The Runner in Congress: Mark DeSaulnier’s Journey Through 23 Marathons, Public Service, and a Near-Death Comeback

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Today’s guest knows endurance—on the trail, in public service, and in life.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier of California has run 23 marathons, including Boston, New York, Napa, and even Paris.

A former lacrosse player turned lifelong runner, Mark once pursued a sub-3-hour marathon while simultaneously trying to bench press twice his bodyweight. He came heartbreakingly close—twice clocking a 3:04—and carried that same grit with him into politics, business, and recovery from a life-threatening illness.

In March 2020, Mark fell during a run in D.C. and sustained broken ribs. What followed was a terrifying cascade: a damaged spleen, undiagnosed pneumonia, organ failure, and five weeks in the ICU—four of them on a ventilator.

His odds of survival? Just 10 percent; one doctor told his sons he wouldn’t make it.

But he beat them.

Now serving in his 11th year in Congress, Rep. DeSaulnier brings that same sense of perseverance to his work on transportation, education, and mental health. He currently serves as Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committeeand is a senior member of the Education & the Workforce Committee.

But this episode isn’t about politics. It’s about what happens when we lace up and head out the door—what running teaches us, what it heals, and how it transforms who we are.

In today's conversation, Mark takes me through his running journey and pursuits, insights from his 23 marathons, running a 3:04 marathon back in the day, becoming known as the “running politician,” how he used to train back in the day, and how running saved his life - literally.

Tap into the Representative Mark DeSaulnier Special.

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