Blake Russell was third in the U.S. Women‘s Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston and Cambridge in April in 2:32:40 and will race 26.2 miles for the U.S. at the Beijing Olympics, along with Deena Kastor and Magdalena Lewy Boulet. Russell‘s fastest marathon was a 2:29:10 for sixth place in Chicago in 2005; she also ran 2:30:32 for fourth (after leading much of the way) at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials and 2:30:41 in a 2003 Twin Cities victory. Her 2008 race results include a sixth at the USA Cross country Championships and a fifth in 32:31.07 in the 10,000 at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene. Russell was the 2006 USA Cross Country 8k champion. In 2005 ("definitely a breakthrough year"), she won the USA 20K in New Haven on Labor Day in 1:06:43, and was second in the 10,000 at the USA Championships in 31:35.25. As a University of North Carolina undergrad, Russell won the 1500 and 5000 at the 1997 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. She later earned a masters degree in physical therapy from Elon University in North Carolina. Russell lives in Pacific Grove, California with her husband, John, and is coached by Bob Sevene.
