Run Brian Run

As I have previously mentioned, one of my favorite hobbies is jogging, not so much to go fast or to beat personal bests, but to avoid become larger than Jabba the Hut. The malady from which I suffer is that my stomach does not tell my brain that it is full and I eat indefinitely. On Thursday evenings, my sister and I would meander down a street called Vinsetta Boulevard, and on some of those Thursday evenings, a team of super-humans would dash down the other side of the street and disappear into the distance almost instantly. My sister told me that this was a team of runners called the Hansons runners, and every time I run I keep my eyes open for these mythological creatures.

Kevin and Keith Hanson are two brothers who, in 1999, developed a team of runners because they were disappointed with the fading prominence of Americans in distance running. This is a unique and world-class group of runners. Members of the running team spend part of their time working at the four Hansons Running stores in the metro-Detroit area, and the rest of their time running and recuperating from running. In 2003, the organization joined forces with the company Brooks Running and the Saturn brand of GM vehicles in 2006, and they are now known as the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.

The reason that you care is because on August 23rd, one of the members of their team named Brian Sell will be representing the United States in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the marathon. That is freaking awesome, and it is due, in part, to the Michigan-based Hansons running organization. Also, if you have any need for running equipment, including shoes or clothes, definitely check out the Hansons network of stores. The workers are extraordinarily knowledgeable and friendly, and no one is even paying me for this plug. I need an agent.