I’m a Runner: “Sully” Sullenberger

The pilot and hero explains how running is like flying.

Can you tell me a little bit about your running background? When did you start running and why?
I started in about 1980. I had just left the Air Force as an air force officer and fighter pilot. When I became an airline pilot, I had a colleague who was a running partner, and we went out every morning. We’d get a good workout in before each day began. It was great to have a training partner. We were in San Diego at that point. We would run through all the beautiful areas in San Diego, like Balboa Park. And of course, the weather is so nice. As an airline pilot, I flew on the West Coast where the weather was good. That was before the big changes in our industry where we all worked extremely long hours. It used to be that you worked an early shift or a late shift and not from early to late like it is now. So you had either a chance to run before you went to work in the morning or you had a chance to run when you got to your destination late in the afternoon.

I remember having a layover in Boise, Idaho, one winter. It was icy and snowy, but the other pilot and I got dressed up in our cold-weather gear and went out. People were looking at us like, “What are you guys doing? Where are you guys from?” But there were many layovers over the years where I did that. I think it was really something easy to do as an airline pilot because we travel so much. Running is something where all you need to have is a pair of shoes and you could go anywhere. You don’t need equipment; you don’t have to carry golf clubs with you, or take your bike like some guys did. And there were so many beautiful places.

I remember being in Bellingham, Washington, north of Seattle almost to the Canadian border. It’s a harbor town, and there was a highway that went east of town and up and down some big hills. I was running with one of the other pilots and a flight attendant. I lived where it was hilly on the San Francisco Peninsula, and I’d gotten strong enough where I could pull away from them on the hills, but they would always catch me on the downhills. It was a constant game of tag, but it was beautiful. I always enjoyed being outside. I’d much rather do that than be in a gym on a treadmill. That just bores me to tears.

Is that why you went against the grain in the Air Force and made sure to include a running workout in addition to the strength training workouts that were required?
Actually, in those days that ship was just setting sail as I left the Air Force in 1980. Most of the real recommendations came later, but the recognition that having low pulse and blood pressure was actually a detriment in having your blood get up to your brain under high “G” acceleration was just beginning. And much of what we did in the physiology maneuvers in the cockpit to try to prevent that from happening was tensing our lower body, to tense up our leg muscles and abdominal muscles to try to force as much blood back up to our heart as we could under high G maneuvers.

I was never a good runner or a great runner. I was just kind of an average, cruising-around runner. But when I was in my early 30s in the early 1980s, the majority of my running was before I was married and I could spend a couple hours out there. There were four or five years where I would run almost every day of the year. Of course, I lived in California and it was easy to do that. I was going consistently five miles at a time. For a while I got up to 10, but then I backed off when I found I was having minor pains and injuries. I went back to five and it was no problem. But I really enjoyed it, even though I was not good at it. I got into a comfortable enough way of running with my stride and pace so that it felt kind of the way I describe flying. There’s a duality in the sense of mastery and of freedom. When you get out there—my hair was longer then—I could feel the wind blowing through my hair. I would often get up in the hills and just take my shirt off on a warm day. It’s a freeing exercise. Frees the mind, frees the spirit. You let your body take you places. The mastery part of it, I think, is that you know that not everyone can do this to that level. Even as someone who’s not particularly good at running, I’m still better than someone who doesn’t do it all. I think it’s also satisfying. I was never competitive in terms of wanting to run races. I never really pushed myself to the ultimate limits. I just enjoy getting out there and taking in the scene and being part of nature, basically.

Can you tell me a little bit about what your running schedule is like now? I know you’re really busy, but how often do you get out there?
I just ran a couple hours ago for half an hour or so; two or two-and-half miles. I probably run a 10-minute mile versus the eight-minute miles I used to do when I was running a lot when I was younger. I think I’m getting back into it. Now when I work too hard, it’s my own fault. I’ve begun to act on that and make my days more manageable by scheduling this as the most important part of the day and not just getting to the end of the day having not gone for a run.

Why have you decided that running is so important and that you’re going to make time for it?
I think running is important for my health and fitness. It’s important in terms of my well-being. In terms of managing the everyday stresses, I just think it’s a matter of balance.

Would you say your attitude toward running has changed at all since the landing in the Hudson back in 2009?
I think I make more time for running now than I did then because landing on the Hudson has ultimately allowed me to control my destiny. I’m no longer an employee working for a major corporation. I retired from the airline two and half years ago after 30 years. Now I’m self-employed as a speaker, as an author—my second book was out May 15—as a consultant to industry on safety, and as a CBS News aviation safety on-air contributor for the morning and evening news programs. Now I have the ability to set my own schedule and come up with my own plan for the day. It’s enabled me to get back to having a better balance and not just focusing so much on work. Now I’m actually working harder than I’ve ever worked, but I’m able to control my schedule.

So you won’t be in the air for an insane amount of time during the week?
What happened ultimately at the end of my flying career was that I was working for a larger nationwide airline that had merged with and bought the smaller West Coast airline that I had started with. So at the end of my career I had a lot of longer days and shorter layovers at places that were not as conducive to getting out and running because of wherever I was staying, or the weather, or the time of day. I tried really hard to make time for at least a walk or a short run most places I went, but sometimes it just wasn’t feasible.

In terms of how you think about running, you described before that it’s a freeing sense. Has that changed at all?
I wish I could run as well as I did 30 years ago. I suppose if I worked really hard and strengthened myself and increased my flexibility, then I might get back to where I remember being. Even though I was never really good at it, how running felt on a good day was similar to how it felt to fly. You just felt almost effortless, and it just seemed to flow with a relatively easy pace and stride. Now my stride is not as fluid, so I would love to keep working on it and get to where I feel more fluid. I have very fond memories of the satisfaction of being able to do that.

Just to go closer back to when you were working these crazy hours up until that landing on the Hudsonright after that, was there any kind of reflex to use running to cope with that experience? Did you ever go out on a run to reflect on what happened that day, or calm down or anything like that?
You know early on I didn’t. I have to try describing to you what I probably can’t, and that is the sudden intensity of this life-changing event that affected especially my family and me because we became the public face of this event. There were so many opportunities and obligations that came our way immediately because we literally became known all around the world in a matter of seconds. Becoming public figures very quickly, we were very busy for the first two years. It’s only been in the last year and half that the pace has slowed and become manageable. There were a lot of things that I felt I needed to take advantage of at first, because they wouldn’t necessarily always be there for me. But now I’ve gotten a more sustainable pace and I’ve created opportunities for myself as a result of this. It’s really only been this last year that I’ve achieved a better balance and made time for running, even though it might have been useful at first. At first it was just so raw and so intense, I’m not sure a run would have helped. It mostly was the passage of time that helped me process this traumatic and yet ultimately wonderful event.

Now that you are so well known do you get recognized running?
Yeah, I do. People don’t usually stop me when I’m running. But I do see people turning to look and there’s that flash of recognition, I think.

What’s that like for you?
Most of the time I don’t see it because I’m concentrated on what is in front of me or I’m listening to music if I’m in an area where it’s safe to do it. It comes with the territory, and I’ve never completely gotten used to it. But I certainly understand completely that it’s that recognition that is ultimately the source of these wonderful opportunities. It’s about the event and how people feel, how it gave them hope, and the fact that I’m the one they identify with this.

I imagine you’re still doing a fair amount of traveling, even though you’re no longer a pilot?
Oh, yeah. In fact, a lot. Especially the first year or two years, just a tremendous amount. I’ve done two speeches in Switzerland. I’ve done London and Sydney, Australia. I’ve been to France and England. I’ve been to Washington and New York many times. I’ve been to Hawaii. All over.

Have you had a chance to run in any of those places?
Certainly Hawaii. Briefly in London. We were staying in Mayfair, where a park is not far away. I used to do that. I’d run in New York a lot; just run from wherever my hotel was up to Central Park and back.

Have you had a favorite destination that you’ve run in or any particularly memorable runs?
There are so many beautiful places. We always loved Vancouver. It’s such a cosmopolitan, civilized place because of the physical beauty of it, the proximity of the mountains, the harbor, the public gardens. And of course San Diego. But running in New York is neat once you get to the park. I went on probably a three-hour run a number of years ago in Boston, starting in the financial district downtown and heading over the Charles on an out-and-back run.

You were kind of talking before about having the goal of getting back to that effortless feeling when you had when you were youngerdo you have any other running goals right now?
I would just like to increase my pace and increase my strength and flexibility, and then just see if I could improve my times over reasonably short distances, like two, three, four, five miles. If I could get the per-mile pace down a little bit, that would be a desirable goal. That would go a long way toward getting the strength and flexibility to have that effortless pace that I used to have.

In the meantime what can you take pleasure in about your runs? What’s your favorite part about running, even though you’re not as effortless as you once were?
I like going out either in the mornings before it gets too warm in the summer, or in the evenings after the sea breeze and the marine layer comes in from the Pacific when the afternoon heat is replaced by the cooler maritime air. I love the cool breeze. I love getting out there when the sun angle is lower and the colors are so vibrant. It’s just a very special time of day. You can get to a point where you’re on a trail, you’re not near a street, and you can hear the sounds of nature. The birds, the wind through the leaves of the trees, those sorts of things are fun. Or sometimes I like just listening to music. I crank the tunes up a bit where I can do so safely; 10 songs and there’s a pretty good run right there.

What kinds of music do you listen to when you’re running?
I have a really eclectic mix. I was flying with one guy years ago, when iPods were fairly new. We showed each other our music libraries. He remarked that I had Lynyrd Skynyrd right next to Luciano Pavarotti. And I said, “What do you expect? It’s alphabetical.” But it depends on my mood. I listen to contemporary jazz and what I think they call smooth jazz a lot. I still like some of the alternative stuff. Some of my particular favorites: Evanescence has some good songs. Alanis Morissette. Also, some classic rock, and I’ve got some Sinatra on there somewhere.

Mentally, during a run what’s going on in your head? Are you more of a meditative runner, do you use that time to think about your career or your family? What’s going through your head on an average run?
I describe running as freeing my mind. I think it gets me away from pedestrian concerns, the everyday things. I try not to think about work. What’s interesting, what’s almost paradoxical about that is by not thinking about these things, I think it frees my mind enough that it often allows me to have a realization or to think of a particular idea that I might not have thought of had I been so fully engaged and so focused on whatever it was I was trying to solve. It almost sounds kind of zen, but by not thinking about it and letting your mind go wherever it goes, letting your mind wander and be free, it allows you to make connections you otherwise would not have made.

Do you have any least favorite things about running that you want to work on or that you just don’t think you’ll ever get over?
Oh gosh. Umm. I mean it obviously requires work. I don’t especially like running on the hottest days. Although I lived in Phoenix in the mid-70s for a year and in Las Vegas for almost six years in the late 70s and early 80s, I was just 30 then, and I could run even on the hottest days. But I can’t now. I think my least favorite things to do are: I’d rather run in the rain than on a hot day where the sun is beating down on you and the sweat is just dripping. I think there’s really not much I don’t like about it, but if I had to pick a thing that is one of my least favorite things about running. Running on a really hot day becomes a chore.

I just wanted to give you an opportunity to add any final thoughts or anything else you wanted me to know?
Just that I’m not a great runner. I’m just a regular guy who just tries to stay fit and I get some enjoyment out of it.

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