HMF Runner Spotlight | Kevin Sullivan

Kevin Sullivan

It’s time for another runner spotlight! Today we are featuring Kevin Sullivan, Dennis House’s childhood best friend, who will be running the half marathon on Saturday. This will be his first in-person race since he ran the Chicago Marathon in 2019, and he’s excited!

Dennis and Kevin were best friends in their early years at Callahan Elementary School in Norwood, MA, but lost touch after Sullivan’s family moved across town. In the early 1990s, Sullivan and his wife moved to CT for work and would watch Dennis and Denise on the news all the time. “I considered calling the station to try and speak with him, but wasn’t sure he’d even remember me…  It seemed like that conversation could easily come across as crazy or even a little creepy – so I never called.”

Eventually Facebook came on the scene and Kevin decided to reach out, hoping Dennis would remember him. And he did! “Since re-connecting we’ve stayed in touch and have been able to get together a few times,” he says. Sullivan credits his rekindled friendship with Dennis as the reason for running this weekend.

“The main reason I’m running on The Denise D’Ascenzo Foundation team is because of my friendship with Dennis House,” Sullivan says. “Dennis often talked about how close he and Denise were - like brother and sister - and I think that was always evident watching them host the news and other events or even from their social media posts,” he continued. 

Though Sullivan never met Denise, he attended her public memorial service in January 2020 and heard “such wonderful stories about Denise and her charm, her character, her capabilities and the kindness she always displayed towards absolutely everyone.” Since then, he’s wanted to help however he could, and the HMF was the perfect opportunity.

Sullivan is combining his passion for running and helping his dear friend raise money for the Foundation. “When I saw a chance to run on the Foundation’s team for the HMF, I immediately signed up.” He’s already raised $1,000, and wants to stay involved. 

“I hope this is the first of many more events that I am able to participate in to support the Denise D’Ascenzo Foundation”, he says. We hope so, too!

To support Kevin, click here.