This weekend, more than 300 runners will dash through the streets of Houston, competing in the Olympic trials for six available slots (three for women, three for men) on the United States marathon team for the 2012 London Games.

One such runner got an early boost of adrenaline before Saturday's race: U.S. record holder Josh Cox's rental car was nearly hijacked while leaving George Bush Intercontinental Airport late Wednesday.

"A guy just tried to car jack us. Walked up to the window w/ his hand in his jacket. We nearly ran him over, he hopped in his car chased us," tweeted Cox, a long distance runner based in California.

Cox's wife, Carrie, was driving, and the couple's 10-month-old son, Asher Legend, was also in the rental car.

Though the details seem a little strange (a carjacker who already has a car to give chase in?), the family wisely took the "it's better to be safe than sorry" route and drove away from the scene unscathed.

And it's a good thing, since Cox is a favorite for Saturday's race. Not only did he break his own 50K American record last January, he also wooed audiences as one of 25 male contestants on The Bachelorette in 2005.

During the filming of the reality show, Cox was training for the 2008 Olympics. According to the North County Times, "The producers would wake him up before the shooting started so he could run 15 miles a day."

"Here's hoping for a less eventful next couple of days! Heart rate went through the roof!" Cox tweeted after the incident.

Good luck out there.