Olympian Desiree Davila Will Participate in Brooksie Way

Desiree Davila, the Rochester Hills runner who participated in the women's marathon at the London Summer Olympics, will be a guest of honor at the fifth annual Brooksie Way. 

"She will be there, she may not race, but she will be participating in some way," said Sue Barnes, training coordinator for the Sept. 30 half marathon, which begins and ends at Meadow Brook Music Festival on the campus of .

A hip injury kept Davila from finishing the recent Olympics marathon. But Davila, who trains in Rochester Hills with the Hansons Brooks Distance Project, is still an Olympian. In 2011 she . In that race, she clocked the fastest time ever by an American woman: 2:22:38.

On Monday, this tweet was posted from Davila's @des_davila account: "Big thanks to @DefiningSports #SVSP for diagnosing my injury and more importantly addressing underlying causes so I can comeback stronger.

Brooksie Way organizers said Davila will take part in pre-race festivities. 

“We’re thrilled Desi will be part of this year’s Brooksie Way,” race director Deb Kiertzner said in a statement Monday. “She is the latest in series of world-class runners who have participated in our races, including Bill Rodgers, Greg Meyer, Brian Sell, Lisa Rainsberger and Frank Shorter.”

The Brooksie Way started in 2008. It was named for Brooks Stuart Patterson, the son of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who died in a snowmobile accident in 2007. "If you want to live life to the fullest, you have to live it the Brooksie Way," Patterson has said repeatedly since then in describing the race's namesake.

This year, of the race, which includes a 5K, half marathon and 1k fun run.

For more about the race or to register, visit www.thebrooksieway.com. Register by Saturday to have your name printed on your bib. for the race.