Brian Wai-hin Lau – 4’11”, 120 lbs. is a Middle Distance runner from Howard County, Maryland. Brian is majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. Other notable accomplishments include being a Teaching Assistant for CMSC132 at the University of Maryland, creating Joke.Py, and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. This is the story of Brian Lau vs the 2 minute barrier of the 800 meter run. 

The origins

Brian’s 800 meter running journey began in the Spring of 2018, at Winters Mill High School, where he ran 2:23 for 3rd place at a dual meet. Throughout his freshman year, he would continue to cut this time down to 2:11. Little is known about the details of this inaugural season for Brian, but you could say it was the start of something great. 

Brian returned to the 800 meter racing scene in Winter of 2018 where he ran indoor track for the first time. While he had a bit of a shaky start to the season, he lowered his PR to 2:10.53 at Indoor Track Regionals. Later in the Spring of 2019, Brian lowered his PR further in a blazing 2:03 800 at the DMV Meet of the Elite in June of 2019.  From this performance, Brian claims he was destined to run Division 1 in the NCAA racing scene. 

The next Indoor Track Season, he would run around 2:08 to PR indoors. Outdoor season was going to be his big breakthrough, where he would soon be recruited by college coaches across the country. However, in March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic stole away the most crucial season for Brian’s college recruitment journey and in turn his NCAA career. 

Throughout the Summer of 2020, Brian did not see much improvement in his era of unattached racing with the Bullseye Running Club. As the pandemic began to settle down, Brian returned to the MPSSAA racing scene in their abbreviated track season, where he ran 2:03.83 at a random dual meet. Brian was not some washed up runner. He was also a school record holder in the 4×800 meter relay. 

Despite these great developments, Brian was snubbed by many colleges he was interested in both academically and as a potential NCAA runner. He was rejected  by Cornell, Rice, Stanford, Hopkins, and Carnegie Mellon to name a few. With these prospects looking dim, Brian would enroll at the University of Maryland to continue his studies.

Fall 2021

In the Fall of his freshman year at UMD, he joined the UMD Club Running Team to avoid getting fat and to maybe make some friends along the way. Brian absolutely hates cross country but decided to do some races because it would be silly and goofy. 

However, at the NIRCA Mid-Atlantic Regionals race, there was a distinct moment around the 3.8 mile mark, where him, Jacob Bush, and Nick Gonzàlez were all in immense pain, not talking, and hurting so much that Brian vowed to never run a cross country race again*. He has not raced a cross country race since**. 

*except NIRCA cross country nationals that year because it was a fun road trip where he got to hang out with Frankie Andrews. 

**2023 update – he actually did run a couple more but this article does not go past May 2023. 

Spring 2022

Happy Valley Invitational 2022

Brian Lau toed the line for the 800m of an indoor track for the first time since 2019. Seeded into section 2 out of 3, Brian was seeded in the middle of the pack, but would win the heat in 2:08. He even scored a singular point for the team scoring. While slower than his PR, this was when Brian knew he was still destined for greatness and not washed up.

Yet. 

Maryland Invite

UMD’s D1 Outdoor Track team was set to host the Maryland Invite as an early season opener for its athletes. A notoriously selective meet with competitive standards, Brian was undeterred and requested entry with his 54 second 400. Brian was not accepted into the meet. Former President Matthew Stasiukevicius allegedly voiced his support for Brian’s entry into the meet but I could not find any documentation of this occurring. Brian settled for volunteering at the meet while he watched his high school friend and current club teammate, Jake Muma run a 2:02 800m.  

NIRCA Nationals 2022

Brian joined the club on their trek to Olivet, Michigan. Aboard the 8,000 dollar charter bus, Brian made good use of the group’s forced proximity to one another to pull off possibly the greatest April Fool’s prank in Club history. His victim? Former Vice President Sohan Ganatra. You just had to be there to watch him open the email from Weddy.umd.edu@gmail.com. 

On day 2 of the meet, Brian was seeded in the same heat as Chris Scalzi, a fellow mid distance training partner. He woke up poorly rested and somewhat sore that day, probably because he ran a 1500 the day before. He went out in 60 for second place, but in the last 200 meters he promptly got passed by half the field, including Chris. He would finish in 2:06, 2 seconds behind Chris. They had an emotional embrace immediately afterward. Brian was now set on the third annual Terrapin Invitational. 

Terrapin Invite

Two weeks later, it was a bright sunny day for the Terrapin Invite. The stacked mid distance squad of the club had their eyes set on the men’s 4×800 meter club record. Initially, Brian wasn’t even a part of it, but injury struck Jake Muma and Brian had to fill in. Despite a poor week of training and a less than stellar pre meet, Brian took the lead leg on the race and set the team up for success with a 2:05 split. Some might say he even carried the club to a new club record in 8:03.20. 

Hours later, Brian would toe the line for the open 800. It was terrible. He opened in 62 and began coughing and dry heaving. It didn’t help that his pollen allergies had been flaring up. This was the start of Brian’s asthma and pollen allergies arc. 600 meters in he blew a hole in one of his spikes. Contemplating dropping out, he settled for a pitiful closing 200 and ended up in 7th place with a 2:10. Truly the most embarrassing moment of his career. Brian had not run a race over 2:09 in at least a few years. He contemplated never stepping foot on a track again. 

An hour later, he bounced back with a 14:51 3000 meter steeplechase, holding hands with fellow club members, Gabe Worthington and Matt Sebsibe through the finish line. 

Paul Kaiser Classic 2022

A week later, Brian returned to the racing scene, this time up in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Sore, decked out in ripped spikes, and low expectations, Brian toed the line once more. In an NCAA filled field, he went out in 60, but had a mediocre closing to finish in 2:05. He trailed behind Chris Scalzi to witness him break 2:00 for the first time to qualify for the Kehoe Twilight Invite. Despite a mediocre day, Brian had a great time going to Mission Barbecue with John and Dominick, which he describes as “delicious, but expensive.” Brian did not bother trying to enter the highly selective Kehoe Invite. His season was over. 

The Baltimore Marathon

The Summer after his freshman year at Maryland, Brian decided to dabble in some longer distances, “for the vibes.”  He ran some high mileage for a few months, got COVID-19 at one point, created Joke.Py, and then he paid a couple hundred dollars to go run a marathon around Baltimore. Brian was on pace for a sub 3 hour performance until about the last 10k. In his words, “It sucked. It hurt.” And even worse, he let Zach Kiedrowski beat him. 

Spring 2023

Towson Spring Open

After disappearing from the Club’s racing scene for several months, Brian returned to the world of mid distance running alongside Jake Muma at the Towson Spring Open. Despite these months of absence, Brian continued his trend of always having some strange unspecified illness plaguing his performance, even contemplating scratching before he even rolled out of bed that day. Nonetheless, he made it to the starting line. He opened in 59.99, ahead of Jake and closed in 1:03 for a tiny PR of 2:03.14. This was the first time Brian had ever beaten Jake in a race and all the world (just Brian) took notice. He was once again fueled to go after the sub 2:00 800 this season. 

On another note, Brian once again pulled off another one of his iconic fake email April Fool’s Pranks on the Club’s President, Sohan, who once again fell for it. It pranked Sohan so hard that he got food poisoning the next day and did not make it to the meet. 

NIRCA Track Nationals 2023

Brian Lau chose not to attend NIRCA Nationals in 2023. He signed up until he realized that he had no desire to return to Olivet, Michigan even though he was promised to be put in a car with Frankie Andrews. This was very inconvenient for the Vice President who was planning this trip and it was not appreciated. He would have broken 2:00 here. 

Instead of attending NIRCA Nationals, Brian chose to attend the Mid-Atlantic JUCO Invite held by Howard Community College, along with Jake Muma. He didn’t run the 800 here but this race gets a mention because it was the second and possibly last time ever that Brian beat Jake in a race. 

Hopkins-Loyola Invite

This was supposed to be the end of Brian’s journey to a sub 2:00 800. It was supposed to be the race where he beat the Maryland D1 team in the 800. For once, Brian believed that 1:59 was possible. Then it rained. Then thunder struck. The meet was delayed. Other club members were abandoning prospects of the meet resuming. Most cars returned back to College Park. Brian stayed. He sat around grading some 5th graders’ papers until finally, after a 2 hour delay, the meet would resume. 

20 minutes later Brian was on the line with the few remaining 800 guys who stayed. Just as the race was about to start, a SMCM runner (and former teammate of Sam Fields) called out Brian for cheating. His toes were over the line. Startled, Brian moved his foot back, but then suddenly the gun fired off and the race was on. Despite this disadvantage, Brian managed to PR in 2:02.86. If Brian wasn’t called out for cheating I’m sure he would have run 2.87 seconds faster. Trust me. Regardless, Brian was now more optimistic than ever for his prospects at a sub 2:00 performance soon, and possibly even an entry into the Kehoe Twilight Invite at the end of the season. 

Paul Kaiser Classic 2023

Brian returned to Shippensburg this year ready to smash his 2:02 PR. Once again, he was on the starting line alongside Jake Muma. He committed to going out fast and split a 58.2 first lap. At 600 meters to go, Brian was (allegedly) cut off by none other than Jake Muma. He was distraught that his former high school friend, teammate, and fellow MilesplitMaryland employee Jake would cut him off with 200 to go. It was the betrayal of the century. Despite being beat out by Jake in the end, Brian had a 1.5 second PR and ran 2:01.48. He was now at the mercy of the meet directors to be let into the Kehoe Twilight Invite for one last shot of the season. He was locked in.

Kehoe Twilight Invite 2023

The days leading up to the Kehoe Twilight Invite were very anxiety inducing for Brian. He harassed both the President and Vice President of the club daily for updates on whether his entry was accepted into the exclusive and highly selective invitational. The rough benchmark time to be accepted in the 800m was 1:57, which Brian was nowhere near. Finally, on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 at approximately 6:27 PM, Brian Lau was accepted into the 2023 Kehoe Twilight Invitational. 

Brian was placed into the “slow” heat alongside other slow 800 runners with PRs ranging from 1:52 to 1:58. Needless to say, Brian was certainly going to be in a league of his own at this race. In the first 400 meters, Brian went out in 58, but it definitely looked more like he was running a 2:30 800 with how fast the front pack was going. Brian closed in around 1:03 for a 2:02.09, which is the second fastest 800 he had ever run. Best of all, he was only last by 4 seconds.  He placed in the top 20 (19th out of 19) in a very competitive and selective meet where the winner ran 1:48. While Brian did not break 2, more importantly he got a bib for this race. That’s all that really mattered to him. He likes bibs. 

Closing Thoughts

Those of you who read the title of this post may be disappointed that this story did not end with Brian breaking 2:00 and the euphoria that came after it. Like many stories, Brian Lau’s is still being written. He might run another 800 meter race in New York after final exams are done. Will he ever break 2:00? That is still unknown. But what was truly important all along this journey were the friends he made along the way. Beating Jake Muma in a race. Annoying Frankie for 8+ hours straight. Pranking Sohan two years in a row. Eating Mission Barbecue with John and Dominick. This is what the sub 2 journey is all about. 

If Brian does ever break 2 this will be continued in another blog post. Maybe I don’t know. Brian is not confident that this will ever happen after being cursed by Konrad Shire. At the very least he just wants people to read his life story in the 800.

 This is getting posted now because I found this in my Google Docs drafts. 

2024 edit – READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What was Brian Lau’s initial 800 meter time when he began his running journey at Winters Mill High School?
2. How did Brian’s performance progress during his freshman year of high school in terms of his 800 meter time?
3. Why was Brian unable to participate in his crucial outdoor track season in March 2020?
4. Despite the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, what was Brian’s time in the 800 meter race during the abbreviated MPSSAA track season in the summer of 2020?
5. What were some of the colleges that rejected Brian for both academic and athletic reasons?
6. Why did Brian decide to join the UMD Club Running Team during his freshman year at the University of Maryland?
7. What memorable event occurred during the NIRCA Mid-Atlantic Regionals race that led Brian to vow to never run a cross country race again?
8. Describe Brian’s performance at the Happy Valley Invitational 2022.
9. Why was Brian not accepted into the Maryland Invite despite requesting entry with his 54-second 400 time?

10. What was the outcome of Brian’s race at the NIRCA Nationals 2022, and how did he prank a fellow club member during the event?
11. How did Brian contribute to the club’s performance at the Terrapin Invite?
12. Describe Brian’s experience during the 800 meter race at the Terrapin Invite.
13. What was Brian’s performance like at the Paul Kaiser Classic 2022?
14. Why did Brian decide to participate in the Baltimore Marathon during the summer after his freshman year at Maryland?
15. What strange illness plagued Brian’s performance at the Towson Spring Open in Spring 2023, and what was his finishing time in the 800 meter race?
16. Why did Brian choose not to attend the NIRCA Nationals in 2023, and where did he decide to race instead?
17. What unexpected challenge did Brian face during the Hopkins-Loyola Invite, and how did it affect his performance in the 800 meter race?
18. Describe Brian’s performance at the Kehoe Twilight Invite 2023, and how did he feel about his achievement despite not breaking 2 minutes?
19. What are some of the memorable moments Brian experienced throughout his journey to break the 2-minute barrier in the 800 meter race?
20. Reflecting on Brian’s story, what do you think are the most important aspects of his journey besides breaking the 2-minute barrier?