THE BROOKS BLOG

"I hope runners and running fans across the country will join me this week in a long, loud salute to Brian Sell. Few American distance stars deserve it more. Ritz and Teg and Meb and Abdi and Alan and Ryan have lifted our spirits in recent years, and we needed that.

"But Sell punched us in the gut, took our breath away, and won our hearts when he achieved the Impossible Dream. In the decades to come, his story will be told, as it should be, to more young American runners than any number of sub-3:50s, sub-13:00s, and 2:06s. For this simple reason: Sell had to scrape his way to the top mile by teeth-gritting mile. You think he’s got an Alter-G in the basement? An altitude tent upstairs? Maybe, but I doubt it."

>>Read Amby Burfoot’s full post on Runner’s World here

Brooks Beast Hood to Coast Team

The Brooks Beast team won the 2009 Hood to Coast Relay this past weekend in the smoking fast time of 16:55:35 - a 5:08 mile pace for 197 miles! This was an upset victory over race favorites and multiple-time champions, BAC (Nike). The team was comprised of six Brooks Inspire Daily Members, five local Brook athletes, and one Brooks employee.

The team was third place overall in 2007, and second place in 2008. The Hood to Coast Relay is the largest relay race in the world, with over 1,000 teams of 12 runners competing. It is a highly regarded race among elite runners.

Seattle, Wash. – Patrick Rizzo placed second in the inaugural running of the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-marathon. Rizzo completed the 13.1-mile course running the fastest time by an American on Washington state soil in a time of one hour, five minutes and 34 seconds.

More than 15,000 athletes competed in the half-marathon. Elija Nyabuti, of Kenya, won the men’s race in 1:05:14. Berhane Adere, of Ethiopia won the women’s half-marathon in 1:11:19.

The Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon and half-marathon are part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll series, which includes races in Pheonix, Ariz.; Nashville, Tenn.; San Diego, Cali.; San Jose, Cali.; Virginia Beach, Virg.; Chicago, Illi.; San Antonio, Texas; and Las Vegas, Neva. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series includes scenic race courses and live music along the race routes.

Running her first steeplechase of the 2009 season, Amanda Lorenzen won the Drake Relays 3000m steeplechase. Her time of 10:06 was her fastest season opening time ever, despite the rainy and cold conditions in Des Moines this weekend. Lorenzen was 7th at the 2008 Olympic Trials in the 3000m steeplechase, and she will compete against some of the top women in the world at the adidas Track Classic in Carson, CA on May 16th. Lorenzen will have her sights set on the World Championships A Standard time of 9:40. Her PR of 9:48 was set last year at the Olympic Trials.

A post-race video interview with Amanda can be seen on Flotrack at the link below:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/speaker/1305-amanda-lorenzen

Watch Brian Sell and five of his team members from the Hanson-Brooks Distance Project run the Boston Marathon now! See live national coverage streaming live on Universal Sports. Note: Use MSIE on PC or Safari on Mac OS X–Firefox is not happening.

Go Brian! Go Hansons!

Hansons-Brooks athlete, Ryan Sheehan, won the eighth annual Papa John’s 10-Miler Saturday morning in Louisville, Ky. Sheehan led the field of over 6500 runners, covering the 10-mile course in 48 minutes and 37 seconds.

Sheehan’s teammate, Nick Arciniaga, placed third in the road race with a time of 49 minutes eight seconds, just 15 seconds from the second place finisher, Tommy Neal of Colorado.
Sheehan, who led the race from the gun, was satisfied with his performance but still sees room for improvement.

“I would have liked to have run a little faster; I’m happy to have run under 49 (minutes) but was hoping to run 48:20.” Sheehan said.

The Papa John’s course, which finished inside of Papa John’s-Cardinal Stadium, had served as the United States Track and Field Men’s ten-mile Road Championship for four years, from 2003 through 2006. Although the race did not host the 2009 US ten-mile Championship, Papa John’s presented prize money to the first three male and first three female finishers.

For more information please contact David Jankowski at hansonsbrooks@gmail.com

Hey Runners/Brooks Enthusiasts!

You can now follow Brooks (@brooksrunning) on Twitter. In 140 characters or less, we’ll update you on Brooks happenings and events–or maybe just send you kudos for a good run, a new PR, or wish you good luck on an upcoming race. Twt 2 u l8r.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg was spotted in Fortune Magazine (p. 56) last week sporting the new Adrenaline GTS 9 running shoes…and then yesterday he was seen wearing them on the Today Show.

Surely it’s only a matter of time before he shows up as an official Brooks fan on Facebook…