By Summer Crawford
Staff Writer
Coppell parent and competitive athlete Kuay Sullivan has been running and training for 19 years for all sorts of competitions, including marathons. She is the run coordinator for a club named Dallas Athletes, which has training programs for both runners and multisport athletes. While currently training for an upcoming marathon, Sullivan balances the role of a mother of two daughters and the hours of hard work spent running. Her oldest daughter, Trinity Sullivan, is a freshman at New Tech.
Q: How did you get into running and coaching other runners?
A: I started running when I was visiting my brother out of town, and he didn’t have a treadmill, and I always ran on a treadmill. He said to run outside. He was the one that got me started on my first marathon. I really do enjoy it. I started coaching other runners when people would ask me how would you do a 5K and how did you run your first marathon? My answers were effective enough to where they would try that method. I found that when I shared my experiences, that it was worthwhile to help out other runners.
Q: What was your inspiration for joining Dallas Athletes?
A: Mainly the group or people. When you get together with like-minded people who want to work towards the same thing and improve and when you are with a group, it feels like you can go farther and faster. I have run alone and with a group. Both will get you to what you want to accomplish, but with a group it is a lot more fun.
Q: What is the best part of being a runner?
A: Stress relief. Whether it is running alone or with a group it is that time to clear your head. If you are running with friends you are just talking and sharing. You are finding out more about the person running beside you, things that you wouldn’t find out in just normal everyday conversation. It just pushes you. Sometimes you think you can never do it, but then you have someone saying come one let’s do this together, and it challenges you.
Q: How has your family reacted to you competitively running?
A: They love it. My youngest, when I go to run a marathon with 40,000 people and come back home, will ask “Did you win mama?” Well, I would say I crossed the finish line and that’s good enough. I run early in the morning and I do my best to not interrupt family time by working out when they are asleep. They will see me when I come home, and even though I’m tired I will still have energy to go on to the next activity.
Q: What does it take to be a successful athlete? What are some good qualities?
A: Commitment and desire. That just goes across the board with many of the other sports. You need to commit yourself to putting in the miles and eating well and taking the rest when its needed. You need to commit to going out there and running when it’s 90 degrees or 40 degrees out. And desire. You want to cross the finish line, it’s something you might have never done before. You want to finish that big event in your life.
Q: What is the training process like?
A: You start off with lower mileage and you build. That’s the bulk of the program. You don’t want to start off running 20 miles right off the bat. The main process is build up. You start gradual with mileage and speed and from week to week you build on that. If you do too much too fast too soon it can get you injured and put you out for a while.
Q: How have you impacted other runners?
A: One thing would be is that I help them believe in themselves. I have trained and coached runners to where they couldn’t run a 5K and we would train from week to week and we would take each step one at a time and at the end, they are able to cross the finish line. It’s something they never thought they could do.
Q: What is your most favorite marathon or competition you have competed in, and why?
A: I don’t know if I have a favorite one. My first one was a Disney World marathon and that was an awesome first experience. And then New York City and Chicago marathon, which are great cities and put on great marathons, and the crowd is spectacular. And smaller ones like Saint George in Utah with awesome course and beautiful scenery. Each one has great things about it. Every marathon had something new to offer.
Q: What are your future goals?
A: To inspire people to enjoy running and overall fitness, whether you are running or swimming or just working out. And to connect people through fitness. I have made so many great friendships being involved in a workout organization. I would like to see people connected. My goal is to have people come together and to get fit and have fun at the same time.
