Who would have guessed that the road to the Athens Olympics began in the Deep South? 86 of America’s best marathoners lined up in Birmingham, Alabama, for a run to glory. The first three finishers would lock up a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. 104 athletes qualified for this event, but there is a high rate of attrition in training for a marathon. The 86 runners that lined the start felt a little lonely, but definitely proud.

The favorites were Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi, and Dan Browne. These three runners formed the U.S. team that competed in last year’s 10,000 meter World Championships in Paris. Other top contenders in Birmingham were Ryan Shay, the Notre Dame grad who captured his first U.S. Marathon Championships on this same course in 2003; Josh Cox, the Liberty grad and Fila Discovery athlete; Eddy Helleybuyck, the 43 year-old Belgian-born American and favorite of the local 137 old-timers union; and Clint Verran, a representative on our World Championship Marathon team last year in Paris.

The 9am start saw the weather cold, breezy, and overcast. The action in the race was just as chilly until the seven-mile mark. Here, Brian Sell joined Teddy Mitchell, who had been leading since just past the one mile point. The pack with the favorites were 24 seconds behind the daring duo of Sell and Mitchell. Just past the nine-mile mark, the athletes began the first of three 5.43-mile loops of downtown Birmingham, the Iron Capital of the South. To the southwest of town, B-ham’s Vulcan statue loomed in the frost and fog, willing the combatants to forge ahead. The iron will of Vulcan was ever-present in Brian Sell, as he stretched his lead from 22 seconds at mile ten to 69 seconds by mile 17.

At this point, Alan Culpepper began to test his mettle as well. Culpepper had been taking periodic turns at the front of the chase pack, throwing in surges to get rid of the pretenders. His tactics worked, and by mile 17, only three runners were able to hold his pace: Keflezhigi, Browne, and the big surprise, Trent Briney. By mile 18, this chase pack cleaved Sell’s lead to 44 seconds.

At age 26 and having run only one marathon, had the eagerness of youth and inexperience drawn Brian Sell to try and carve his own path to glory? So it seemed. Having run 59:18 for 20K at the U.S. Championships, in New Haven, CT in 2003, he is a vital part of the future of American distance running, thanks in full to the efforts of the Hanson brothers of Rochester Hills, Michigan (see www.hansons-running.com). Both Sell and Trent Briney wore the distinctive red-yellow-and-black shield of the Brooks-Hanson’s Project on their singlets at the Trails. But today was ultimately not to be Sell’s moment to fully shine. At the 1:48:00 mark, the foursome caught and quickly passed Sell. Here, Culpepper stayed at the front, keeping the hammer down with the ease of a man simply driving a nail through a tempered stud. This pressure began to take its toll on Briney, as by 23 he was 20 seconds back of the leaders. By mile 24, Culpepper and Meb had put 15 seconds on Browne as well. Browne was struggling in third, but no one doubted that he would be able to hold on to earn this Olympic berth. Browne is a West Point Grad and admitted all-around good egg. In the post race press conference, he stated that at mile 24 he began to think of the classmates of his at West Point that had died in Iraq. There ain’t no quit in that.

At mile 26, Culpepper simply tapped the gas and the race was won. He flowed across the line in 2:11:41, with Meb at 2:11:46, and Dan Browne at 2:12:02. It was a clean sweep by our best 10,000 meter runners. The big surprise came across the line for fourth in 2:12:35 in the form of 25-year-old Trent Briney, who clocked an 8:35 personal-best. He was pumping what little muscle he had and throwing fists in the air over the last 100 meters of the race. The spirit that brought him across the line in a life-altering effort was representative of even the “big dogs,” as they realized that the American Dream of running in the Olympics had been earned (Briney will be an alternate to the Olympic Team). The foursome, using raw talent and focused training to prove their mettle, accepted a well deserved nod from the Roman God of Iron, and with their efforts will be for ever remembered in the annals of American distance running.

Randy Ashley participated in two Olympic Trails Marathons and has recently become a coach at ZAP Fitness. He can be reached at wrashley@hotmail.com.