AlignLife Sponsored Runner Recognized

BLOOMINGTON -- The talent of distance runner Brandon Moen cannot be fully appreciated by a review of his stellar times and margins of victory.

It’s best to observe the 23-year-old Bloomington resident in motion.

At 5-foot-11 and 130 pounds, Moen (pronounced mown) is built for speed.

He skims across the ground with efficient, prancing strides which make the law of gravity seem like a suggestion.

The native of Montgomery, Minn., who was a three-time high school all-stater before attending Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, has stood out since moving here from Pierre, S.D., late last summer.

He won the Deer Run Run 8K cross country race (30:23.1) at Comlara Park on Dec. 8, the Delavan Frostbite Half Marathon (1:08:53) on March 9 and the St. Patrick’s 5K (15:21.7) in Bloomington on March 16.

Moen’s per mile pace for the latter two races was 5:15 and 4:57, respectively.

He’ll need to average 4:46 to meet his goal of breaking the 4.37-mile course record in the May 3 Lake Run at Lake Bloomington. The record of 20:54 by Jeff Jacobs has stood for 20 years.

Moen hopes the Lake Run prepares him for the Brookings (S.D.) Half Marathon on May 10. He set the course record there last year of 1:09:14 (5:07 per mile).

Other big races on Moen’s schedule are the June 14 Peoria Steamboat Classic 4-miler and the July 26 Bix 7-miler at Davenport, Iowa.

Moen’s long range goals are to break 1:05:00 in the half marathon and qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon.

Such goals will require sacrifice, scientific training, sponsorship and medical support, all of which he has in place.

Moen averages 80 to 90 miles of training per week under the guidance of Wisconsin-based coach Moses Waweru, a native of Kenya.

“Sometimes I go to visit him. We e-mail and phone a lot,” said Moen, who works for a flooring company.

Moen trains twice-a-day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with the first workout beginning at 5:45 a.m. and the second at 4:30 p.m.

He does speed work on the track on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One such workout last week featured 36 200-meter intervals, none slower than 32 seconds with 40 seconds of rest in between.

Saturdays are reserved for hill work and Sundays for long runs of up to 19 miles at 6:00 per mile pace. He lifts twice a week, focusing on the abs and lower back.

Overuse injuries have not been a problem for Moen, who receives chiropractic and vitamin supplement care from his primary sponsor, AlignLife Chiropractic at Gold’s Gym in Bloomington. The supplements aid his recovery from hard training.

“If I do repeats, I can come back and do another without feeling tired,” said Moen, whose other sponsor is Normal-based Often Running.

In January 2006, Moen tried to break the treadmill marathon world record of 2:23:58, but the 75-degree temperature in the mall he ran in proved too hot. He developed leg cramps after an observer accidentally unplugged his treadmill with 10 miles left. He resumed, but only managed 2:43:51. He wants to make another attempt, but not before he’s in prime condition.

Moen admits it’s not easy to remain motivated, but he credits his father, Greg, and stepmother, Linda, for “providing a lot of motivation.”

“As soon as you get your foot out the door, it’s a lot better,” added Moen. “Running gets addicting for sure.”