Russell to speak at track seminar

By: By John Dell | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: February 19, 2009

Former members of the Twin City Track Club rarely run in the Olympics.

But Blake Russell has, and she is planning to share her experiences on Saturday at the club's annual winter seminar.

Russell, who ran at Forsyth Country Day School and North Carolina, ran the women's marathon at last year's Beijing Olympics and finished 27th in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 13 seconds.

She was the only one of the three U.S. entrants to finish.

John Anderson, the TCTC president, said: "We're pretty excited about this because she's a hometown girl who has gone on to do great things."

Russell, 33, also will be at FCD this morning to be recognized by her former school. She started running as a ninth grader after giving up soccer because of a knee injury.

Frank Shorter was the guest speaker at the TCTC seminar last year and drew a lot of attention. Anderson hopes that Russell's appearance also will be well received. John Danforth, an original member of the track club and Russell's former coach at FCD, will introduce Russell.

"I'm sure John will have a lot of stories about Blake, so it should be a good night," Anderson said.

Last year's Olympics berth was the first for Russell, who lives in Pacific Grove, Calif., with her husband, Jon. She's six months pregnant with their first child but hasn't ruled out a return to competition after the baby is born.

Russell has attended the TCTC winter seminar before, when she was in college.

"I'll probably talk about the evolution of my career and obviously about my Olympics experience," Russell said. "I went to (the seminar) years ago, and I was thinking about that because I guess I'll be on stage this time."

Anderson said that the seminar is a good way for area runners to kick off spring.

"A lot of us have been in hibernation in the winter, so this is a nice way to get everybody motivated again," he said.

■ If you go: The seminar will be at the Children's Museum of Winston-Salem, on Liberty Street near Old Salem, starting at 6:30 p.m. It is open to the public and there will be registration at the door, but there is a limit of 125 guests. The $20 registration fee includes a social hour and dinner. Visit www.twincitytc.org for more information.

■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.