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It was cold on the streets of Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 7, 2004, but Brian Sell was on fire.
Running in his first U.S. Olympic Team Trials Men's Marathon, Sell, his black watch cap pulled low against the cold, took control of the race at mile seven and didn't look back. By mile 16 his lead was a minute and four seconds, and the scrappy runner from St. Francis University of Pennsylvania was poised to execute one of the biggest upsets in USA marathon history.
"I was worried basically the whole time," said Sell, then 26, after the race.
But by the 22nd mile mark, his form began to decay, and Sell was caught by Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi, Dan Browne and one of Sell's own Brooks Hansons Distance Project teammates, Trent Briney. Culpepper went on to get the win, Keflezighi and Browne made the team, Briney finished fourth, and Sell faded to 13th in 2:17:20. It was his personal best time for the distance and a gutsy run, but that hardly mattered. He was so crushed he nearly quit the sport.
"Brian is very emotional at everything he does," said one of his coaches, Kevin Hanson, on a conference call with reporters today. "Brian had a huge disappointment at the Trials. His goal wasn't to go out and lead and get a lot of credit. His goal was to make the team."
Nearly three years later, Sell's goal remains the same: to don the Team USA singlet at an Olympic Games. This time, it won't be a surprise to anyone if he makes the team or even wins the Trials race which will be held next November 3, in New York City's Central Park, the day before the ING New York City Marathon.
"What a difference four years makes," said Mary Wittenberg, President and CEO of the New York Road Runners, who will direct the Trials race. "Brian has gone from virtual unknown to very legitimate contender and one of our favorites to make the team for the 2008 Games. Brian is the kind of guy we all want to see make the team."
Sell, under the tutelage of Kevin and Keith Hanson and their methodical group training system in Rochester Hills, Mich., has put in a few thousand more miles and has become one of the United States' best marathoners. Since running 2:17:20 at the Trials back in 2004, Sell has broken the 2:11 barrier, twice, driving his personal best time down to 2:10:47. But more importantly, he has learned to run "patient and smart," according to Wittenberg, finishing ninth at the IAAF World Championships marathon in 2005 and notching two top-6 finishes at Boston and Chicago this year. Both races are part of the prestigious five-race World Marathon Majors.
"It's nice to see improvement, that's the big thing," Sell told reporters, explaining that the Hansons' blue collar approach suited him just fine. "It's nice to see that hard work pays off."
Sell's diligence in training is his hallmark. His track credentials are only fair: 13:59.25 for 5000m and 28:36.56 for 10,000m are his best times, far slower than Culpepper, Keflezighi, Khalid Khannouchi, Abdi Abdirahman and Dathan Ritzenhein who are all expected to vie for the podium in New York next year. But as the race gets longer, and the course tougher, Sell becomes much more competitive. The hilly and twisting Central Park course that Wittenberg's team has laid out plays to his advantage.
"It is a really good course," said Sell who was in New York today and tomorrow to run on as much of the course as possible. "There are about a 1000 places where you can break somebody and be broken on those hills," he added.
According to both Sell and Hanson, his success comes from being part of a close-knit team with a work-a-day attitude that keeps him both humble and motivated. For Hanson and his brother Keith, who started their Olympic development program out of their own pockets, to see one of their athletes make an Olympic team would fulfill a life-long dream.
"It would mean a lot, much like it would for one of your own children to be successful," said Hanson. "I see the day-in and day-out. When you invest that much you want to see a payday."
Sell, who does not plan to run a spring marathon next year but rather will do the Ohme-Hochi 30-K in Japan on Feb. 4, doesn't think about quitting anymore. Now he's providing inspiration to the mostly high school athletes who e-mail him, regularly.
"It's kind of nice to give them some hope," Sell said, noting that his young admirers often ask him for his secret (hard work). "It feels really good. I don't have to B.S. them; it's the truth."
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