Top American Marathoner Susanna Sullivan Talks Balancing Teaching and Training

Susanna Sullivan, the top American finisher at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, joins Set the Pace this week to talk about the preparation it took to clock a blazing 2:21:56 finish time. She went on to be the top American finisher at the 2025 London Marathon. Susanna isn’t just one of the fastest American marathon runners around, she’s also a sixth-grade math teacher in Virginia. She shares with Rob and Becs what it’s like to go from teaching pre-algebra during the week to competing against world-class runners on the weekend. Susanna is preparing for the 2025 World Athletics Championships marathon in Tokyo, where she’ll represent Team USA. For this week’s Member Moment, Meb interviews Team for Kids runner Udai Jariwala who, after two knee replacements, ran his first marathon at age 75 at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon. Udai says that running slow has made him a faster runner.

00:00 - Welcome to Set The Pace
01:54 - Becs Reflects on Being Back Home in London
03:07 - Rob’s Marathon Journey
04:39 - Committing to Chicago 2025
08:25 - Rob Asks Becs to Coach Him
11:29 - NYRR’s Start Line Series in Queens
14:16 - Susanna Sullivan Interview Intro
17:17 - Meet Susanna Sullivan
20:29 - Susanna Sullivan’s Big Marathon Gains
23:16 - From Injury & COVID to a PR in Chicago
26:45 - Mental & Physical Grit to Rebuild
29:06 - Staying Consistent After a Breakthrough
31:10 - Life as a 6th Grade Math Teacher
38:05 - Cross-Training, Pool Work & Recovery
40:55 - Mixing Math & Marathon Data
44:10 - Running with Students
44:50 - Preparing for Tokyo World Championships
47:48 - Why World Champs Are a Medal Opportunity
50:00 - Olympic Dreams: LA 2028

Listen to past episodes:
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iHeart: ihr.fm/44L0zp3

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