Maddy Berkson

Community Ambassador

Fast facts

Hometown: Providence, RI

Age: 24

College: Stanford University

Specialties: 800m - 3,000m | XC

Personal Bests

800m: 2:06

1500m: 4:20

Mile: 4:42

3,000m: 9:24

5k Road: 16:57

6k XC: 20:13

“No discomfort, no expansion.” - Nathan Pyle

Biography

Maddy Berkson joined New England Distance in the winter of 2019. A Providence native, Maddy was a standout student athlete at Classical High School in Providence capturing a total of 13 individual state championships, setting eight Rhode Island state records, as well as breaking a 27-year old New England 800 meter record, and led her Classical High teams to three state team titles. She was a high school All-American at 800 meters. Diversified over many event discipline, her best long jump of 19-1 was only three inches shy of a 28-year-old state record, and also holds a javelin best of 112-7.

In her time at Stanford, Maddy was an NCAA West Regional Qualifier all four outdoor seasons in which she competed. She ran personal bests in the 1500 and 3000, as well as anchoring a Distance Medley Relay team that finished second in 2016 MPSF Indoor Championships. She captured All-Pac 12 honors in the 1500 her senior year, as well as earning Pac 12, MPSF, and USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.

"In middle school and high school, I competed in many different events in track & field: pole vault, long jump, javelin, hurdles, sprinting. I eventually specialized in the middle distances but still threw, jumped, or ran a leg of the relay when my team needed points. I loved being able to do so many events but appreciated the improvement that resulted from specialization during the end of high school and throughout college. In college, I learned a lot about racing and training and was able to PR in at least one event every season. My biggest accomplishments in college were scoring for Stanford in the 2018 PAC-12 1500m, qualifying for the West Regional Championships all 4 years, and making the 2017 West Regional final in the 1500m.

After graduating in 2018, I joined Peninsula Distance Club, an elite development club in the San Francisco Bay Area. There, I grew to love post-collegiate running. I was inspired by people who balance a full time job with a competitive running career, I was grateful to travel to beautiful places for high-quality races, and I was encouraged by the improvements I saw with a new training regime. In 2019 I PR'd in the 1500m, mile, and 5k, and won the USATF Pacific Association road racing series. I carry this enthusiasm for post-collegiate running to NE Distance, where I'm excited to contribute to the team and give back to the wonderful running community that I was lucky to grow up in. I'm looking forward to continuing to train and race while working in the medical device industry."