Who Represents Us!
Meet our first group of Brand Ambassadors! These are some
bad ass athletes that represent our brand.
James Solomon
Adequately dubbed “The Lightning from the Land of Lincoln” by the Adventure Jogger podcast,
James has made a name for himself on the Ultra scene in the Midwest. With his running career
starting in 2019, he has worked his way through some of the best races Illinois has to offer. His
journey has led him to attain several coinciding wins and course records, including the
Potawatomi 150M, Farmdale 100M, Cry Me a River 100M, Chill Billy 8-Hour, and B.U.T.T. (Bald
Unyielding Twilight Time Trial) 12-Hour. Additional wins extend to the Temptation 200K and
Mohican 100M. Other notable top ten finishes extend to Burning River 100M and two separate
performances at Kettle Moraine 100M; one of which occurred six days after winning the
Mohican 100M. His passion for the sport fuels his drive to push his own limits and set his sights
on bigger and more audacious goals, such as his current pursuit of breaking the Midwest Super
Slam cumulative course record in the 2023 race season. Through tremendous trial, error, and
subsequent triumphs, James has worked his way to developing a reputation for himself that
allows him to act as a mentor and role model for other Midwestern runners who want to push
themselves to new heights as he has.
Morgan Mader
With her most recent win at the Potawatomi 50M, Morgan’s athletic prowess has grown since her start in 2019. Gradually building from her first ultramarathon at the Temptation 200K, finishing the 50M distance, she has expanded her racing resume to include many of the quintessential Illinois Ultra races, such as the Farmdale 50M, Cry Me a River 100K and 100M, and a return to Temptation 200K to finish the 100K and 150K distances. Her performances have extended to both the Mohican and Burning River 50M, and two finishes at the Kettle Moraine 100K. While her current strengths lie in the middle ultra-distances, Morgan has continued to set her sights on expanding her race capacity while perpetuating her “Death Before DNF” mentality. She has experienced tremendous success incorporating a variety of cross training, such as swimming, mountain biking, and HIIT sessions, into her training cycle, as well as maintaining a consistent strength training stimulus year-round. Her educational background in exercise physiology provides the foundation for her training programming, and she consistently collaborates with James Solomon on next-tier performance techniques to elevate their race team to new levels.
Nadia Barrera
From being a lifelong softball player throughout childhood to college, running was mainly a form of winter conditioning, warming up and sometimes punishment. I never really enjoyed running during those times in my life. It wasn’t until 2021 when I was a spectator at a half marathon cheering on a loved one where I became so inspired seeing everyone cross the finish line. At that moment, I told myself that I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone and start running. Two months later, I signed up for my first 5k and eventually several more after that leading up to the completion of that same half marathon that I was a spectator at one year earlier. I found myself loving everything about running and the running community. Since then, I’ve completed 3 half marathons and my proud to say I am now a Marathoner completing my first ever Chicago marathon this year. Despite being so young in my training years, I look forward to accomplishing so much more in my running journey.
Tate Whitlinger
I live in Appleton, WI and have 2 amazing daughters I will turn 47 in January and I am a certified tennis teaching professional, which I have done for 26 years. I live my life "One Day At A Time". I got clean and sober on 1/20/2016 and I started my running journey in late April of 2016. I started with 1 mile and it did something to me and I became a runner at that point. I started with 5K’s and progressively increased my mileage slowly, but surely. I have run every distance up to 100 miles and now I have completed 3 100 mile races. I run about 10-13 miles a day and usually average between 75-90 miles most weeks. Running is a huge part of my recovery and helps me a lot with my mental health and my sobriety. Running is a very spiritual thing for me where I can connect with my higher power. It’s a form of prayer and meditation and I always run with gratitude in my heart. I am forever grateful I get to do this amazing thing we call running.