About Us
Brian Brenchley was born in April, 1977 to Joe and Vickie Brenchley. He was raised in Ogden, Utah. Brian was diagnosed at birth with cerebral palsy. In short, his mind is all there, but his body is not. He must have assistance with almost every aspect of life from eating and bathing, to opening a door. He is not able to speak vocally, but instead uses a small computer mounted on his wheelchair to spell out words one letter at a time. Brian uses a motorized wheelchair to get around.
Despite the things he faces everyday that we would call challenges, Brian lives a very full and active life. He loves to attend dances, sporting events, parties with friends, and he dates much more than most. Everyone who knows Brian knows that he isn’t afraid to ask out any girl for a date. His good parents have spent countless hours, miles, and gas money in support of Brian’s active social life. Brian has a love for life, people, making great memories, and an appreciation for all things good. The lives of literally thousands of people have been touched for the better because of Brian’s big smile and happy approach to life.
Tyler Sorensen was born October 28, 1976 in Bountiful Utah. He was raised there his whole life and even had the same bedroom until leaving to serve and LDS mission to Hawaii at age 19. It was after his return from Hawaii that he began to attend Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. It was here at the LDS Institute of Religion attached to the university that Brian and Tyler met and became friends. Tyler has since graduated from Weber State with a B.S. in Communication/Communication Studies and Utah State University with a second B.S. in Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education. He is currently pursuing a clinical doctorate in audiology at Utah State University.
Tyler has never been a runner. It wasn’t until a few years after meeting Brian that he even considered running. “I have always hated running”, he says. “When I was younger, it just hurt. It wasn’t any fun. I couldn’t see how anyone could possibly enjoy it or want to do it on purpose.” It was in the spring of 2004 when that all began to change.
“I was in between jobs and had a lot of time to think. A year or so previous to this, a friend and I had thrown around the idea of building a chair to take Brian hiking and maybe running. The thought kept coming back to me, so I started seriously considering what it would take in order to get a chair that would work for Brian, get into running shape myself, and then actually run some races.”
After deciding that this is something that he wanted to do with his friend, even though he still hated running and wasn’t in shape, Tyler approached Brian’s father, Joe.
“I remember walking into the house, so nervous that I was almost shaking. I really wanted to run with Brian, but I was about to ask a father if I could stick his son in a wheel chair and push him as fast as I could run. I knew that Brian was one of the most precious things this family had, and I knew that his dad was paying the insurance.”
“I sat down at the kitchen table with Joe and began to explain my idea to his dad. I got out the basics and was about to go into a big schpeal of why they should let me run with their son, when Joe stopped me. He said, ‘Tyler, we decided a long time ago that Brian has enough limitations. We decided that we would never stand in the way of anything that he wants to do. The choice is up to him. If he wants to do it, then we will support you. Go ask him.’
“And that was it. Discussion over. I had permission. I went over to Brian who was playing a game on the computer. I knelt down next to him and showed him pictures of some racing chairs, and a couple of pictures of Rick and Dick Hoyt of Team Hoyt. They are the father and son team who have run literally hundreds of races together over the last thirty years, and have completed eight Iron Man Triathlons. Rick has a very similar condition to Brian’s. Their example is what inspired the idea of Team Brenchley in the first place. When Brian saw their picture, his jaw dropped in amazement, trying to understand what I was saying. When he realized what I was offering, I thought his face would fall off because his smile was so big.”
Tyler and Brian raised $3,500.00 in one month’s time with the help of friends, family, and a few local businesses. The majority of the funds were gathered in a cutout milk jug that Brian kept on the tray of his wheelchair. It had a picture of them both next to a picture of Team Hoyt with the words “This could be us” written above. In only a few weeks time, their dream began to turn into a reality.
Eagle Sportschairs of Snellville, Georgia manufactured the chair, including the modifications necessary to fit Brian’s needs.
Brian and Tyler have been running races since 2004. Brian is the heart of Team Brenchley, while Tyler is just the motor. They claim that Tyler is the legs and Brian is the looks of the duo. “Brian always gets all the ladies”, Tyler says. “The trouble is, he knows it!” Brian just smiles.
How does Brian feel about racing? If you ask him about it, his big cantaloupe smile says it all. He simply loves it.
Check out this article from the Deseret News.