Two Adobe runners reflect on work, life, and chasing your goals

When Thomas Finet, senior technical consultant, Adobe Tokyo, was growing up, his house was at the top of a hill — and his school was at the bottom. So, as he remembers it, running to class in the morning just made sense. And he’s been running ever since.

By 15, Finet had joined a cross-country club, and he later found his way to the French National Championships and took the prize for a national 5,000-meter race. Over the years, running has taught him life lessons and helped him build relationships, particularly with his Adobe colleagues.

At Adobe for more than a decade, Finet has had three different home offices — Paris, San Jose, and Tokyo. At each one, he linked up with fellow runners for everything from lunchtime runs to races, first in Paris with a small, close-knit group, then with a bigger group in San Jose, where activities included a 24-hour relay-style race from north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and all the way to the sea. The team of 12 bonded as they raised funds for organ donation.

When Finet arrived in the Tokyo office, he was surprised that there wasn’t a running club yet — so he started one. At the time, the world was just coming out of the pandemic, so many of his colleagues were working from home. The new running club helped bring the team back together. “This club is both for my running passion and a way to connect with my colleagues,” he says.

As the Tokyo running group’s organizer, Finet has planned everything from a half-marathon relay to runs of various distances, and even a race inside the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, where all of the runners got to see themselves on a 10-meter high video screen. “We felt like pro athletes,” he recalls.

One of the things Finet loves most about running is that it’s nearly universally accessible. “You can run almost everywhere at any time. You just need a pair of shoes — some people even run barefoot. With running, I’ve been able to find a community in all the countries where I’ve lived.”

Finet has also discovered that organizing a running club uses many of the same muscles as the technical consultant role, including motivating people by finding out what’s interesting to them. “If you focus on something and you work on it regularly, your success will bloom at some point,” he says. “You just need to be patient.”

Vikas Chawla, operations director, Adobe India, has also been running since he was in school, first in high school and then in college. After graduating, he set the hobby aside until his wife took up running during a sabbatical in 2013 — and signed both of them up for a 10K with just two weeks to train. At that unexpected moment, Chawla was hooked all over again.

“Running has become not just a form of exercise, but a fundamental aspect of my lifestyle, profoundly impacting me personally and professionally,” says Chawla. “On a personal level, running has brought about significant improvements in my physical fitness and mental well-being. And it has instilled in me a sense of discipline, determination, and resilience.”

That determination led Chawla to an astounding feat — he’s a Six Star Marathon Finisher, which means he has completed all six of the major marathons around the world. First he won a spot in the Chicago Marathon lottery in 2017, then he headed to Berlin in 2019, followed by a brief pause for Covid and a return for the New York Marathon in 2022 — a tough run on the hottest day in the event’s history. Then he wrapped up London, Tokyo, and Boston.

Chawla’s running groups, including Adobe’s India Runners, help keep him moving. “The unwavering support of my running buddies and communities has been a constant source of motivation and encouragement,” he says. He also takes inspiration from a unique mantra that reminds him of the value of preparation when you know you’ll be facing adversity: “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.”

Chawla also thinks about running a bit as he thinks about work: “The collective effort of a cohesive team enables us to achieve greater heights and tackle challenges more effectively than we could as individuals. Each member brings their unique strengths to the table, creating a synergy that propels the team toward its goals.”

If you ask Chawla about the most valuable thing he’s gained from running, he’ll probably tell you it’s the mindset of resilience, adaptability, and commitment to your goals, even when there are obstacles in the way. “Life often throws curveballs,” he says. “But it’s how we respond to them that defines our journey.”

Want to know more about what motivates the people at Adobe? Check out their stories on the Adobe Life blog.