Behind the windows of Administration building room 154, the same windows that most SF State students walk past every day, is the office to one of the top 100 Olympic marathon runners in the United States.

Lisbet Sunshine -- a 45-year-old mother of three and SF State's head of government relations -- qualified for her fifth Olympic trial last year.

And when most are still asleep, Sunshine rises by 5 a.m. for her daily workouts.

"Most mornings, I get it all done before I come to work," Sunshine said.

When her workouts are complete, she dashes to SF State by 7 a.m., where she works with elected officials from the state, local and federal governments to secure grants for the University. Sunshine recently secured $750,000 from the federal government for SF State's school of nursing -- all done without breaking a sweat.

"The job entails that I secure more financial aid and instill direct policy to help students complete college," Sunshine said.

A Yale University alumna and English major, Sunshine was not always a successful marathon runner.

"I didn't run in college," Sunshine said. "The only sports I took part in were rugby and sailing because they involved drinking beer."

Sunshine got involved in the sport of marathon running post-college, roughly 20 years ago. Her journey brought her to Boston, Mass., in 2008, where Sunshine qualified for her fifth Olympic trial. She placed 78th out of 161 runners, notching a time of 2:47:57.

"I wanted to start exercising and be able to eat as much as I could," she said. "I entered a local race 20 years ago and realized the longer the distance, the better I was."

Today, Sunshine is a member of the San Francisco Impala Racing Team. The team consists of eighty post-collegiate women between the ages of 22-75 and competes on a regular basis.

"I have been involved with the Impalas for 20 years. It keeps me motivated," Sunshine said.

The Impalas meet twice weekly for team workouts and track training that are geared to prepare the runners toward competing in a variety of distances.

"It's pretty amazing at how she can juggle so much," Pete Cushman, assistant coach to the Impalas, said. "She is a good runner because of her consistency, durability, work ethic and talent. She has an abundance of all her qualities and her achievements are remarkable."

Cushman also serves as the assistant coach for the SF State men's and women's cross country teams.

"She's inspirational in terms of her racing ability and she's incredibly competitive," Karen Ribble, president of the Impalas, said. "She's really contributed a lot to the team."

The contribution Ribble speaks of comes on and off the pavement. Having spent over 20 years on the Impalas, Sunshine has spent countless hours with her teammates, which have lead to her establishing close friendships. These friendships somehow or another always make their way back to running.

Awaking at 5:40 a.m. every Monday, both Sunshine and Ribble, along with other teammates, meet at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Arguello Boulevard for an hour-long run.

"There's really no one else in your life that you spend an uninterrupted hour with," Ribble said, who is in ninth year on the Impalas. "Rain or shine, we've been running like this for about five or six years."

Through her 20-plus years of running competitively, Sunshine has competed in 18 marathons throughout her lifetime.

"She is very dedicated and has an incredible capacity to juggle her work, life and running," said Sunshine's husband of 12 years, Stuart. The couple met at City Hall where Stuart worked for San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan and Lisbet worked for a city supervisor Bill Maher. "She is the most dedicated, strongest person I have ever come across. She is an incredible mother, friend and athlete."

When Sunshine doesn't have a phone glued to her ear or isn't qualifying for the Olympics, she spends the free time she has with her three children, Eric, Lulu and Mats, her husband Stuart and her dog Cosmo. But for this busy lady, time -- just like on the track -- is not something she has an abundance of.

"Between my work, with being on the phone and e-mail all day, there are a lot of balls in the air," she said. "The morning runs allow me to clear my head and get in some good thinking time."

With the busy schedule however, Sunshine still gets a few moments every now and then to tinker with the cooler things in life.

"I just got an iPhone," she said. "So learning all the fun things it does is taking up some of my time."