Current Residence
Austin, TX
Hometown
West Chester, PA
High School
West Chester East High School
Current Affiliation
Bandit Running
Profession
Physician: pediatric neurologist, neuro-immunologist, and assistant professor at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
First Trials qualification
No
Number of attempts to qualify
3
College(s)
Brown University
Career Highlights
26th, 2019 California International Marathon, (2020 Trials OTQ); 8th, 2018 Philadelphia Half Marathon; 14th, 2022 Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon; 2010 Ivy League Indoor Champion, 5,000m; qualified for 2010 Div. I NCAA Championships, 10,000m; 8th on all-time Brown list, 5,000m and 10,000m.
Family
I am married to my beautiful wife, Christine Hardy, who is also an elite runner and has competed at three Trials (Houston, LA, and Atlanta). Her marathon PB is 2:39. She is much more of a marathoner than me and I have learned (and continue to learn) so much about the marathon from her. My wife has been so supportive of my running journey and inspires me each and every day to continue pursuing this dream. We recently had our first daughter in December 2022 and she keeps us very busy! I have a very supportive family including my mom, dad and older brother. My dad is where I get my love for running, as he was a long-distance runner in high school and college.
Greatest Accomplishment
Personally, definitely marrying Christine and having our beautiful daughter, Laura Elizabeth. Professionally, it is to live my dream to be a neurologist. I've wanted to be a doctor/scientist since I was in high school. After high school, college, medical school and residency/fellowship, I feel so blessed to be a neurologist and make a difference in so many children's lives. Running: qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials. This is my second time and it is particularly special. The road to qualify was full of challenges with my new and amazing but very busy job, my marriage and becoming a dad! It feels so special to chase these dreams and achieve them!
Interesting Story
Qualifying for the Trials was quite the journey. I was sidelined with a completely torn right hamstring in September 2022 and was forced to take about four months off from running. My professional career was taking off and I had some new exciting roles, including going on the editorial board of two scientific journals, getting research funding for a new natural history study and being named as the child-neurology medical-student clerkship director. I finally returned to running in February 2023, still with some hamstring issues. By July 2023, all my cross-training and physical therapy started to take effect, and I started training hard again. My first race in over a year, in September 2023, was the Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon) where I posted a decent 1:05.33. A month later I turned my attention to the McKirdy Micro Marathon but fell short (2:19.09) of OTQ. I told my wife, "I don't think I can do this." She looked at me and said, "Yes you can; yes, you WILL." She was right. I took a week off and resumed training to give it one more try at CIM seven weeks later. On December 3, I ran my heart out. On the final stretch, I saw the clock at 2:17.40. I knew I was close, but I didn't know if I could make it under 2:18. I put on a "sprint finish" and made it. It was one of the most surreal, amazing and gratifying experiences of my life! I hope that this journey will inspire my daughter to persevere and never give up on her dreams!
Favorite Book
Davinci Code
Favorite Movie
Pursuit of Happiness
Favorite TV Show/Series
Breaking Bad; How to Get Away with Murder; All-American
Favorite Song
Dreamer by Chris Brown
Favorite Post-race Indulgence
Ice cream
Favorite Breakfast
French toast
Favorite Motivational Quote
"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." - Roger Bannister; "Beat somebody." - David Hardy Sr. (my dad)
Favorite Running Memory
One of my favorite running memories is when I ran the 800m at the 2004 USATF Junior Olympics National Championships and finished 6th overall. It was such a wonderful experience - running on the legendary University of Oregon track, and I got to be there with my dad (who was also a runner).