Pat Lannan
It is no surprise that Patrick Lannan swims with Masters -- he had a head start in life – very early on he had “water baby" classes. Luckily for him, his mother, after having taken a course on how to teach infants to swim, taught all four of her boys. Like his brothers, Pat was swimming way before he could crawl.
By the young age of 5, Pat started his formal swim lessons – where else -- at the YMCA, and by third grade, he was recruited at his local pool to swim on a team. Of course, Pat had one swimming disadvantage -- this all was happening in Minneapolis and so, unlike Oakland swimmers, Pat was able to swim outdoors only in the summers.
Although swimming is still his favorite sport, Pat emphasizes his enjoyment of the outdoors -- his camping, hiking, and backpacking -- all reflect, he says, who he is. The accompanying camping photo captures his enthusiasm for the outdoors and it was taken by fellow Temescal Masters swimmer (and fellow-camper) Julia Arce.
In his “other life” Pat is an ethicist and his life path has taken him on an interesting spiritual journey. He was a student at Holy Cross College and after graduating, joined the Jesuit volunteers to teach in Belize, in Central America for two years. After returning to the US and teaching swimming for a year, he earned a Master's degree at the Graduate Theological Union in a two-year program studying ethics, and following that, he taught in high school for four years.
It may have been the challenges of high school teaching (!) that brought Pat back to his old classroom at the Graduate Theological Union where he is currently getting his doctorate. His program, "ethics and social theory," requires three years of exams and a year minimum of research and writing. If some nights he seems a little preoccupied at swim practice, it may be that he is “lost in thought” about Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, or Thomas Aquinas. The area of his research is on moral commitments and how they influence political participation. The challenge of finishing this doctoral degree Pat says, "feels a little like distance running," and he should know (!) because Pat is also a marathon runner.
Pat began running in high school because his swim coach recommended cross training to avoid burnout. He ran his first marathon in San Diego many years later, in part, as a next step on his spiritual road. The race was part of an organized effort to help raise money to fight leukemia. Vanessa Camarillo, a student of his who had leukemia pushed him to get involved and he joined the “Team in Training.” He was also encouraged to run his first marathon by Temescal Masters swimmer, Heather O’Connor and he has run others since this one in 2002.
Ironically, Pat has experienced burnout in swimming and in the mid 1990s, he stopped swimming for a few years. But luckily for us he was saved from a fate of a life without swimming by friend and former Temescal coach, Sarah Meyer. She had also been a Jesuit volunteer and met him through former volunteer circles. Sarah encouraged Pat to come back to the water. He did. He swims with the Sharks most nights in evening workouts.
