Most competitive runners focus on beating their last best time, down to the nanosecond.
For the Boston Marathon, REALTOR® Mark Hulsey, 63, was willing to sacrifice some of those seconds to share the excitement of participating with someone who otherwise would never be able to do so on his own.
Hulsey, first licensed in Chicago in 1983, found his passion for running years later at age 57, in search of a healthy addiction for his triple-A personality, he says. He has run three of the world’s seven major marathons (Boston, New York City and Chicago), as well as dozens of other races over the last six years. More recently, he added a new audacious goal.
When he ran his second Boston Marathon on April 20, he wasn’t trying to beat his 3:18:54 qualifying time. Instead, he was determined to push Moses “Mo” Cooper, 24, safely along the 26.2-mile course in his custom running wheelchair. Cooper has cerebral palsy, developmental delay, chronic pain and restrictive lung disease from severe scoliosis.
Being part of an “adaptive duo” was not Hulsey’s original plan. But when he ran the Medtronic Twin Cities marathon in Minneapolis-St. Paul four years ago, he saw a runner pushing a wheelchair. “What a great thing to share your gift of movement with someone who doesn’t have that mobility,” he recalls thinking.
He learned about myTEAM TRIUMPH, a national non-profit athletic organization that promotes inclusion by matching people with disabilities for endurance sports with volunteer “angels” who push them.
He quickly began running as a duo with myTEAM TRIUMPH, as well as running on his own. He also used his marketing and media expertise, honed from 20 years in that industry, to expand awareness about the organization. “I’ve been volunteering with nonprofits my entire career, but this offered a special opportunity to combine it with my new love of running,” he says.
Within 18 months, Hulsey was ready to take a family to a World Marathon Major to have them experience the joy of spectators lining streets and cheering wildly. “It’s incredible,” he says with his boundless enthusiasm. “There can be two million watching in New York City and a half million in Boston, the Super Bowl of marathons because it’s the country’s oldest.”
A Dynamic Duo
When Hulsey met Cooper as his running buddy, he was impressed by the young man’s sweetness and spirited determination to participate, as well as his mom Karen’s loving caregiving for the son she adopted from a Nigerian orphanage.
After running together in Minneapolis, Hulsey asked the Coopers about trying for Boston, which requires a qualifying time from another marathon due to demand for its coveted spots.
“We instantly said, ‘We are in,’ and the dream started moving forward,” Karen says. The running pair’s time at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., qualified them for Boston.
“Because Mo cannot run on his own, the support of a runner makes his dream of running races possible,” says his mom, Karen Cooper.
Hulsey understood the commitment he was undertaking. “It’s one thing to qualify and run on your own. That’s the competitive side of Mark who trains hard and pushes himself to the limits,” he says. He typically runs 55 to 60 miles a week.
“It’s far scarier as a volunteer runner,” he says. “You’re pushing an 8-foot-long wheelchair with someone with a disability. You’re responsible to keep them physically and mentally safe while trying not to hit a runner with your front tire and in the case of Boston being undeterred by four hills.”
Despite such challenges, they’ve made grueling endurance fun. “Mo has a smile that goes for a mile and a sense of humor. We communicate easily,” Hulsey says.
With help from Karen, the duo became “Team Flash Mo” in honor of the fastest-running superhero in the DC Universe, who captivated Mo. Hulsey decorated the custom wheelchair to resemble The Flash.
Boundless Energy
Hulsey, who founded RE/MAX Results Commercial Group, a commercial investment brokerage in St. Paul, Minn., in 2003, channels his triple-A energy in other ways. He expanded his real estate business by bringing on board his two oldest children. He serves as a guide runner for visually impaired athletes, raises money to pay it forward to donate a $5,200 custom Hoyt Running Chair to AdaptX, the nonprofit that provided their Boston chair, and is writing “Family Man,” a book about practical parenting.
“Who knows better than me, father of five kids?” Hulsey says, laughing.
When he and Mo set off on Monday with 30,000 other runners, Hulsey ran confidently, knowing he already achieved his goal. “I got Mo to Boston to be cheered by many—something he’ll remember his entire life. He’s my ‘why.’”
Clocking in at 3:24:00, Hulsey achieved a second goal. He and Cooper crossed the finish line at the same time as another adaptive team, an unexpected plus. Hulsey reached down and looked in Cooper’s eyes. “I told him, ‘We did it,’ and asked how he was feeling, always my biggest concern. He told me, ‘I feel happy.’ All I could think was, ‘How good is that!’”
What’s next for the twosome? “We’ll continue with some local races that are all about adaptive sports,” Hulsey says. “Beyond that—for a mega-goal, we’ll see what Mo’s appetite is and decide as a team.”
