Brian Sheriff was one of the finest road racers of the late `80s, early `90s.  Born of an Irish-American father and Zimbabwean mother, Brian arrived in the USA in 1986 to attend South Plains College in Levelland, Texas before moving on to Texas Tech.  Though he ran 28:07 for 10,000 meters, and represented Zimbabwe at the 1987 IAAF World Championships in Rome —  and went on to run a 2:12 marathon PR in Tokyo 1996 — Brian was more a pure road racer than track or marathon man, winning prestigious titles at the San Blas Half Marathon, Crim  and Cherry Blossom 10 Milers, and more.

Having moved to Boulder after graduating Texas Tech in 1990, the following year Brian took an offer from Mazda to represent their Ekiden Relay team, and moved to Japan, where he lives to this day in Hiroshima with his Japanese wife and family.  His story as a hired racing gun in Japan is a saga in itself, but that is for another day.

In response to yesterday’s column WHERE DID THE GREAT MEXICAN RUNNERS TURN WRONG? I received the following from Brian via Facebook.  Again, for those a little newer to the sport, here is a valuable insight into the sports more formative years. (more…)