Chris Brown '12 began his career as a cross country and track star at nearby Chelmsford High School. Since coming to Brandeis, Brown has continued to excel, setting personal records in the 800-meter and mile at 1 minute, 56 seconds and 4:17, respectively. Brown has also led the Brandeis track and field team in several meets this season, including the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational at Harvard University last weekend. Brown finished second in the 800-meter, running a brisk 1:58.04. At the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational, Brown ran the anchor leg in the 4x800 relay, which finished a full 30 seconds ahead of the second-place squad from the University of Southern Maine. It was one of Brandeis' two wins at the meet.

Brown also performed well at the 2011 Dartmouth Relays; he was the only runner on the men's team to earn a point. Brown was the top Division III runner in the mile and placed sixth overall with a time of 4:25.79. Brown beat teammate Devon Holgate '11 in the race by just 0.13 seconds.

At the NCAA Division III Regional Cross Country Championship last fall, Brown was one of three Brandeis runners who placed in the top 25, along with Paul Norton '11 and Marc Boutin '12. Brown ran 26:21.9. This is his third year in a row receiving All-New England recognition.

At the NCAA Division III Championships, Brown was the second Brandeis runner to cross the line, helping lead the team to a 16th-place finish.

Despite his individual success, Brown says that he is much more excited about the strength of the distance runners as a whole.

"I'm very confident with our distance crew this season," he said. "We have a lot of strong milers and good 3K 5K guys. I expect that people will run some good times.