Paul McMullen
The pride of Cadillac
Here's a time line of Paul McMullen's life:
- February 19th, 1972 - Born in Cadillac, Michigan.
- Spring of 1990 - By his senior year of high school he won the Michigan Class B state title in the 1600 meters, running a 4:19.9. The same year, he finished as state runner-up in the 800 meter run, in 1:55.9.
- 1990 - McMullen received a small athletic scholarship to Eastern Michigan University and ran under legendary EMU coach Bob Parks.
- 1990-1991 - Redshirting his freshman season due to injury.
- 1991-1995 - McMullen came back swinging in subsequent seasons to become an eight-time NCAA All-American.
- 1995 - During his final season in Ypsilanti, McMullen set the indoor mile record with a 3:57.34 time. Additionally, he set the record in the outdoor 1500m run with a blazing 3:38.74. Both remain EMU records to this today.
- June, 1995 - He won the 1,500 in 3:43.90 at the 1995 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which qualified him for the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- August 13th, 1995 - McMullen finished tenth in the 1,500 at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- June, 1996 - He won another national victory in the 1,500 in 3:43:86 at the 1996 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
- 1996 - He represented the United States at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta (becoming Cadillac’s first Olympian in the process) and made it to the 1500m semifinals, missing out on the finals despite a time of 3:37.81.
- 1997 - McMullen lost parts of two toes when his foot slipped under a lawnmower he was operating.
- 1998 - The fear, of course, was that McMullen would never run again. Instead, he relearned how to run, found (healthy) ways to compensate for his missing toes, and came back strongly, passing Steve Holman (then America’s fastest Miler) in the homestretch at the 1998 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships to win the Mile in 3:55.84, his third national title.
- 2001 - While McMullen missed out on an Olympic opportunity in 2000, he ultimately ran the fastest times of his career in 2001: a 3:33.89 1500m in Monaco, a 3:54.94 Mile in London, and a 1:45.71 800m in Germany.
- December 4th, 2002 - In spite of the bitter cold, gusty winds, and six weeks of strenuous boot camp schedule, McMullen shattered the US Coast Guard 1.5 mile record by 17 seconds in setting a new record of 7 minutes, 9.16 seconds.
- December, 2011 - McMullen married secondly to his high school girl-friend, Nuria DeSoto Queralto of Spain in December 2011.
- 2015 - McMullen founded Chariots of Fire Running Club as a fun place for local youth to discover and develop their gift of running.
- March 4th, 2021 - Died after a skiing accident in northern Michigan. He was 49 years old.
“Today I gave all I had; what I've kept is lost forever.”
-- Paul McMullen