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Fast pace: Dan Browne competes in the 5,000 meters at the Prefontaine Classic in June. Browne will compete in two events at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
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ENLARGE
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Proud Grandma: Beverly Winston Browne of Winston holds up a scrapbook of her grandson, Dan Browne, who is competing in both the 10,000-meter run and the marathon in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
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BEAVERTON -- Dan Browne is eager and excited about following in the footsteps of legendary long distance runner Frank Shorter.
Browne recently announced that he would compete in both the 10,000-meter run and the marathon in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The 10,000 is scheduled for Aug. 20 and the marathon for Aug. 29.
"The last person to do this particular double was Frank Shorter (in 1972)," said Browne. "The Olympics are something I've been aiming for and dreaming about for a long time. It's the fulfillment of everything I've put into it. I'm excited."
Shorter won the gold medal in the marathon at the Munich, Germany, Summer Games.
Browne, 29, is a 1993 West Linn High School graduate and a 1997 West Point Academy graduate who has ties to Douglas County. His grandmother is Beverly Browne, whose dad was Harry Winston. The community of Winston got its name from that family and Beverly Browne and her daughter Cheryl Weese, Dan's aunt, still live in the historic Harry Winston house.
"I'm very proud of my grandson," Beverly Browne said. "He's always been a joy to the family. He's been thinking about this (Olympics) for a long time."
Beverly Browne said she was able to travel east while Dan was attending West Point and she was able to watch him in one race.
"I can't remember if he won, but I know he did fine," she said.
"I'm just happy that he's there," she added of Dan qualifying for the Olympics. "If he doesn't win, that's OK. Just to be there is quite fabulous."
Dan Browne was not an Oregon state high school champion so he didn't earn any accolades early in his running career. He did, however, place second in the Oregon prep Class 4A cross country meet in 1992 and second in both the state 1,500 and 3,000 events the following spring.
More recently he has been first across the finish line and was the champion in the 2004 USA 10 Mile, the 2002 USA Marathon, the 2002 USA Running Circuit, the 1998 USA Indoor 3,000 Meters and the 1998 USA Cross Country. Browne was a contender for an Olympic berth in the 5,000 meters in 2000, but he pulled a hip muscle in a preliminary race at the trials and was unable to advance.
He was eager to run for the Olympics again this year. Earlier this month at the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials, Browne finished third in the 10,000-meter race to earn an Olympic berth. Back in February at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials, he had also placed third to qualify for the Games in that event.
Browne recently announced that he would compete in both the 10,000-meter run and the marathon in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The 10,000 is scheduled for Aug. 20 and the marathon for Aug. 29.
"The last person to do this particular double was Frank Shorter (in 1972)," said Browne. "The Olympics are something I've been aiming for and dreaming about for a long time. It's the fulfillment of everything I've put into it. I'm excited."
Shorter won the gold medal in the marathon at the Munich, Germany, Summer Games.
Browne, 29, is a 1993 West Linn High School graduate and a 1997 West Point Academy graduate who has ties to Douglas County. His grandmother is Beverly Browne, whose dad was Harry Winston. The community of Winston got its name from that family and Beverly Browne and her daughter Cheryl Weese, Dan's aunt, still live in the historic Harry Winston house.
"I'm very proud of my grandson," Beverly Browne said. "He's always been a joy to the family. He's been thinking about this (Olympics) for a long time."
Beverly Browne said she was able to travel east while Dan was attending West Point and she was able to watch him in one race.
"I can't remember if he won, but I know he did fine," she said.
"I'm just happy that he's there," she added of Dan qualifying for the Olympics. "If he doesn't win, that's OK. Just to be there is quite fabulous."
Dan Browne was not an Oregon state high school champion so he didn't earn any accolades early in his running career. He did, however, place second in the Oregon prep Class 4A cross country meet in 1992 and second in both the state 1,500 and 3,000 events the following spring.
More recently he has been first across the finish line and was the champion in the 2004 USA 10 Mile, the 2002 USA Marathon, the 2002 USA Running Circuit, the 1998 USA Indoor 3,000 Meters and the 1998 USA Cross Country. Browne was a contender for an Olympic berth in the 5,000 meters in 2000, but he pulled a hip muscle in a preliminary race at the trials and was unable to advance.
He was eager to run for the Olympics again this year. Earlier this month at the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials, Browne finished third in the 10,000-meter race to earn an Olympic berth. Back in February at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials, he had also placed third to qualify for the Games in that event.
Browne, who was a lieutenant in the Army and still serves in Oregon's National Guard, was emotionally spent after the marathon. He said he dedicated the race to his West Point friends who have died in Iraq.
"With three miles to go I was feeling pretty rough, but I thought of them and I knew that I would finish," he said.
Browne has been running as a member of the Nike track club under the guidance of coach Alberto Salazar, the former University of Oregon star, who is supervising a multi-million dollar training project for several U.S. marathon hopefuls. The athletes live in high altitudes and train in low altitudes, thanks to the some high-tech help. Their five-bedroom home is at sea level, but the house features molecular filters inside that remove oxygen, leaving the athletes with the sensation that they are living in the thin air of 12,000 feet. Living at high altitude, which requires a person's body to adapt to less oxygen in the air, thus increasing their oxygen-carrying efficiency, is believed to improve performance in endurance events.
Browne has lived in that house off and on for two years until recently moving into his own Beaverton house that also features a high-tech, high-altitude room.
"It forces the body to work harder and then you're capable of harder work when outside," Browne said. "The theory is to sleep high and train low. I've definitely seen improvements ... 8 to 10 percent."
Browne's personal record in the 10,000 is 27 minutes, 42 seconds, and his PR in the marathon is 2:11.35. He said he's probably in the top 25 this year in the 10,000 and in the top 50 in the marathon.
"My goal is to go to Athens and perform at my potential, bar nothing," he said. "It would be nice to get a medal, but that would take a super human effort. This is the opportunity of my lifetime and I'll be there to do my best."
"With three miles to go I was feeling pretty rough, but I thought of them and I knew that I would finish," he said.
Browne has been running as a member of the Nike track club under the guidance of coach Alberto Salazar, the former University of Oregon star, who is supervising a multi-million dollar training project for several U.S. marathon hopefuls. The athletes live in high altitudes and train in low altitudes, thanks to the some high-tech help. Their five-bedroom home is at sea level, but the house features molecular filters inside that remove oxygen, leaving the athletes with the sensation that they are living in the thin air of 12,000 feet. Living at high altitude, which requires a person's body to adapt to less oxygen in the air, thus increasing their oxygen-carrying efficiency, is believed to improve performance in endurance events.
Browne has lived in that house off and on for two years until recently moving into his own Beaverton house that also features a high-tech, high-altitude room.
"It forces the body to work harder and then you're capable of harder work when outside," Browne said. "The theory is to sleep high and train low. I've definitely seen improvements ... 8 to 10 percent."
Browne's personal record in the 10,000 is 27 minutes, 42 seconds, and his PR in the marathon is 2:11.35. He said he's probably in the top 25 this year in the 10,000 and in the top 50 in the marathon.
"My goal is to go to Athens and perform at my potential, bar nothing," he said. "It would be nice to get a medal, but that would take a super human effort. This is the opportunity of my lifetime and I'll be there to do my best."
