PAUL SULLIVAN
HIS PASSION FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT DRIVES HIS FUNDRAISING EFFORTS AND FUELS HIS MILES, MAKING EVERY STEP A TESTAMENT TO THE POWER OF COMPASSION AND CAMARADERIE.
Paul Sullivan, 57, is a seasoned volunteer who’s journeyed across the country, leaving his Boston roots behind to make an impact in cities like Seattle, Washington D.C., Dallas, Baltimore, and New Jersey. It was in New Jersey where he first became involved with the American Red Cross in
2010, serving as a board member. Now, back in Boston since 2019, Sullivan continues his dedicated service, this time as a member of the Massachusetts Board of Directors.
“The Red Cross is there for you on the worst day of your life,” says Sullivan, who is running the 128th Boston Marathon to raise funds for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts. “They are the insurance policy that helps the community and folks at their most vulnerable moments.”
Over the years, he’s heard many personal tales of how the American Red Cross made a difference in someone’s life. When a colleague’s house burned down — they escaped safely but were le with nothing but the clothes on their backs — the Red Cross helped them procure basics like clothing and shelter a er the fire department and first responders had le .
“I call it the ‘Red Cross hug’,” Sullivan says. “They show up when your emotions are running high and support you through the next few stages.”
Sullivan’s running coach in New Jersey, whose wife needed several blood transfusions to keep her alive during childbirth, “called me a er the episode because he knew I was involved with the Red Cross,” Sullivan says.
It’s fitting, then, that Sullivan is running the Boston Marathon on behalf of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts this year — a fusion of two of his greatest passions.
Sullivan’s running journey began not far from the marathon route in 1996 when he was a student at Northeastern University. While he was working security at Fenway
Park, his coworkers spurred him on to take up running for health and fitness reasons. He ran his first marathon in 1998 and has now run 78 total — all over the world, including 13 Boston Marathons.
Sullivan incorporates the American Red Cross into his endless training efforts, dedicating miles to different ways the organization helps people. “There are people struggling with hunger or cancer, and I can run this mile for them,” he says. “And it’s a way to honor our volunteers, like the people who staff the food pantry and give out food bags every Wednesday and Saturday.”
“In all my years of training and running races, I have come to recognize that it’s not an individual sport,” Sullivan says, pointing out that running takes a village — that includes his wife who drives him out of the city so he can run back in, his physical therapist who keeps him in tip-top running shape, his company that supports his fundraising through a generous matching program, and his fellow athletes who help provide motivation.
Running the Boston Marathon for a charity — and the builtin camaraderie that comes with doing it — provides this longtime marathoner with even more fuel. “Avid runners appreciate the social and health aspects, but also the chance to be a part of a community.” Sullivan says, “A er all, what’s the purpose of running?”
In all my years of training and running races, I have come to recognize that it’s not an individual sport.”
Usha Narayana was born and raised in Greater Boston — and running the Boston Marathon makes her feel most connected to the area. “It’s embodied into being a Bostonian,” says Narayana, 42, who hails from MetroWest and has lived throughout the area. Every few miles, “I’m slapping a high-five to a family friend or a neighbor.”
The three-time Boston Marathoner is lacing up to run with the MetroWest YMCA for the second year in a row. Since pledging $10,000 for the organization in 2023, she’s also served on its volunteer board of directors.
Whether it’s taking advantage of fitness classes, signing their kids up for swimming lessons, enrolling them in childcare, or even accessing food security resources, “everybody has a Y story,” Narayana says.
She hears them frequently when she talks with coworkers or with fellow parents at her kids’ schools. Volunteering with the Y has shown Narayana more about what the organization does, “specifically in the area that I live in,” she says. “People think it’s a posh area, but quite frankly, there are a lot of people who need groceries.
“My family has been fortunate,” she continues, “but it’s more about an opportunity to give back to those in need. And it’s so much fun!”
Narayana says the same about the race itself — though she’s quick to admit how challenging it is, too. She calls running a marathon “a mental fight that you have to go through with yourself.” Last year, she remembers being cold, uncomfortable, and fatigued even before the halfway mark. She had passed her parents and the
Sri Lakshmi Temple community cheering her on between Ashland and Framingham, and felt energized by many more friends around Natick Common. But when she saw the rest of her family just a er Heartbreak Hill, she told her husband she was too tired. He acknowledged her discomfort but also her resilience, she recalls.
“He said, ‘You’ve done this so many times. Just finish the six miles and you’ll feel happy.’ I remember inching towards him and he’s walking away from me!” she laughs. “It’s so easy to want to say, ‘I’m done.’ But you can’t, because you have people waiting for you. You’ve told this organization you’re committed to run.”
For the first time this year, Narayana’s longtime employer
Bank of America is the marathon’s presenting sponsor. She’s now a digital and marketing executive a er rising through the ranks from her first role out of college as a sales and service representative at a firm that later merged with Bank of America.
Though Boston is the only marathon she’s run herself, Narayana has seen firsthand the company’s impact on the Chicago Marathon, which it has sponsored since 2008. Last year’s race garnered nearly $30 million for various nonprofits, the highest fundraising total in event history.
“The amount of revenue and awareness about what the race has done for the [Chicago] community is just unbelievable,” Narayana says. “I can’t even wait to see what they do here.”
It’s so easy to want to say, ‘I’m done.’ But you can’t, because you have people waiting for you. You’ve told this organization you’re committed to run.”