Hometown Runner, an Olympics Hopeful, Reflects on the Sport

The most significant moment of Clint Verran’s running career happened while he was racing on his first United States team back in 2000.

It was the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Veracruz, Mexico; Verran finished 17th overall, just 2:09 behind the winner, which was the highest finish ever by any American in the world championships.

When Verran crossed the finish line, he remembers young Mexican children surrounding him, asking for his autograph and USA gear.

“At that moment in time, I felt like I had really achieved something in the sport of running," he said. "I was no longer a college or recreational runner, I had actually made it on the professional scene.

"That was a special moment for me.”

Homegrown athlete remembers his roots

Verran, who lives in Rochester Hills, grew up in Lake Orion and ran cross-country and track for Lake Orion High School before continuing his running career at Eastern Michigan University.

Since then, he has earned several top finishes in esteemed races — including a 10th place finish in the 2006 Boston Marathon and several Olympic trial finishes.

The 36-year-old is working toward qualifying for the U.S. Olympics team, but he still remembers his running roots.

“I remember running by Adams and Silverbell Road when it was just a cornfield," he said. “I run by (Lake Orion High) all the time. This morning I did a training run that was on a lot of the same roads that I trained on in high school.”

Now a physical therapist as well as professional runner, Verran still trains locally with a professional running group, the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.

Rochester Hills and Oakland Township were hand chosen by the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project as the best area to train an Olympic-level group of athletes.

“Rochester Hills was chosen specifically for our training group because of access to a lot of the trail networks, gravel roads, parks and even the public high school track facilities,” Verran said.

Long distances and flat and hilly roads are critical for runners training for a marathon.

“We are the premiere distance-running professional group in the country," he said. "We’ve had members on the Olympic team, and men and women compete in the world championships for both track and field and marathons. 

Verran’s fellow teammate and Rochester Hills resident Desiree Davila finished second in the 2011 Boston Marathon.

The Brooksie Way — another day

Next week's Brooksie Way Half-Marathon falls a week before the 2011 Chicago Marathon, so Verran has chosen to opt out of racing it to avoid running long races on consecutive weekends.

“The Brooksie Way is rarely a key race in our schedule, but we like to support it because it is in our hometown," he said. "We like to promote the sport of running whether or not we’re racing in the actual event or not."

Instead, Verran’s practice and website (Clint Verran Sports Medicine and www.runguru.com, respectively) are sponsoring an aid station to provide Brooksie Way racers with water during the race. 

Advice for beginners

If you are a beginning or aspiring runner, Verran has some words of wisdom for you: “My best advice is to start off slow, slower than you even think you should.  A lot of beginner runners think they need to go out and run three miles on their first day, and that’s actually the worst thing they can do,” Verran said.

Verran suggests to start off running just a few minutes at a time and build up ever so gradually because it’s very easy to get injured when you first start running.

“The key to success in this sport is avoiding injury,” Verran said.

Aside from the proper training philosophy, you need to be properly equipped, he said.

“If you can get a nice pair of running shoes, start off super slow and short and gradually build up over time, the chances of you sticking it out and starting to enjoy it over time will be better,” Verran said.