phone interview 10/2. At the this very instant--right now while you read this--some pubescent kid is standing on the starting line of some forgotten race on a clay track with big divots in lane one. The metal bleachers on the 50-yard line are mostly empty, save for the kid’s dad and the family dog. It’s just them, because nobody really likes to watch long track races except for relatives and animals with leashes around their necks. The high school cheerleaders are down at the gym raising megaphones and pom-poms when the boys sink the baskets. The hot dog stand is closed. The track meet’s sprinting events--the popular races--have long since ended, so who the hell cares. Oh yeah, it’s probably cold and windy, too. That makes it even crappier.
The old mumbling math teacher who really doesn’t want to be there lifts his hand and fires the starter’s gun.
The kid takes off down the track...
He’s pretty good, that kid.
I mean he’s not in like 8:58 two-mile shape. He never will be in that kind of shape--ever. You see, he wasn’t handed down the genes from the gods to work that magic. No, he’s more like a 10-minute fella. He’s been working at it probably all four years at his high school. His coach has probably spent most of his time on the flashy sprinters and the one guy who can high jump his way into a scholarship.
So the kid’s on his own.
But someone’s been pushing him down the track; someone’s in his mind on that cold day. Someone has given him and 10,000 other 10-minute high school guys something to believe in.
Brian Sell.
Sell never dipped under 10 minutes while running at North Bedford County High School in Pennsylvania. He didn’t go to Oregon or Stanford; he went to Saint Francis College.
Heard of it?
At the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials around the 7-mile mark, this relatively unknown Sell dropped the hammer and put a 90-second lead on the pack, brimming with those big boys--the Boulder boys and the Oregon boys. Yes: This former 10:10 two-miler actually pulled this off.
He led the race for 15 long miles--cold miles, lonely miles--turning over repeat 4:50 splits in blustery conditions with snow starting to fall.
He ran alone.
Though he ended up fading to 13th in that race, four years later Sell placed third at the 2008 Olympic Trials and made the team--a lifelong dream of his. In Beijing, Sell placed 22nd overall.
This year’s New York City Marathon is Sell’s last race as a professional.
RML: New York City is your last race as a professional runner. Why are you hanging up your flats? And why pick New York City of all places--a pretty tough course--as your last race? Why not go out with a big fun bang and try to run under two hours at the St. George Marathon which drops something like 2500 feet?
Sell: To answer your first question, running is no guaranteed paycheck. I have a two-year-old daughter and another one on the way. It’s just a little bit too much of a risk, I guess. If you run well, you make decent money for a year. You are forgotten really quick if you don’t perform. Sponsors and coaches move on to the next guy quickly and just let you go. The big thing is that I need to get into something a little more concrete to support my family. As for why pick New York: Boston, Chicago, and New York are the big three marathons in the United States and aside from running the Trials, I’ve never run New York. I’ve run Boston twice and Chicago three times. I always wanted to run New York and this is my opportunity to go and do that.
RML: I know you experienced the Central Park hills at the Trials, but are you daunted in any way by New York? It’s a tough marathon.
Sell: Yeah, absolutely. We ran in New York this past weekend. We ran the last 14 [miles] and then the first 20 the following morning. It’s very tough. Aside from the hills, the footing is kind of uneven. You definitely feel beat up after running there. We ran probably 6:00 to 6:30 pace and afterwards, it felt like I had just run a pretty hard marathon. It definitely takes its toll.
He’s pretty good, that kid.
I mean he’s not in like 8:58 two-mile shape. He never will be in that kind of shape--ever. You see, he wasn’t handed down the genes from the gods to work that magic. No, he’s more like a 10-minute fella. He’s been working at it probably all four years at his high school. His coach has probably spent most of his time on the flashy sprinters and the one guy who can high jump his way into a scholarship.
So the kid’s on his own.
But someone’s been pushing him down the track; someone’s in his mind on that cold day. Someone has given him and 10,000 other 10-minute high school guys something to believe in.
Brian Sell.
Sell never dipped under 10 minutes while running at North Bedford County High School in Pennsylvania. He didn’t go to Oregon or Stanford; he went to Saint Francis College.
Heard of it?
At the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials around the 7-mile mark, this relatively unknown Sell dropped the hammer and put a 90-second lead on the pack, brimming with those big boys--the Boulder boys and the Oregon boys. Yes: This former 10:10 two-miler actually pulled this off.
He led the race for 15 long miles--cold miles, lonely miles--turning over repeat 4:50 splits in blustery conditions with snow starting to fall.
He ran alone.
Though he ended up fading to 13th in that race, four years later Sell placed third at the 2008 Olympic Trials and made the team--a lifelong dream of his. In Beijing, Sell placed 22nd overall.
This year’s New York City Marathon is Sell’s last race as a professional.
RML: New York City is your last race as a professional runner. Why are you hanging up your flats? And why pick New York City of all places--a pretty tough course--as your last race? Why not go out with a big fun bang and try to run under two hours at the St. George Marathon which drops something like 2500 feet?
Sell: To answer your first question, running is no guaranteed paycheck. I have a two-year-old daughter and another one on the way. It’s just a little bit too much of a risk, I guess. If you run well, you make decent money for a year. You are forgotten really quick if you don’t perform. Sponsors and coaches move on to the next guy quickly and just let you go. The big thing is that I need to get into something a little more concrete to support my family. As for why pick New York: Boston, Chicago, and New York are the big three marathons in the United States and aside from running the Trials, I’ve never run New York. I’ve run Boston twice and Chicago three times. I always wanted to run New York and this is my opportunity to go and do that.
RML: I know you experienced the Central Park hills at the Trials, but are you daunted in any way by New York? It’s a tough marathon.
Sell: Yeah, absolutely. We ran in New York this past weekend. We ran the last 14 [miles] and then the first 20 the following morning. It’s very tough. Aside from the hills, the footing is kind of uneven. You definitely feel beat up after running there. We ran probably 6:00 to 6:30 pace and afterwards, it felt like I had just run a pretty hard marathon. It definitely takes its toll.
RML: Hansons likes to do the 26K marathon simulations. Have you guys been doing that?
Sell: No. We didn’t do a simulation in New York, but we are running a half-marathon here in Rochester. It’s called the Brooksie Way Half-Marathon this Sunday. We are trying to use that as a simulator. Nick [Arciniaga] and I are going to try to run that at pace. It’s a hilly course so it kind of simulates New York. It’s downhill for the first 6 miles or so and then it’s a pretty decent climb with rolling hills back up to the finish.
RML: Do you feel the marathon simulations that you do have helped your performances? I know you did them before Boston when you PR’d and then again at the Trials when you placed third.
Sell: Definitely. We pick a course that resembles what we know we are going to be running and then run 26K at pace. The half will be a little bit shorter, but it’s an opportunity to get into a race environment and have the miles marked out. Yeah, it’s definitely helped. Going to Central Park and running the simulator there before the Trials was huge. I had a lot of confidence. I felt really good running 16 miles at pace. I felt I could easily do 22 and hopefully 4 more wouldn’t be a problem and it turned out good.
RML: As an elite runner, you have to do some seriously tough workouts to prepare for a marathon. Since this is your last race with really nothing after it, running-wise, do you struggle in these workouts or are you still hammering them? One would think you want to go to New York City on your last hurrah and kind of just wave to people.
Sell: I’m definitely still putting a hard effort down. The first half of the segment was a real struggle for me. I didn’t have the mentality where I didn’t care about it, but it was tough to get motivated to do the workouts. I definitely felt like I was behind. I didn’t have any injuries, but I just felt old. My hips felt like they were grinding every day. It took 5 to 8 miles to get warmed up every day and by that time, I was getting towards the end of my run and feeling tired. It was just a miserable experience, but the last month has kind of turned around. I don’t know what happened.
RML: Are you feeling good going into this?
Sell: Yeah. I’ve hit three or four really good workouts so far. We’ve got a month to go yet. I think I can pull something out good. Even if it’s my last race, I don’t want to slog through a 2:40 or something and have everyone say, “He didn’t care.” I’m definitely giving it an honest effort. The New York Road Runners are flying me out and putting me up in a hotel. I definitely don’t want to be a disappointment to them.
Sell: No. We didn’t do a simulation in New York, but we are running a half-marathon here in Rochester. It’s called the Brooksie Way Half-Marathon this Sunday. We are trying to use that as a simulator. Nick [Arciniaga] and I are going to try to run that at pace. It’s a hilly course so it kind of simulates New York. It’s downhill for the first 6 miles or so and then it’s a pretty decent climb with rolling hills back up to the finish.
RML: Do you feel the marathon simulations that you do have helped your performances? I know you did them before Boston when you PR’d and then again at the Trials when you placed third.
Sell: Definitely. We pick a course that resembles what we know we are going to be running and then run 26K at pace. The half will be a little bit shorter, but it’s an opportunity to get into a race environment and have the miles marked out. Yeah, it’s definitely helped. Going to Central Park and running the simulator there before the Trials was huge. I had a lot of confidence. I felt really good running 16 miles at pace. I felt I could easily do 22 and hopefully 4 more wouldn’t be a problem and it turned out good.
RML: As an elite runner, you have to do some seriously tough workouts to prepare for a marathon. Since this is your last race with really nothing after it, running-wise, do you struggle in these workouts or are you still hammering them? One would think you want to go to New York City on your last hurrah and kind of just wave to people.
Sell: I’m definitely still putting a hard effort down. The first half of the segment was a real struggle for me. I didn’t have the mentality where I didn’t care about it, but it was tough to get motivated to do the workouts. I definitely felt like I was behind. I didn’t have any injuries, but I just felt old. My hips felt like they were grinding every day. It took 5 to 8 miles to get warmed up every day and by that time, I was getting towards the end of my run and feeling tired. It was just a miserable experience, but the last month has kind of turned around. I don’t know what happened.
RML: Are you feeling good going into this?
Sell: Yeah. I’ve hit three or four really good workouts so far. We’ve got a month to go yet. I think I can pull something out good. Even if it’s my last race, I don’t want to slog through a 2:40 or something and have everyone say, “He didn’t care.” I’m definitely giving it an honest effort. The New York Road Runners are flying me out and putting me up in a hotel. I definitely don’t want to be a disappointment to them.
RML: What are your goals for the race?
Sell: You know, I’d be really happy with 2:14. Abdi [Abdirahman], [Josh]Rohatinsky, and [Jason] Lehmkuhle were all 2:14 last year and they were all 1-2-3 Americans. I’d be really happy with a 2:14-something. That would be a good time on that course, I think.
RML: Hall’s running it this year as well as Meb [Keflezighi], Abdi, and [Jorge] Torres. I’m kind of guessing they will all go out around the same pace. Will you be joining them?
Sell: No. I’m planning to go through the half in 1:06:30 or 1:07:00.
RML: So it’s going to be even splits, then.
Sell: Definitely. I mean it’s really hard to negative split or even split that course. I watched those guys go out last year. Aside from [Marilson Gomes] Dos Santos and [Abderrahim Goumri], nobody came close to negative splitting it. I don’t have any dreams of running 2:08 on it or something. I’d be more than happy with a 2:14.
RML: You are going to dental school after this. You know that dentists are stereotypical sadists, right? I mean like that crazy guy in The Little Shop of Horrors.
Sell laughs: Yeah. It’s also the highest suicide rate of any job, I think.
RML laughs: You’ve dealt with massive pain thresholds as a professional marathoner. Do you think it will be hard to show empathy for wimpy people who want more novocaine?
Sell: No. I’ll definitely try to make patients as comfortable as possible. Still, I think our pain tolerance has gone down in America in the last 50 years. But it’s not like I’m into it or anything. I don’t even like going to the dentist myself. I’ve always wanted to do something in the medical field. The aspects of looking at a problem and going in and fixing it appeal to me. I’ve been around physical therapy my whole life as a runner and that’s always been a “try this for a few weeks and see if it feels better”-type thing. The quick-fix aspect of dentistry is something I like.
Sell: You know, I’d be really happy with 2:14. Abdi [Abdirahman], [Josh]Rohatinsky, and [Jason] Lehmkuhle were all 2:14 last year and they were all 1-2-3 Americans. I’d be really happy with a 2:14-something. That would be a good time on that course, I think.
RML: Hall’s running it this year as well as Meb [Keflezighi], Abdi, and [Jorge] Torres. I’m kind of guessing they will all go out around the same pace. Will you be joining them?
Sell: No. I’m planning to go through the half in 1:06:30 or 1:07:00.
RML: So it’s going to be even splits, then.
Sell: Definitely. I mean it’s really hard to negative split or even split that course. I watched those guys go out last year. Aside from [Marilson Gomes] Dos Santos and [Abderrahim Goumri], nobody came close to negative splitting it. I don’t have any dreams of running 2:08 on it or something. I’d be more than happy with a 2:14.
RML: You are going to dental school after this. You know that dentists are stereotypical sadists, right? I mean like that crazy guy in The Little Shop of Horrors.
Sell laughs: Yeah. It’s also the highest suicide rate of any job, I think.
RML laughs: You’ve dealt with massive pain thresholds as a professional marathoner. Do you think it will be hard to show empathy for wimpy people who want more novocaine?
Sell: No. I’ll definitely try to make patients as comfortable as possible. Still, I think our pain tolerance has gone down in America in the last 50 years. But it’s not like I’m into it or anything. I don’t even like going to the dentist myself. I’ve always wanted to do something in the medical field. The aspects of looking at a problem and going in and fixing it appeal to me. I’ve been around physical therapy my whole life as a runner and that’s always been a “try this for a few weeks and see if it feels better”-type thing. The quick-fix aspect of dentistry is something I like.
RML: You said you believe the pain threshold for Americans has declined over the past 50 years. Do you think that’s one reason why the United States can’t hang with East African countries?
Sell: Yeah maybe a little bit. I definitely think there’s something there. Kids nowadays have Nintendos and Wiis. That doesn’t help the situation. But a lot of it too has to do with the Kenyans and Ethiopians where if they win a race, they make $5,000 or $10,000. That would be like an American making a million bucks. Their average annual income is like $500 a year. Their distance runners are like our Peyton Mannings or New York Yankee baseball players. I think that has a lot more to do with it. There’s more of a dream going on with the kids over there. That’s what they want to do when they grow up.
RML: So if we woke up tomorrow and started paying our Ryan Halls, our Dathan Ritzenheins, and our Brian Sells million-dollar salaries, the quality of distance runners would go up?
Sell: I guess if you paid the winner of New York a million dollars that would help, but then again that would be like $10M or $100M for the Kenyans and Ethiopians. I don’t know if it really would help. The prize money is just more life-changing for them than it is for Americans. And if you move the prize money up more, it will move their paradigm shift and they will have to work that much harder. There are a lot fewer kids out there that say they want to grow up to be a Ryan Hall or a Dathan Ritzenhein than grow up wanting to be Peyton Manning or Hines Ward. I think it’s just a difference in what happens in childhood.
RML: You were like a 10:06 two-miler in high school correct?
Sell: That was a 3200, so I was more like a 10:10 two-miler.
RML: You didn’t go to Stanford or Oregon. I think you went to Saint Fr
ancis College, right?
Sell: Yep. I paid for my schooling. But I had a partial ride my last two years.
RML: So have you felt like an underdog all these years?
Sell: Yeah, definitely. Even now as a professional runner, like I said, nothing is guaranteed. There are a few guys out there who are on contracts and get a yearly paycheck even if they don’t run well. That’s not the case with our team here, where everything is performance-based. I certainly didn’t have the credentials that a lot of guys did. But luckily with the marathon, it’s not such much whether you can break 4:00 in the mile or run an 11-second 100m dash, it’s more like going out and pounding the miles, not skipping days, and just getting out there and getting it done.
RML: Since you felt like an underdog, then did you also feel like an outsider where you had to prove yourself to the elite of the elites?
Sell: Not really. But I guess I could say at one point, I had a chip on my shoulder where I thought that guys like Ritzenhein and Hall had things that I didn’t have the last 8 years, but I roomed with Ritzenhein in Beijing and he is one of the hardest working guys I have ever seen. He went out and did a 10-mile tempo when we were over there. He started at 5-flat and ended up at 4:31--just hauling. He’s super talented, but he works really hard. And that kind of changed my perspective on him. I think the one central thing about guys who have run fast in the 10K and the marathon is that they work hard. Going into it, I probably did think, “If I had an underwater treadmill and a tent that put me at 8,000 feet, I could probably do this too, but it’s more than that; it’s actually getting out there and putting in the work. That kind of changed my attitude towards those guys. They definitely do bust it.
RML: Since I am now asking everyone I talk to about Ritz’s and Teg’s sub-13, let me ask you: What do you think this means? Is U.S. distance-running back?
Sell: I hope so. I hope those guys keep going. After I made the Olympic team, I had to take a deep breath and say, “Ok. I’m here.” I haven’t run the greatest marathon since. I was 22nd at the Olympics. I ran a 2:16 at Boston. And they were both rough conditions, but they were both off performance-wise what I had done before. My biggest thing is that I hope these guys don’t say they’ve made it and then get complacent. They have to keep that edge and that fire to continue to improve and do great things. I hope they have the confidence to say that they are a sub-13 guy and then talk about working on sub-12:50. And then go after Bekele. Man, that would be great to seem them do that.
RML: I’m surprised to hear your disappointment at your showing in the Olympics. You came in 22nd in the world. Come on, are you really upset with that?
SEll: I had finished 9th at the World Champs in Helsinki. I figured that in Beijing I was a better runner than I was then, so a top 20 was my goal and/or a 2:13. I would have been happy with either one of those. I was a little bit outside of what I wanted to accomplish. It’s not that I’m disappointed with it, but I had finished two slots higher, I would have been really happy.
RML: You don’t cut yourself any slack for the conditions that day?
Sell: It was hot for everybody, so I looked at that as a great equalizer. 2:05 guys become 2:08 guys. Wanjiru didn’t certainly, but I had looked at that as being towards my advantage.
RML: Ever consider going into coaching?
Sell: I definitely would at my high school level if it fits in. The good thing about being a dentist is that they have pretty good hours. You don’t have to worry too much about emergencies. I would love to if it fits into my schedule, because people think that’s something that I can do. But yet, I don’t know if I’ve arrived there yet. I don’t know if I feel comfortable taking somebody’s kid into my hands. I almost feel that I’m not really qualified to do that. I guess it will come with time.
Sell: Yeah maybe a little bit. I definitely think there’s something there. Kids nowadays have Nintendos and Wiis. That doesn’t help the situation. But a lot of it too has to do with the Kenyans and Ethiopians where if they win a race, they make $5,000 or $10,000. That would be like an American making a million bucks. Their average annual income is like $500 a year. Their distance runners are like our Peyton Mannings or New York Yankee baseball players. I think that has a lot more to do with it. There’s more of a dream going on with the kids over there. That’s what they want to do when they grow up.
RML: So if we woke up tomorrow and started paying our Ryan Halls, our Dathan Ritzenheins, and our Brian Sells million-dollar salaries, the quality of distance runners would go up?
Sell: I guess if you paid the winner of New York a million dollars that would help, but then again that would be like $10M or $100M for the Kenyans and Ethiopians. I don’t know if it really would help. The prize money is just more life-changing for them than it is for Americans. And if you move the prize money up more, it will move their paradigm shift and they will have to work that much harder. There are a lot fewer kids out there that say they want to grow up to be a Ryan Hall or a Dathan Ritzenhein than grow up wanting to be Peyton Manning or Hines Ward. I think it’s just a difference in what happens in childhood.
RML: You were like a 10:06 two-miler in high school correct?
Sell: That was a 3200, so I was more like a 10:10 two-miler.
RML: You didn’t go to Stanford or Oregon. I think you went to Saint Fr
ancis College, right?Sell: Yep. I paid for my schooling. But I had a partial ride my last two years.
RML: So have you felt like an underdog all these years?
Sell: Yeah, definitely. Even now as a professional runner, like I said, nothing is guaranteed. There are a few guys out there who are on contracts and get a yearly paycheck even if they don’t run well. That’s not the case with our team here, where everything is performance-based. I certainly didn’t have the credentials that a lot of guys did. But luckily with the marathon, it’s not such much whether you can break 4:00 in the mile or run an 11-second 100m dash, it’s more like going out and pounding the miles, not skipping days, and just getting out there and getting it done.
RML: Since you felt like an underdog, then did you also feel like an outsider where you had to prove yourself to the elite of the elites?
Sell: Not really. But I guess I could say at one point, I had a chip on my shoulder where I thought that guys like Ritzenhein and Hall had things that I didn’t have the last 8 years, but I roomed with Ritzenhein in Beijing and he is one of the hardest working guys I have ever seen. He went out and did a 10-mile tempo when we were over there. He started at 5-flat and ended up at 4:31--just hauling. He’s super talented, but he works really hard. And that kind of changed my perspective on him. I think the one central thing about guys who have run fast in the 10K and the marathon is that they work hard. Going into it, I probably did think, “If I had an underwater treadmill and a tent that put me at 8,000 feet, I could probably do this too, but it’s more than that; it’s actually getting out there and putting in the work. That kind of changed my attitude towards those guys. They definitely do bust it.
RML: Since I am now asking everyone I talk to about Ritz’s and Teg’s sub-13, let me ask you: What do you think this means? Is U.S. distance-running back?
Sell: I hope so. I hope those guys keep going. After I made the Olympic team, I had to take a deep breath and say, “Ok. I’m here.” I haven’t run the greatest marathon since. I was 22nd at the Olympics. I ran a 2:16 at Boston. And they were both rough conditions, but they were both off performance-wise what I had done before. My biggest thing is that I hope these guys don’t say they’ve made it and then get complacent. They have to keep that edge and that fire to continue to improve and do great things. I hope they have the confidence to say that they are a sub-13 guy and then talk about working on sub-12:50. And then go after Bekele. Man, that would be great to seem them do that.
RML: I’m surprised to hear your disappointment at your showing in the Olympics. You came in 22nd in the world. Come on, are you really upset with that?
SEll: I had finished 9th at the World Champs in Helsinki. I figured that in Beijing I was a better runner than I was then, so a top 20 was my goal and/or a 2:13. I would have been happy with either one of those. I was a little bit outside of what I wanted to accomplish. It’s not that I’m disappointed with it, but I had finished two slots higher, I would have been really happy.
RML: You don’t cut yourself any slack for the conditions that day?
Sell: It was hot for everybody, so I looked at that as a great equalizer. 2:05 guys become 2:08 guys. Wanjiru didn’t certainly, but I had looked at that as being towards my advantage.
RML: Ever consider going into coaching?
Sell: I definitely would at my high school level if it fits in. The good thing about being a dentist is that they have pretty good hours. You don’t have to worry too much about emergencies. I would love to if it fits into my schedule, because people think that’s something that I can do. But yet, I don’t know if I’ve arrived there yet. I don’t know if I feel comfortable taking somebody’s kid into my hands. I almost feel that I’m not really qualified to do that. I guess it will come with time.
RML: Why don’t you think you are qualified?
Sell: I’m not really good at giving orders and telling people what to do. It’s something I’m definitely passionate about and I’d love to see kids like my friend in high school, Steve Moyer. We were both not very good. We had three separate coaches in high school. The track coaching position wasn’t really something anyone wanted at the time. All three of my coaches took an interest in us and pushed us. They did little things to show that they cared. I would love to give that back to some kids eventually. I remember going to state with my coach. He let us listen to a Soundgarden CD that he had and I thought that was so cool. We were out in the sticks and didn’t get to listen to too much rock music and stuff like that. I also remember how he loosened up with us. He was a pretty tough coach throughout the year and then when we went to state, he took us out for dinner and was laid back. It was cool, because we had earned his respect. I’d love to be something like that eventually. Maybe in 10 years or so.
RML: Not all elite runners who stop focusing on the marathon, quit the sport altogether. Look at Josh Cox for example. He set the 50K record and is now preparing for Comrades. Have you considered ultras?
Sell: No. I mean I’m not going to hang it up completely. I’m still going to run. My dream is to run 5 miles in the morning before my kids get up just so I can eat bacon and eggs for breakfast and not feel guilty about it. That would be ideal and the extent of my running. I’m actually really looking forward to it.
RML: I watched a video of you a while back and you were on a treadmill watching a monster truck rally and then some WWF. This is partly where the blue-collar-runner stereotype comes from. Do you consider yourself a blue-collar runner?
Sell: Well I still have to go to work every day to pay my bills. I think there are more blue-collar runners than there are professional runners by a long shot. I know a lot of guys that I have run against--guys like Pete Gilmore and Jason Lehmkuhle who are in the same boat as me. A lot of people on the outside think that we just kind of lay around, get massages, and do Pilates all day. I still have to go to work. I go to work five days a week. My wife works two 12-hour days a week at the hospital to pay the bills. So if that makes me blue-collar then, yeah. I know that I’d prefer a cheeseburger and a PBR to a soy latte or something like that.
Sell: I’m not really good at giving orders and telling people what to do. It’s something I’m definitely passionate about and I’d love to see kids like my friend in high school, Steve Moyer. We were both not very good. We had three separate coaches in high school. The track coaching position wasn’t really something anyone wanted at the time. All three of my coaches took an interest in us and pushed us. They did little things to show that they cared. I would love to give that back to some kids eventually. I remember going to state with my coach. He let us listen to a Soundgarden CD that he had and I thought that was so cool. We were out in the sticks and didn’t get to listen to too much rock music and stuff like that. I also remember how he loosened up with us. He was a pretty tough coach throughout the year and then when we went to state, he took us out for dinner and was laid back. It was cool, because we had earned his respect. I’d love to be something like that eventually. Maybe in 10 years or so.
RML: Not all elite runners who stop focusing on the marathon, quit the sport altogether. Look at Josh Cox for example. He set the 50K record and is now preparing for Comrades. Have you considered ultras?
Sell: No. I mean I’m not going to hang it up completely. I’m still going to run. My dream is to run 5 miles in the morning before my kids get up just so I can eat bacon and eggs for breakfast and not feel guilty about it. That would be ideal and the extent of my running. I’m actually really looking forward to it.
RML: I watched a video of you a while back and you were on a treadmill watching a monster truck rally and then some WWF. This is partly where the blue-collar-runner stereotype comes from. Do you consider yourself a blue-collar runner?
Sell: Well I still have to go to work every day to pay my bills. I think there are more blue-collar runners than there are professional runners by a long shot. I know a lot of guys that I have run against--guys like Pete Gilmore and Jason Lehmkuhle who are in the same boat as me. A lot of people on the outside think that we just kind of lay around, get massages, and do Pilates all day. I still have to go to work. I go to work five days a week. My wife works two 12-hour days a week at the hospital to pay the bills. So if that makes me blue-collar then, yeah. I know that I’d prefer a cheeseburger and a PBR to a soy latte or something like that.
RML: For a while you were working at Home Depot as part of their Olympic athlete program and I know you were working at the Hansons store. What are you doing for a job nowadays?
Sell: I work at the Hansons store. The Home Depot got rid of that program, because of the economy and the recession. It was either do that or lay off people who need to work their to support their families. I went back to work at the Hansons mainly because they work with my wife’s schedule. My wife is the main breadwinner of the family, so we have to work around her schedule. Not many places would allow that flexibility. And with the running: The stores don’t open till 11, so we get our run in every morning.
RML: Back to Home Depot, every time I go to that place, it’s like chaos. People with back braces on are driving around on beeping forklifts lifting things. Crap is falling down. Babies are crying. Boards are slamming. That doesn’t sound like a decent place for an Olympic-bound marathoner to work. Did you ever worry about getting hurt while working there?
Sell: A little bit. I got some cuts and scrapes. They are very safety conscious there, though. I know people drop stuff. I installed swimming pools for a living for five or six years when I was in high school. I honestly like that kind of work, being outside and saying, “Hey, move this pile of stuff on that pile of stuff.” The big thing that helped my distance running was the hours. I could work 20 hours a week whenever I wanted to, so I would go in for 5 hours a day. I actually got a lunch break. It was pretty cushy. It was a nice job.
Sell: I work at the Hansons store. The Home Depot got rid of that program, because of the economy and the recession. It was either do that or lay off people who need to work their to support their families. I went back to work at the Hansons mainly because they work with my wife’s schedule. My wife is the main breadwinner of the family, so we have to work around her schedule. Not many places would allow that flexibility. And with the running: The stores don’t open till 11, so we get our run in every morning.
RML: Back to Home Depot, every time I go to that place, it’s like chaos. People with back braces on are driving around on beeping forklifts lifting things. Crap is falling down. Babies are crying. Boards are slamming. That doesn’t sound like a decent place for an Olympic-bound marathoner to work. Did you ever worry about getting hurt while working there?
Sell: A little bit. I got some cuts and scrapes. They are very safety conscious there, though. I know people drop stuff. I installed swimming pools for a living for five or six years when I was in high school. I honestly like that kind of work, being outside and saying, “Hey, move this pile of stuff on that pile of stuff.” The big thing that helped my distance running was the hours. I could work 20 hours a week whenever I wanted to, so I would go in for 5 hours a day. I actually got a lunch break. It was pretty cushy. It was a nice job.
RML: Say I’m a 10:10 two-miler today. I’m in high school. I want to be like Brian Sell. I want to go to the Olympics. What do you tell me?
Sell: If that’s your goal, don’t give up on it. Ever. I would say that it’s something you have to work for and if you think about it every day, each of those days adds up to a week and each of those weeks add to a month which add up to a year. You end up reaping what you sow. I would say running is much more rewarding than a job. At a job, you could put 25-30 years in and be making 30 bucks more than when you started and with running, if you do that kind of work and have that kind of dedication, you will go places. Just make a goal and go for it. But a word of caution: You don’t want to go from running 40 miles a week to 130. I would say that 10% is a max gain for a week. So if you are running 40 miles one week, don’t got more than 45 the next week. You don’t want to bump it up quick. I had a nice slow progression. I ran 40 miles a week in high school and then 80 in college. Out here with the Hansons, I went from 100 to 110 to 120 to 160 the last couple years. It’s a thin line to get enough where you want to go, but not getting so much you get injured. I think I’ve had a lot more setbacks too that people can relate with. My bad race isn’t going to be a 28-flat 10K, it’s going to be really bad. I’ve faced a lot more bad than good. I ran Peachtree on the 4th of July and ran 30:10. That was a time when I was like, “Why am I even doing this?” But you have to rebound, get back up, and keep your eyes on the goal.
Sell: If that’s your goal, don’t give up on it. Ever. I would say that it’s something you have to work for and if you think about it every day, each of those days adds up to a week and each of those weeks add to a month which add up to a year. You end up reaping what you sow. I would say running is much more rewarding than a job. At a job, you could put 25-30 years in and be making 30 bucks more than when you started and with running, if you do that kind of work and have that kind of dedication, you will go places. Just make a goal and go for it. But a word of caution: You don’t want to go from running 40 miles a week to 130. I would say that 10% is a max gain for a week. So if you are running 40 miles one week, don’t got more than 45 the next week. You don’t want to bump it up quick. I had a nice slow progression. I ran 40 miles a week in high school and then 80 in college. Out here with the Hansons, I went from 100 to 110 to 120 to 160 the last couple years. It’s a thin line to get enough where you want to go, but not getting so much you get injured. I think I’ve had a lot more setbacks too that people can relate with. My bad race isn’t going to be a 28-flat 10K, it’s going to be really bad. I’ve faced a lot more bad than good. I ran Peachtree on the 4th of July and ran 30:10. That was a time when I was like, “Why am I even doing this?” But you have to rebound, get back up, and keep your eyes on the goal.
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