By Joann Flaminio and Paul Morrissey
In the middle of August, Brian Patrick Mulligan was in Central Falls, RI participating alongside his long-time friend and well-known local runner Dee Bird in the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. If you have never heard of the Peace Run, you are not alone. It is a global torch relay that offers all the opportunity to run, and to be part of something bigger than oneself in search of and in support of world peace.
If there is one thing that defines Brian Mulligan, it is the role that running plays in his life. You will not meet up with Brian Mulligan at the coffee shop or in the local diner. You will see him running on Blackstone Boulevard, participating in a local 5k, 10k, Marathon, ultra or the remarkable Peace Run that is run all over the world.
Running is an extension of who Brian is, and has been for a very long time. Joan Benoit Samuelson, two-time winner of the Boston Marathon and winner of the first ever Olympic Women’s Marathon in 1984, once said, “As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are.” It was not always this way. He was not a member of his high school or college track team.
As he tells it, “I just sort of fell into it.” Brian is a Rhode Islander, having graduated from Pilgrim High School in Warwick, and then Clark University in Worcester where he majored in theater. His first race was the Providence Drug Awareness 5k which he ran in 1992 (now the Downtown 5k). He gradually increased his distance, and found that running came easily, and that he could keep up with other runners without too much effort. He was always asking friends and fellow runners what he would have to do to join a running group or enter a race, and the answer was always the same, “You don’t have to do anything, just show up.”
He ran his first Marathon, the Ocean State Marathon, in 1997 at the age of 37, and has since gone on to run 138 marathons. His longest ultramarathon is The Hamsterwheel (100 miles) which he ran in 29 hours and 40 minutes.
Eventually, he became fascinated with the notion of “qualifying” for Boston. Fast forward, he has now completed 26 Boston Marathons, including the 2020 Boston ‘Virtual’ Marathon, and is now an official Boston Marathon streaker with a guaranteed entry every year. His best finish at Boston? 2:59:36 in 2002.
Each year, he travels up to Boston on the Wampanoag bus which drops him and fellow Rhode Island marathoners off in Hopkinton, the official start of the race. “When it comes to Boston,” Brian said, “what I’m most proud of is that I have qualified for every race. I have never had to accept a waiver or invitational bib in order to be at the starting line on Marathon Monday.”
Retired from his day job as a postman, a daily walk of 7-8 miles, Brian has been running more than ever these days. Most recently, he has challenged himself to run a Marathon in each of the fifty states, sometimes known as the ‘Fifty States Challenge.’ He has completed Marathons in 47 states, with only Minnesota, Louisiana, and Alaska left to run. Next up is the Minnesota Twin Cities Marathon this fall.
When asked about his spectacular fitness, and his lack of major injuries throughout his career, Brian didn’t have too much to say, “I guess I’ve been pretty lucky as I do not have any secrets or advice to pass along. I just enjoy it.”
As for other athletic endeavors, Brian said that he never really got involved or hooked on anything but running, “I’m a runner because I can’t do anything else. I truly feel that it is natural for people to run. My body is made to run.” Incredibly, Brian says that he has never won a race. And simply doesn’t care. You will find him on the roads putting in the miles, either alone or with members of one of his three running clubs–Frontrunners RI, Wampanoag Road Runners, or the RMH Providence Running Club. Brian suggests you put your running shoes on, and come along.