Posted: October 10, 2004

Athletics: Sell Brings Marathon Hopes To Chicago

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

CHICAGO (09-Oct) -- Without question, four-time LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon champion Khalid Khannouchi of Ossining, N.Y. is the top American entered in tomorrow's race, and one of the favorites for victory. He's the only U.S. man to win this race since Greg Meyer beat Joe Nzau back in 1982.

But behind Khannouchi are a group of determined Americans, each running for their own reasons and goals.

Amongst the men, three athletes from the Hansons Team are the most prominent: Trent Briney, Brian Sell and Clint Verran. Coached by Kevin and Keith Hanson --running store owners in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-- Briney and Verran finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Birmingham, Al., last February while Sell, who led the race for over 20 miles, finshed 13th.

Sell, whose blonde hair, long sideburns and moustache, and front-running style reminds some observers of Steve Prefontaine, is often looked upon as the most talented of the three. His personal best time of 2:17:20 won't leap off the page at a statistician, but consider that he ran the 10 miles between the 10 and 20 mile marks of the Olympic Trials Marathon in 49:47, fighting alone against winds and freezing temperatures until he was passed in the 23rd mile, and faded badly. His sub-2:12 bid for victory evaporated as he lost heart when Briney and Verran passed him after the eventual top-3, Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi and Dan Browne, had already gone by. He ran the last two miles in the 6:30 to 7:00 range.

"A lot of it was [psychological]," said Sell in an interview today. "When they went by me the bottom fell out."

Sell's run was widely hailed as brave --he had built up nearly a one minute lead in the Trials-- but the result left him depressed, and he wasn't motivated to return to training.

"It was tough," said Sell. "I definitely thought about hanging it up then."

But Sell stayed with it, and the 26 year-old born in Woodbury, Pa., slowly rebuilt himself with the help of his Hansons teammates, especially Verran.

"It was really important [to have the support of his team]," he recalled. "Coming off a marathon the workouts are really tough. Just having teammates there, like Clint. The whole group really helped a lot."

Sell got back into racing in March, and the following month finished fifth at the U.S. 10 Mile Championships. He had a short, but lackluster, track season, finishing 17th at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10,000m. Then in August, he watched the Olympic Games on television and reflected on the success of Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi who won bronze and silver medals, respectively, in the marathon. Grist for the mill.

"Meb and Deena ran really smart races," said Sell. "I've never beaten Meb, but I've run several places behind him." He started to feel some confidence again.

At last month's Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run half-marathon, Sell and Verran ran together in a controlled tempo run, finishing in 1:04:00 flat. They ran conservatively for the first 10 miles, then picked it up in the last 5-K, closing in 14:32.

"We did an 18 miler the day before at six to six-thirty pace," Sell said, adding that they had not tapered at all before that event. The race felt so easy to him, "it scared me a little bit," he added.

Tomorrow's race has more than the usual importance for Sell, well known as a hard worker. He's looking for validation. Should he continue as an elite athlete?

"A lot hinges on tomorow's race," he said in earnest, looking down for a moment. "I'd like to feel like I'm moving forward."

Sell plans to run with Verran, and like in Philadelphia they will work together. "I basically set it up for 2:13:30. The best race possible, 2:11:30, 2:11:15. We're going out in 5:02's. If we accomplish that, I'd be very satisfied."

Sell pointed out that the Hansons are looking beyond being competitive domestically, and they are aiming high: "Our goal is to be be competitive on a world level; run 2:06, 2:07 at big name races like like New York City and Boston."