Hansons-Brooks Announces Addition of Bobby Curtis

Hansons-Brooks Distance Project Continues to Develop Olympic-Level Talent
January 17, 2013 by Nancy Hanson

Hansons-Brooks Receives Renewed Support from Brooks Running; Welcomes Long-Distance Standout Bobby Curtis

Rochester Hills, Mich. – Jan. 17, 2013 – The Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project (ODP) is proud to continue its development of rising stars in the field of running, in its keystone partnership with leading running brand Brooks Running. The most recent addition to the Hansons team, Bobby Curtis, is the 7thfastest U.S. male ever in the 10,000m with a 27:24 personal record.

Brooks Running has renewed its sponsorship of the Hansons ODP for an additional four years, continuing a loyal partnership that began in 2003. The partnership includes many perks, including both performance bonuses and athlete stipends based on athletes’ individual achievements on the track, road and grass.

The Hansons-Brooks agreement will allow the program to continue to develop up-and-coming talent and recruit rising stars. It will also expand its support of internationally successful athletes like Desi Davila, who qualified for the 2012 Olympics after training with the Hansons-Brooks team since 2005. The renewed commitment comes just shy of the program’s 10th anniversary.

“Brooks’ support is helping to usher in a new era for Hansons-Brooks,” said Kevin Hanson, Hansons-Brooks’ coach and co-founder. “When we started this program in 1999, we thought we had an idea of what success looked like. Each year we continue to stretch that goal further and further. We’ve had two Olympians on the past two marathon teams, but feel that is just the beginning.”

Bobby Curtis, a graduate of Villanova University, and formerly a professional runner for Reebok, joins Hansons-Brooks with high aspirations, particularly in the 10,000m and the marathon. His 10,000m personal record of 27:24 is the 7th fastest U.S. male clocking of all time, and earned him a top seed in the 2012 Olympic Trials, where he finished tenth overall.

“I joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project because I wanted to be trained by world class coaches, train with world class athletes and reach my full potential as an athlete,” said Curtis. His immediate goals are to represent the U.S. in the 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships and improve his personal record in the marathon.

In addition to Curtis, recent Hansons-Brooks signees include Neely Spence, the first American woman to win the Zatopek 10,000m run; Jake Riley, who recently won the USA Track & Field Club Cross Country Championships; and Colby Lowe, whose stellar college running career makes him a strong addition to the team. Each are expected to make impressive new marks in the coming years.