Marshfield graduate conquers Great World Race

MARSHFIELD – Sully Luepke recently completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

“The underlying thing after leaving high school was finding things that pushed me, not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well, so I kind of found a niche in doing some crazy events around the world,” the 2011 Marshfield High School grad told Hub City Times recently.

Luepke, 32, completed the Great World Race Nov. 15-21, 2025.

“This race legitimately scared me, and when I look at something that scares me, I’m just like, ‘I can either run from it or I can lean into it,’ and I chose the lean in path and to do something hard,” Luepke said.

The Great World Race is an event in which participants attempt to complete a marathon on each of the seven continents over a seven-day period.

There is also a half-marathon option for those who prefer the shorter distance.

The first leg of the 2025 Great World Race took the group to Cape Town, South Africa, then to Wolf’s Fang, Antarctica.

“By the time we got there, the crew on the ground said that it was the coldest day of the year that they’d had so far,” Luepke recalled.

The temperatures reached 16 degrees below zero, minus the wind chill factored in.

“We started at 1:30 in the morning, but the sun was up because they’re in the middle of their summer season, so it is twenty-four hours of light in Antarctica currently,” Luepke told us.

Participants ran on a path of snow-covered ice approximately twenty feet wide.

“It’s crazy to think that .001 percent of the population ever run a marathon, so you can only imagine what that number is running a marathon in Antarctica,” said Luepke. “Very, very few people on Planet Earth will ever get that opportunity and then ever take that opportunity.”

From Antarctica, the group jumped on a plane and headed for Perth, Australia, where race-time temperatures hovered around 95 degrees and got hotter during the course of the event.

From Australia it was off to Abu Dhabi in Asia, followed by Faro, located in the Algarve region of Portugal.

“That race was absolutely stunning,” said Luepke. “We went to a little summer town, which because it’s the fall time there was pretty quiet, except they brought the kids out and they all helped support the race and cheer us on. It was an unbelievable environment. It seemed like the entire town was there cheering us on and checking in on us, encouraging us.”

The final two legs of the race took the group to Cartagena, Columbia in South America, then Miami, FL.

Luepke was one of sixty participants, 48 of which ran full marathons, while the rest did half marathons.

He finished sixth overall, with an average time of 3:55:53.

“This one surprised me,” said Sully’s father, Todd Luepke. “When he said he was going to do this, I guess I really never looked into what it was. Once he started running, I followed and it was like, ‘He’s doing this. He is going to do this.’ And he did.” 

Sully has a saying that he lives by.

“Life is more fun when you do hard stuff with good people, preferably outside,” he told us. “Especially nowadays, I’ve found that people are on their phones, people are working in cubicles or even since COVID-19 people are working remotely, which is an absolute awesome opportunity, except it’s missing connection. I’ve found that the most joyous times that I’ve personally had in my life and all of my favorite memories are getting people together and doing hard stuff. I personally enjoy outside because Mother Nature is just a natural healer,” Luepke added.

Sully was a three-sport athlete at Marshfield High School.

Following graduation, he went to Minnesota State-Mankato, where he punted on the football team.

He left college after just one year to join the United States Air Force, where he served for more than seven years, including stints in Italy and Afghanistan.

Following his military service, Luepke landed in the St. Louis area, where he has worked since 2021 as a health and wellness coach. 

“I never forget my humble beginnings,” Luepke told us. “I still share the lessons I learned from Coach (Len) Luedtke, Coach (Denny) Goettl, Gary Varsho. Everybody that’s helped me out, I still share their lessons with the world.”

Sully is now one of 453 men in the world who have completed the Great World Race, along with 166 women.

By doing so, they become members of the Global Marathon Club.

Now, Luepke says one of the toughest triathlons in the world is calling his name for 2026.

“If all goes right, that’ll be in August in Norway.”