The Hansons-Brooks Distance Project is an Olympic development program for post-collegiate distance runners. The program was founded by brothers Kevin Hanson and Keith Hanson in

Rochester Hills, Michigan Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Rochester Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

in 1999, and joined by

Brooks Sports Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are ...

as a sponsor in 2003. It has produced a number of notable professional runners. The Hanson brothers also operate four stores for runners in the

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

area. The program is coached by Keith Hanson, Kevin Hanson, and Don Jackson.

Current Athletes

Men

Source: * Shuaib Aljabaly * JP Flavin * Ethan Gregg * Ben Kendell *

Zach Panning Zach Panning (born March 29, 1995) is an American long distance runner and marathoner. He ran collegiately at Grand Valley State University where he won an NCAA Division II Cross Country championship in 2018. He ran for team USA at the 2023 Wo ...

* CarLee Stimpfel

Women

Source: * Anne-Marie Blaney * Jessie Cardin * Amy Davis-Green * Sarah Disanza * Maggie Donahue * Caroline Garrett * Melissa Johnson-White * Dot McMahan * Megan O'Neil * Olivia Pratt

Notable Former Athletes

The project's first Olympian was

Brian Sell Brian Sell (born April 11, 1978) is a retired American long-distance runner who specialized in various long-distance track events before specializing as a marathoner in his professional career with Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. Sell represente ...

in the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Sage Canaday wrote a book titled ''Running For The Hansons'' about his experience with Hansons-Brooks, published in 2011.

Desiree Linden Desiree "Des" Nicole Linden (née Davila; born July 26, 1983) is an American long-distance runner, author, and podcaster. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2 ...

finished second in the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston, TX. In August 2016, Linden placed 7th in the Olympic Marathon in Rio de Janeiro. On April 16, 2018, Linden was the first American woman in 33 years to win the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

, with a time of 2:39:54. Other notable former athletes include Natosha Rodgers, Neeley Spence Gracey, Bobby Curtis, Jake Riley, Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott,

Dathan Ritzenhein Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broke ...

, and

Mohamed Hrezi Mohamed Fuad "Mo" Hrezi (born 28 October 1991) is a Libyan-American marathon runner. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the marathon and finished in 77th place with a time of 2:21:17. He was the flag bearer for Libya at the Parade of N ...

References

External links

Official website
Road running in the United States Track and field clubs in the United States 1999 establishments in Michigan Sports clubs and teams established in 1999 Sports in Oakland County, Michigan Rochester Hills, Michigan {{athletics-stub