but you come back for the community.

For most of us, I think that 29029 starts as a personal goal: can I complete something entirely out of my comfort zone. You train, you prepare, you show up to push your limits. But by the end, most of us realize the climb is collective effort and shaped by everyone around you.

Nobody cares, or even knows, who came in first or last or somewhere in between at 29029. Because nobody’s keeping score, everyone’s there to support and celebrate each other. It’s not about competition; it’s about encouragement. About doing something seemingly impossible, together.

One of the small but meaningful things that make 29029 special is that your name is printed on your bib. It means that everyone, volunteers, other climbers, even total strangers, can cheer for you by name (“how are you doing, Mike?” “you got this, Mike”). That small act of recognition turns strangers into supporters.

Those two things, the absence of competition and the presence of genuine recognition, have a profound impact on the 29029 community. They are symbols that remind us that this event isn’t about winning; it’s about belonging.

Shared Effort

That’s the magic of the 29029 community; it’s not built on comparison but on connection. The energy is shared. When one person climbs higher, everyone celebrates.

Even during the hardest stretches, cold, tired, dark and wet you feel it. Someone offers a word of encouragement. Someone hands you a snack. Someone you’ve never met says, “You’ve got this.”

It’s a culture of support, not scorekeeping.

A Leadership Parallel

Strong communities, like strong organizations, are built the same way through shared purpose and mutual support.

As a leader, it’s easy to focus only on goals and outcomes. But the real measure of success is whether people feel like they belong, whether they’re part of something larger than themselves. And whether they will commit to the mission when things get tough.

Teams that thrive aren’t just aligned on objectives; they’re to each other. They know that progress isn’t a solo climb.

The best leaders know how to build that kind of community.

Why It Matters

At Stratton, our family climbed and finished together. But we couldn’t have done it without everyone else, the volunteers ringing cowbells, the fellow climbers cheering us on, the support of those still climbing while we rested.

That’s what community looks like. It’s the web that holds everything together when things are less than ideal.

It’s what transforms endurance into belonging and effort into purpose.