Countdown to Spokane & USA Cross Country Championships begins...

The USA Cross Country Championships at Plantes Ferry Sports Stadium in Spokane on February 13th will welcome runners of Olympic proportions.

Shalane Flanagan (left/photo by Paul Merca), Max King and Billy Nelson will be amongst the slate of our nation’s top runners competing for their slot on the USA National Team which will compete against the world at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Poland.

Shalane Flanagan earned the bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10,000m. A member of the Oregon Track Club/Elite, she is currently the American record holder for the outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m, and the indoor 3,000m and 5,000m. Shalane’s complete running bio can be viewed at http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Flanagan_Shalane.asp.

Originally from Bend, OR, Max King was a qualifier for the USA Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. At the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships Max finished 9th, and earned his slot on the World Championship Cross Country team for the third time (06’, 08’, 09’). For more information on Max’s career please visit http://www.runnerspace.com/Maximus.

Billy Nelson, also a member of the Oregon Track Club/Elite, was a runner-up for the US Olympic team in 2008 in the 3,000m steeplechase, finishing ninth in the 2008 Olympic Games opening rounds with a time of 8:36.66. Billy’s complete running bio can also be found at http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Nelson_Biily.asp.

For more information on events please contact the Spokane Regional Sports Commission at 509.456.5812 or at www.spokanesports.org.

Current entries can be checked here...

NOTE: The Spokane Regional Sports Commission contributed to this report.