Bruce Russell, varsity cross-country

By Ian Froese, Staff Contributor

In high school, Bruce Russell was that guy you would find on nearly every sporting team. This wasn’t because he was an athletic prodigy, but rather because his school had slim pickings to choose from.

“I graduated with 14 people in my class, so they basically needed people who were moderately athletic to play every sport,” said Russell. “I mean, I played basketball. I can’t shoot.”

The Halifax native graduated from Armbrae Academy, a stones throw away on Oxford St. Today, he runs cross country for the school across the street.

“I did track and cross country in high school. I wasn’t any good at it. But in Grade 10, I realized I could be sort of decent at it,” said the modest Russell.

The classics major has been a Tiger for three-years, as long as he’s been a student, and is now among the five runners whose scores contribute to the team average. Russell attributes his progression to a particular off-season when training became a main focus.

“At first, I was in the back of the pack in all my workouts. But I made a huge improvement over the summer going into my second year and it has continued.”

Russell’s training regime is vigorous. He runs essentially twice a day, every day. He also consumes a substantial amount of calories to overcome the losses sustained through his exercising.

Listed at 5’7”, Russell’s smaller frame has not deterred him from making appearances on the score sheet. He placed sixth in both exhibition meets thus far, and third on the Tigers behind Dan Gorman and Josh Coyle.

Russell’s sights are set towards being on the winning end of the AUS championships, and hopefully a trip to nationals.

“It’s still early in the season, but we still hope to beat X. We’re fairly even with them this year.”