Laurel native Daniel Sullivan was one of a handful of Mississippians to complete the annual Boston Marathon earlier this week.
During an appearance on Good Things with Rebecca Turner, Sullivan explained that he received a bid to compete in the world’s top marathon after having only run one in the past. In 2021, the local preacher finished the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon in 2 hours and 54 minutes, qualifying him for Boston.
“I knew I had a good time. I just didn’t know if it was good enough based on what the buffer time underneath the qualifier would actually be,” Sullivan explained. “Once I got the news that I had been accepted, it was butterflies for a little while, and then, it was time to buckle down and start training hard.”
Leading up to the race, Sullivan snacked on his typical pre-marathon meal of blueberry Pop Tarts and a sugar free Red Bull to prepare himself for the milestone ahead. As Sullivan zoomed through the course and noticed the finish line, he began to grasp at the reality of what he was about to accomplish.
“I think there were probably a lot of emotions going through my head… When you’re at the end of a marathon, you’re almost on autopilot in that you are so tired and everything. You have used up all of your mental and physical resources,” Sullivan said. “It was special because it was the culmination of four months of training. It was the culmination of two years of running consistently. For me, it was the culmination of a couple hours of hard work on the day.”
Sullivan completed the 26.2 mile journey in Boston with a 2 hour and 51 minute performance.
