Dan Mullen has never been a runner. Never done a 5K Fun Run or a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. It’s just hard to fit into the recruiting schedule.

But on Monday morning, the Mississippi State coach will run the Boston Marathon.

“It’s one of those bucket list things you want to do in life,” Mullen said. “It’s like skydiving. The Boston Marathon made more sense than skydiving as I’ve gotten older. I’d love to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, go on an African safari. I told my wife, ‘You know, I do this one and I might get the urge to do an Ironman or something crazy like that.’”

Mullen, who turns 44 next week, will coach the Bulldogs’ spring game on Saturday, catch a 6 a.m. flight to Boston on Sunday, fuel up that night with some chicken or veal parmesan, and be ready to race on Monday.

Mullen grew up in Manchester, N.H., which is 70 miles north of Hopkinton, Mass., home of the Boston Marathon start line. It’s the world’s oldest and most iconic annual marathon. The state shuts down as thousands of runners weave through the 26.2-course on Patriot’s Day.

Last year Mullen was discussing the marathon with Adidas director of sports marketing Chris McGuire at a company retreat (Mississippi State has a contract with Adidas). As the conversation progressed, McGuire offered the coach a sponsor’s exemption, meaning he wouldn’t have to qualify. But it did mean he’d have to start training.

Mullen began running almost every day. He’d go four miles in the morning before staff meetings, leaving the house around 6 a.m. Then the football season started and his workouts took a backseat.

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He picked it back up as soon as the season ended. Once Mississippi State returned home from its 51-28 victory over North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 30, Mullen went for a run.

“New Year’s Day was my first long run and I got 12 or 13 miles in that day,” Mullen said. “Then I don’t think I got another real long run until after signing day.”

Since February he’s been able to crank up the distance on the weekends. He started with seven or eight miles, got up to 15, and two weeks ago, he ran 20 and ¼. His brother-in-law Wally Zediker, who lives in Colorado and has completed triathlons, ironmans and ultra marathons, has been Mullen’s guide. They’ll run together.

Mullen doesn’t think he’ll become addicted to marathons after Boston, but has found a love for running. It’s rare alone time for the SEC football coach.

“I tell myself not to think about certain things a few days prior to a long run,” he said, “Whether it’s training camp schedules, what we’re gonna run offensively against certain looks, where I might go on vacation. I’m like, don’t think about certain things because you’ll have plenty of time to think.

“And then I like having music. If I’m outside and it’s a nice day, I’ll just have one of the headphones in. The music is more background than anything else. But I’ve got my Boston Marathon mix set up.”

What’s on it?

“Everything,” he said. “More U2 than anything else. I’m a big U2 guy. I’ve got Luke Bryan on there, the IZ doing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, Coldplay, ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ from Journey. I’ve even got Taylor Swift.”

For those wondering, Mullen has ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Blank Space’ from Taylor Swift.

(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Mullen isn’t sure how fast he’ll run his first marathon. When he started training he thought he might be able to break four hours, but wants to make sure he has “enough left in the tank” and is hoping to finish between four and four-and-a-half.

Mullen is also doing this as a fundraiser through his family’s Mullen 36 Foundation, which raises money for children across Mississippi with a focus on scholarship, the arts, athletics and health care. Over the last several years, the foundation has raised nearly half a million dollars and this year Mullen’s goal is $36,000. They’ve raised about $26,000 so far.

Mullen will have cheering sections on Monday comprised of his wife Megan, his mom and high school friends scattered throughout the course.

He’s not nervous.

“I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of different things,” Mullen said. “And one day I can look back at the picture of me crossing the finish line with my bib number and say hey, that’s another thing I accomplished in life.”