US Takes 4th in World Cup-Marathon
Brian Sell finished in 9th place in the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki on Saturday in 2:13:27. His Hansons-Brooks teammate Clint Verran finished in 22 place in 2:17:42. Their times, plus that of American Jason Lehmkuhle's 2:22.46 gave the US 4th place in the World Cup Marathon standings behind Japan, Kenya and Ethiopia.

In a post-race press conference, Brian Sell said, " We went out nice and easy, and went through the half-marathon in about 1:05:40, and started picking people off.

"Our performance was decent, but we gotta keep our eye on the prize, and go forward. We want to get back to where things used to be in the 1980s. It's a step in the right direction."

Clint Verran's 22nd place met his goal of being in the top 25 and bettered his 39th place at the 2003 World Championships. Clint said, "I thought finishing fourth as a team was real significant. Brian ran a great race. I thought I ran pretty respectable, and just kept moving up. My goal was top 25, so I can't complain.

"(Hanson's/Brooks) runners were ninth and 22nd today. I think that people will see that what we're doing in Rochester, Michigan is a good thing. I'm proud of those guys."

Hanson's/Brooks marathoner Chad Johnson, a late addition to the team when Trent Briney withdrew because of injury, didn't have a great day with his 2:30:45, but he was happy anyway, "I didn't really have it today. I wanted to keep going. I heard my teammates were running well, and I wanted to be part of that and at least finish the race. I'm really happy for my race. Two of the guys I train with ran really well. If I keep training with them, I will have my day. The course had a lot of turns and a lot of uphills and downhills. It's a beautiful course."

Peter Gilmore's 2:25:17 didn't figure in the World Cup totals, but he had compliments for his Michigan teammates, " I felt good. I think we were trying to run the race that Brian ran. I was doing ok until about 10-12k to go. I had a real bad side stitch, and that did me in. It wasn't my best day.

"We get a lot of crap from people back home about how bad American distance runners are. We stuck it out...it's a sign of improvement. Our team got fourth. It's a great showing for the U.S.A. Everyone had the guts to finish and proud to put on the USA uniform. I think it's a small breakthrough for American distance running. I'm glad to be part of that."