“Having the opportunity to run at the World Championships is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Susanna Sullivan doesn’t usually talk about running in the classroom. When she does, it’s usually just a short anecdote that applies to her lessons — maybe something about persevering through difficult situations.
That may change, though, after her sixth-grade students watch her on tv racing the marathon at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest later this month.
After finishing tenth in the London Marathon this April and sixth in Chicago last fall, USATF selected Sullivan to race the marathon at the World Championships, which start on August 19.
And despite signing a professional shoe deal with Brooks this week after a decade of running unsponsored, Sullivan plans to continue teaching full-time in the D.C. area, where she trains with George Mason University coach Andrew Gerard.
“Teaching is who I am,” she said. “I find it really fulfilling.”
Sullivan, who taught fifth graders for seven years, now teaches sixth-grade math — and, up until this year, tutored students in the evening for 20 hours a week.
Teaching helps occupy Sullivan’s mind during her training, taking pressure off of the hard efforts and long runs.
Teaching is just really emotionally demanding,” Sullivan said. “It takes time, and running and swimming give me the opportunity to process that alone. I spend a lot of time training, so I spend a lot of time thinking. It makes me a better teacher, and it makes me a better runner.”
The 33-year-old has run 15:25 over 5,000m and 31:55 for 10,000m this season, breaking her personal bests of 16:56 and 36:14 that she set more than a decade ago while competing for Notre Dame.
“I don’t have a super long time to stay competitive, so I’m trying to stay focused on the little things like staying healthy and nutrition,” Sullivan said. “The rewards from that have been bigger than I’ve guessed.”
She paused. “It’s kind of crazy,” she said. “It’s been a really long time, but it doesn’t feel that long.”
AthleteBiz/FanHubTF recently awarded Sullivan their first-ever athlete grant. The grant’s mission is to “empower and support elite level athletes to pursue their athletic and ‘off the track’ dreams and to position them to inspire young people.”
Sullivan plans to offset the costs of her physical therapy and massage.
“It’s really nice to have the support from AthleteBiz,” she said. “It’s not a mystery that teachers don’t make a ton of money, and so it’s really helpful to be able to afford those services that are critical for me to be able to perform.”
Sullivan almost raced for Team USA earlier this February, at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst. After a USA athlete pulled out three days before the race with an injury, Sullivan — the alternate — was prepared to fly to Australia and make it in time for the race. USATF, however, told Sullivan that it wasn’t logistically possible to get her there in time, and decided to run one athlete short.
They later told her they didn’t have time to send her a singlet.
“I’m sure that there were other reasons, but the reasons I got — they hurt a little bit, because I wanted to get myself there, and I was willing to make it happen,” Sullivan said. “I was definitely dwelling on what might have been.”
After the gun went off, Sullivan had no choice but to look forward. She started training for the London Marathon, instead, which led to her being selected for the World Championship team.
“This marathon is kind of incredible, because that felt like [Bathurst] was the shot, and I missed it,” she said.
In Budapest, Sullivan has something to prove to her country — and to her fellow competitors.
“I want to show I belong in the conversation for the [Olympic] Trials,” she said.
In the weeks leading up to the World Championships, Sullivan has reflected on her career — both of her careers — and has reminded herself why being a full-time teacher and runner is so rewarding.
“I want kids to leave my class with the feeling that they’re capable of anything as long as they’re willing to work for it,” Sullivan said. “There is a connection between effort and achievement.”
That’s one lesson she’s taught her students without saying a word.
During her runs, Sullivan usually thinks about lesson plans and how to solve problems in the classroom.
But in Budapest, her mind will be clearer.
“If you told me in 2020 when I was super injured, that before the next Olympic cycle I’d be going to the world championships I’d have said you were out of your mind,” she said. “It’s just such a huge opportunity and I think that’s what I’ll reflect on. I’m just really grateful.”
