Leader Story: Mr. Sheehan, Passing Down a Legacy
Mr. Sheehan is the long time SRLA leader at Dorsey High School and a Los Angeles Marathon Legacy Runner (that means he’s run the Marathon 35 times!). Mike shared the story of how he became a Legacy Runner and how that journey has impacted his approach to leading his SRLA Group…
Mike (upper right corner) and the other LA Marathon Legacy runners, running and celebrating together.
Hi, my name is Mike Sheehan, Primary Leader at Dorsey High School and a Los Angeles Marathon Legacy Runner. I started running when I was in high school and ran my very first marathon when I was 14 years old. My coach, Terry Mathews, used to take us to 5k’s, 10k’s, and ½ marathons in his old van so we could experience “road racing”. After this and our hill workouts in Griffith Park, we were ready to try the Marathon distance. I ran my very first marathon when I was 14 years old in Santa Monica.
In 1981, I was finishing my 1st year at Loyola Marymount University. A movie came out that year that affected me deeply during my time at LMU and for the rest of my life. It was Chariots of Fire and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. In the movie, Eric Liddell, an Olympic Runner from Scotland, proclaimed these words that changed my life: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel His pleasure. To run is to Praise Him, To win is to Honor Him. To give that up would be to hold Him in Contempt.” This quote was placed above my bed in my Dorm room and inspired me to run competitively for the LMU Cross Country team, qualify for the Boston Marathon in 1989, and continue to run the Los Angeles Marathon for the next 35 years consecutively.
I coached Cross Country and Track and Field at Loyola Marymount University and Daniel Murphy High School over a 20-year period. After finishing my Master’s Degree, I began teaching and coaching the Students Run LA team at Dorsey High School, which I have done for the past 16 years. Wherever I went, I shared my love for running with those I taught and coached just as my coach had done for me. The difference now was that there was a structure and support in place to help my students succeed in not only in training for the marathon, but in finishing school, college, and much more. “If I can run a marathon … I can do anything!” - SRLA students and alumni
“Wherever I went, I shared my love for running with those I taught and coached just as my coach had done for me. ”
Mike (left) completing the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon with one of his SRLA Students.
On our Dorsey High School SRLA team, we are a family. We help one another with school work, listen to/support teammates with the challenges life presents, and train/race in the Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles.
I am the 10th youngest of the 127 remaining L.A. Marathon Legacy Runners. It’s kind of like being at the “kids’ table on Thanksgiving.” My other family, the Legacy Runners, has a runner who is 88 years old; he also happens to be the father of my teammate/best friend from high school. Every month we meet, go for a run and share running wisdom and advice. I listen, and, in turn, share it with my Dorsey Runners. One of my former Dorsey Runners, Racine Camara, has come back to help coach the runners on this year’s team. Racine is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering while working to help his family. He is from Senegal originally and has faced many challenges. Running the L.A. Marathon is just one of them. Racine has finished 4 L.A. Marathons. One of my fondest memories is the 2016 L.A. Marathon when we were interviewed while we were running the actual race.
My wife, Nancy, is part of our Dorsey SRLA team and has run and finished 6 L.A. marathons. Our daughter, Tisha, has trained with us and just finished her very first Half Marathon. I am truly Blessed with my Students Run L.A. family, my Legacy Runner family, and my family at home. To whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48) I want to use what God has given me for as long as I am able to run.
So, join me “virtually” as I train for my 36th Los Angeles Marathon and hope you can become part of the family.
Join Mike and Become Part of The Family!
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