From Runners World

The Hansons-Brooks guys were out in full force yesterday and proved they're ready to race in November.

Brian Sell was in the zone yesterday as he cruised the final strides to the New York City Marathon finish line and the end of his 26.2 K "Simulator" run in Central Park. Really deep in the zone. Sell didn't seem to notice his two coaches, Keith and Kevin Hanson, at the finish line. Or several members of the New York Road Runners, including CEO Mary Wittenberg on a bicycle. Or a gaggle of reporters from the New York Times, Runner's World and Running Times.

So deep in the zone that he didn't realize he was done. He crossed the line and kept on truckin'. A chorus of voices rang out.

"Whoa, Brian, whoa, whoa."
"Hey, you're done, you can stop."
"Brian, you've finished, take it easy."

About five strides later, Sell slowed and looked back. His face was red from the 16.3-mile effort, and his eyebrows deeply arched and suspicious. Was this a ruse? Were these people pulling his leg, the way runners will? He was looking back over his shoulder, but his expression and body language said that he wanted to keep running. Another 5-mile loop? No problem.

"No, you're really done," said Keith Hanson. "Here, I'll do the math for you. Ten miles is 50 minutes, and then six more is another 30 minutes, so that's 1:20 right there."

Sell looked down at this watch. It said "1:21:45" give or take a few seconds. He knew that he'd been toiling up and down Central Park's hills at just under 5 minutes per mile. The math added up. He began to relax and walk back to the finish line, though still with a quizzical look on his face.