Patrick is a lifelong runner having competed for Luther College and now with the Collegeville Track Club in Minneapolis. His love for the sport started at an early age when his dad let him tag along to the high school cross country practices that coached. Patrick believes in the power of running to bring out the best in people and thinks the sport should be inclusive to all people. When he is not running or coming up with the next great meme for The Harrier, Patrick spends his time volunteering with Special Olympics and on the boat at his families northern MN lake cabin.

 

Writing Team

James McLean

James McLean has rural blood and a city heart, currently living in Minneapolis, MN. During the day, he leads internship programming for Best Buy HQ but finds time to write and run during the evening. He races with the Collegeville Track Club and has been knocking at the door of getting a few more marathons under his belt. Aside from running, James is an avid music and movie goer, and prides Himself on not adopting a dog during the pandemic

 

Justine Knight

Justine Knight is a runner by morning, communications director by day, and a writer by night. She fell in love with running after betting her husband she could beat him in a 10k. Five years later, she's still working towards that goal while she chases a BQ. Justine is a member of the Breakfast Club Runners in Raleigh, N.C., where they run often and eat even more often. You can connect with her on Instagram at @justrunandwrite.

 

Will Blase

Will lives for the rhythmic breathing of tempo runs, turning cruise control on during long runs and the final kick in a sprint. He’s never been much of a competitor, but he still logs those weekly miles and is training to break 3:00:00 in the marathon. Outside of running, he spends his time writing, brushing up on plenty of random trivia and always having himself a day.

 

Jessie Brunett

Jessie is a high school English teacher, writer, and decorated distance runner.  She graduated from Adams State University with a degree in English where she made several national teams, attained All-American honors in cross country and PR'd by 4:00 minutes in the 5k. Jessie currently lives in Maryland where she is the mom of a four-legged creature, a dedicated member of the  New Balance running shoe family, and a creative writer. She escapes it all by retreating to a nearby trail where Jessie is able to count the miles instead of everything on her to-do list. She enjoys running to Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, and Jay-Z. 

 

Brett Haffner

Brett is currently a Junior at UW-Eau Claire, studying Psychology and Journalism while being a proud member of the Blugold cross country and track teams. He hails from the Dirty 630 (aka suburbs of Chicago), loves long tempos, and is probably on Strava and LogARun more than he should be. Outside of running, Brett loves sand volleyball, writing, cribbage, and more likely than not is drinking coffee as you're reading this. 

 

Louis Sartori

Louis is an American Studies student from the UK, attending the University of East Anglia. Sartori has been a lifelong student of the sport and competed at a high level in Europe until chronic injury put pay to any transatlantic D1 dreams. He now makes up for his lack of fitness by excessively following the sport wherever it goes.

 

Kyle Markley

Kyle Markley is a graduate of Olivet College where he majored in Criminal Justice with a minor in Business Administration. His love for running began in middle school when Kyle first joined the cross-country team. Ever since, the sport has grown into a lifestyle for him. When Kyle isn't running he is probably watching a race, researching new running shoes, or listening to a running podcast. 

 

Callin Naddy

Originally from the foothills of the Rockies, Callin now resides in the flatlands of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She attends Augustana University, where she is pursuing degrees in journalism, communication studies, and German and runs on the cross country and track teams. Callin is a big fan of running on the trails and the tracks. Outside of the sport, she enjoys reading, hiking, writing, baking, and biking.

 

Carlos Fernandes II 

Carlos is a recent graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) with a Major in English and a Minor in Arabic. He began running his senior year of high school before walking on to the VMI Cross Country and Track team. He now lives in Boulder, CO running for the ROOTS Running Project as he continues to keep the dream alive. When he's not running, he's either sipping coffee, drinking a stout, writing, or diving into his ever growing reading list. 

 

Sean Miller

Sean is a runner hailing from Baltimore, Maryland where he trains with a high school team (special shout out to Kevin, Will, and Matt). Running is a large part of his life, and he is excited to share his passion for the sport with The Harrier community.  

 

Spencer Mahon

Spencer Mahon was born and grew up in a suburban town south of Cleveland, Ohio. He only came to the track and became a harrier about halfway through high school and he continued running at Baldwin Wallace, a Division III college where he ended his college career as a solid runner for the Yellow Jackets. He now works at his dream job with the Audacy radio group in Cleveland and is chasing the dream of  being an elite long distance runner. Spencer is a huge advocate for DIII running and wears his hometown pride on his sleeve (quite literally, see photo). Outside of his day jobs (which include coaching), Spencer spends a lot his free time hanging out with friends from college.

 

Max Barrios

Max Barrios is currently a high school senior from Chicago, Illinois. Next year, Max will be attending Illinois State University where he will run cross country and track. In his free time, Max hosts the “Get To Know Them” podcast, which focuses on sharing the stories of people (mainly runners) that often go unheard. Follow him on Instagram @max_barrios_ and on Twitter @max_barrios.

 

Mark Wang

Mark is a recent journalism graduate from the University of Oregon who loves writing about all things track and field. An avid runner who has run competitively for over a decade he has always wanted to compete at the highest level. Primarily a 1500 meters man he is currently training with "Tinman" Tom Schwartz for a breakout year on the track. When he isn't writing he enjoys gaming, youtube, and sleep. Follow him @markw2016 on Instagram.

 

Blaine Masterson

Blaine is from rural NW Illinois where he grew up hunting, fishing and running. He has been running competitively since 5th grade and has continued to do so at the DII level. Running has brought Blaine his fondest memories and friends, the highest highs and lowest lows. He would consider himself "somewhere between a mad-average and really solid runner; I won't outkick you, but I will probably one-step you on an easy run."  Blaine has his eyes set on a marathon once his college days are done, but regardless, running will forever be an outlet for him.

 

Liam Murphy

Liam Murphy is currently a senior at Springfield College pursuing a degree in physical education and coaching. He is also a member of the Springfield College cross country and track programs. His favorite professional runner is Craig Engels and has even dabbled with the mullet himself from time to time. Liam’s greatest running accomplishment is running a 4:55 mile in blue jeans during a livestream raising over $400 for the Coronavirus Feeding America Response Fund.