The 34th Annual Brian's Run will take place on Sunday, December 4th, 2011, at West Chester Hernderson, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Brian's Run is the longest consecutively run race in the Philadelphia area.

Brian’s Run began in 1978 as a one-time fund raising event to benefit Brian Bratcher, a West Chester Henderson High School football player who sustained a life-challenging spinal cord injury at the age of 15 during a scrimmage. Brian was paralyzed that year, and his friends, their parents and the community as a whole wanted to help. They organized a race and hoped to raise $500. That first year, 2,000 runners participated and the effort raised $20,000 to help Brian with his expenses. After 1979, Brian felt he had benefited enough from the proceeds and asked to have others benefit from the annual event. The race for years has raised funds for disabled people from the community who need help with physical mobility, seeing and communication.

In 2009, the race changed from a 10k to a 5 mile loop.  The course is a challenging out and back through West Chester, starting and ending at Henderson High School, Brian’s alma mater.  All proceeds from the race go to support “Homes for Our Troops”, a charity that supports our wounded veterans, making their homes handicap accessible.

Each year, the race has attracted thousands of runners - ranging from locals to nationals and international participants -- and recently received national recognition by Runner's World magazine as one of the "100 Great Races." In recent years, the race-day activities have drawn about 3,000 participants and many spectators who spend the day volunteering and cheering on the runners.

Honor roll: Listing of long time runners