Running still in his future
The serious running is over for John Russell.
But he intends to continue running for a long time.
“I do — but just for recreation,” the three-time state champion from Freeman High said. “I don’t think I’ll compete any more.
“Actually, I’ve only run once since my last meet, and it’s been a nice break. I’m hanging out with a couple runners right now and we’ve been talking about it. I think I’ll probably run for recreation the rest of my life. I can’t say that for sure, but that will probably be the case.”
Russell won the state Class A/B cross country championship as a senior in 1998 for the Scotties, and was fourth in the Pac-10 1,500 meters in track for the University of Washington as a freshman.
After finishing 12th at the Pac-10 cross country championships as a sophomore, injuries gobbled up two full years of Russell’s college career.
“It was discouraging,” he admitted. “I have a lot of buddies that were able to run and go months and months with a high degree of consistency. Running really is an energy consistency game.
“I would only be able to go a month or two of great running — where I was feeling really good and starting to get back into things before the competitive season started. That always bothered me.
“I always felt that, just as I was getting into the swing of things, I’d get injured.”
Russell developed ilio tibial band syndrome in his left knee, which ultimately required surgery to correct, and had problems with his plantar fascia.
Last fall Russell ran every varsity race for the Huskies and led them to their first national meet since 1993. He was the team’s No. 2 runner at the NCAA championships, finishing 78th and was an Academic All-Pac-10 honorable mention selection.
This spring he graduated with a degree in computer science and is now contemplating entering a race of a different kind: the rat race.
In hindsight, however, Russell sees what it takes to be an elite runner at the Division I college level.
“Looking back on it, I think who makes a great runner is the guy who can go out there, month in and month out, year in and year out, get better and better and build on their successes,” he opined. “They build on their previous levels of fitness. When you can’t do that, it’s tough.
“Some people are just blessed with tough joints, tough ligaments, tough tendons. And then they’re tough mentally, too. They’re doing everything right in the training room.”
And he has news for people who figure a distance runner’s lot in college is easy.
“Running is the easy part in training,” he said. “The hard part is sleep patterns, making sure you get to bed at the right time, making sure you eat the right stuff, icing after every workout. It’s a tough choice when you have to decide between studying for a test and getting enough sleep for a meet. That’s the hard part.
“It’s fun once you can just get out and run with your friends.”
Russell currently is hanging out with friends, including his roommate, former Mead standout Chris Fayant, and enjoying the Olympics. He’s looking forward to the beginning of the track and field competition.
“I’ve always watched the Olympics and the World Championships and things like that,” he said. “It’ll be fun to see people that I’ve been in meets with compete at the Olympics.
“People like Dathan Ritzenhein in the 10,000 meters. I understand he’s banged up a little bit. There are a number of athletes who have been at big meets I’ve been in that I’ll enjoy watching.”