For a day this past Saturday in New York City, Brian Fuller was among kings and queens of their sport.
He was bumping shoulders next to Track & Field Olympians like Leo Manzano and Matthew Centrowitz, two of America's best one-mile prospects -- Manzano was the silver medalist in the 1,500-meter run at the London games, and Centrowitz was fourth.
View full sizeBrian Fuller, 26, competed for Penn State University and owns a 4:06 personal record in the mile. He was a standout at Cumberland Valley High.He even chatted up Brenda Martinez, arguably the best current women's American miler.
So as the former Penn State track & field and cross country standout stood inside the elite runner's tent during the 32nd annual
, he was living it up.
"I couldn’t turn it down," Fuller said of being asked to compete in the event, which is arguably the nation's most popular one-mile race, on September 22nd. "I did get accepted to run based off some of my previous performances."
The mile itself, which stretches from East 80th Street and beelines down Fifth Avenue toward the finish on East 60th Street, was like a blur for the former Cumberland Valley star.
Fuller finished with a time of 4 minutes, 22.1 seconds, securing 24th place out of 26 runners in the men's NYRR Road Mile Championships division.
Admittedly, he didn't have his best showing -- his personal record is 4:06, which he secured in 2008 as a junior at Penn State.
Then again, just weeks ago he ran 100 miles in five days, contributing to
, which captured a world record running from Minnesota to State College.
As you can imagine, his legs didn't have pop.
"I had zero spring," said the 26-year-old Fuller, who finished 10th in 2011 and ran a 4:10. "I had nothing. I knew that going in, but I was doing this for the experience and doing it to have fun. I still gave it everything I had."
Centrowitz, the fourth-place finisher in London, won the men's professional field in 3:52.4, while Martinez, who came in as a slight underdog, out-kicked the likes of Anna Pierce and Jenny Simpson to win the women's field in 4:24.2.
The Fifth Avenue Mile is one of the premier one-mile races in the country, so it was hard for Fuller to pass up, even if he was less than 100-percent. The race attracted 5,469 total finishers, and it was held in the heart of New York City.
"The mile is right along Central Park," Fuller said. "It’s really great area. The first half mile starts out on a gradual up hill and then the second half is downhill, and somewhat flat to the finish."
A competitive person by nature, Fuller hardly passes up good opportunities when they appear. He says he races often, and has an 8k in Virginia that he's planning in the near future.
What's more, he didn't let the joy of his experience in New York last long.
Once his race finished sometime close to 1 p.m., he traveled back to Harrisburg, laced up his soccer cleats and tried out for the Harrisburg Heat, a minor-league soccer club who were holding open tryouts for the public.
Fuller had no collegiate experience and only a club soccer background, but the open tryouts to him, he said, were cool and he "just wanted to give it a shot."
"I was a big fan of the Heat growing up and I heard the tryouts were open," he said. "I'm competitive, so I said 'Why not, let's give it a shot.'
While he may not wait long for a call-back from the Heat, Fuller will keep himself occupied.
Who knows, maybe another race will come calling.