Hansons-Brooks athletes have busy weekend of racing
Rochester Hills, MI, January 13, 2008--Hansons-Brooks (powered by Saturn) athletes spanned the continent this weekend--racing in the U.S. Womens Half Marathon Championships in Houston, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in Orlando, while others assisted with pacing in the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Arizona's inaugural "Running Down a Dream" program in Phoenix.

At the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Houston, Desiree Davila, Dot McMahan, and Melissa White all set personal bests en route to 2nd, 8th, and 10th place finishes. The very strong women's field included last years champion, Elva Dryer, in addition to 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials Champion, Colleen DeRueck. The field also included many of the top qualifiers for this years Olympic Marathon Trials--providing an early glimpse of the top contenders before they begin their training build-up for the Trials on April 20.

Katie O'Neill, a 2004 Olympian in the 10,000 meters, won the race in a time of 1:11:57. Davila ran a strong second half, moving from seventh place at eight miles to second place, with an impressive 44-second personal best of 1:12:10. She ran her previous personal best en route to 34th place finish at the World Road Running Championships last fall in Udine, Italy. Dot McMahan posted a finishing time of 1:13:10, and White rounded out the top ten in a time of 1:13:13.

On a hot and humid day in Orlando at the Disney World Half Marathon, Hansons-Brooks men claimed four of the top five places, with the women placing second and third in their division. In the men's race, Chad Johnson edged teammate Fred Joslyn in the final meters for the win with a finishing time of 1:06:53. Patrick Rizzo trailed closely in third place with a time of 1:07:05. In the women's race, Hansons-Brooks athlete Yolanda Flamino placed second to the four-time Disney Champion, Kim Pawelek. Flamino's time of 1:18:49 was a 3 minute, 28 second personal best. Hansons-Brooks newcomer, Lori Zimmerman was third with a finishing time of 1:20:22.

As pacers in the PF Changs Rock and Roll Marathon's "Running Down a Dream" program, Luke Humphrey, Mike Morgan, Pat Moulton, and Mike Reneau helped pace women to the Olympic Trials B standard. The "Running Down a Dream" program provided 39 women with logistical and financial support for their final bid to make the trials. Eight women met the B standard of 2 hours, 47 minutes.

For additional information or photo requests please contact Mike Reneau at mwreneau@hotmail.com or (612) 245-8764. You can also visit the teams website at www.hansons-running.com. The team web page includes individual athlete biographies and resumes.

ABOUT Hansons-Brooks Distance Project - The Hansons- Brooks Distance Project is a post-collegiate training program for runners with Olympic aspirations. Athletes in the program live and train together in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Team sponsors include Brooks Sports, Inc., Saturn Corporation, and Hansons Running Shops.