Over a lengthy road racing career, Brian Maxwell earned a place among the world’s best runners and in 1977, was honoured with a third place ranking in Track and Field News magazine’s acclaimed annual world rankings.

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Brian began that year by successfully defending his title at the Trail’s End Marathon in Seaside, Oregon with a personal best of 2:14:44. Just six weeks later, he finished third in Boston, before winning Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands.

Maxwell went on to win the 1978 National Capital Marathon, earning a place on Canada’s Commonwealth Games team. He finished 11th at the Games (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), but his notoriety and renowned perseverance earned him an invitation to the Fukuoka International Marathon which was wildly acclaimed as the “unofficial” world championship (the first world championships weren’t held until five years later). Brian finished 15th in the Japanese race.

His contribution to Athletics was not limited to road racing. Together with his wife Jennifer, he launched Power Bar energy bars from his home in Berkeley, essentially creating a whole industry where before none had existed.